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Big Books of the Week

The Fury by Alex Michaelides (Celadon; LJ starred review) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur: St. Martin’s)

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (Del Rey: Ballantine)

Always Remember: Ben’s Story by Mary Balogh (Berkley)

The Bright Spot by Jill Shalvis (Avon)

These books and others publishing the week of January 15, 2024, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Four LibraryReads and nine Indie Next picks publish this week:

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (Del Rey: Ballantine), is January’s top pick:

“After the events of the first book, Emily sets a new goal of creating the first Map of the Folk. Her plans progress well until an attack from Wendell's stepmother forces Emily to embark on a quest for an elusive door. Will they find it this time? This fun second installment has fantastical new creatures and realms to discover, and the dynamic between Wendell and Emily is sweet and exciting. Recommended for fans of cozy academia with a dash of magic.”—Lisa Leinhos, Marx Library, AL

It is also an Indie Next pick:

““What an absolutely delightful follow-up to Emily Wilde’s first faerie adventure! The Faeries’ nonsensicality and bizarre behavior made this book feel like old fairytales in the best way. I would read about Emily’s adventures forever!”—Emily Gilbow, House of Books, Kent, CT

Hall of Fame pick The Fury by Alex Michaelides (Celadon; LJ starred review) is also the #1 Indie Next pick:

“The Fury is a perfectly paced, charming, devious mystery novel to fall in love with. On a small, private, Greek island, mythology, history, and personal baggage put our small cast to the test. Intense, captivating, and satisfying.”—Becky Doherty, Northshire Bookstore, Saratoga Springs, NY

Hall of Fame pick Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert (Sourcebooks Casablanca) is also an Indie Next pick:

“Katee Robert delivers another stunning, scorching ‘Dark Olympus’ installment. Orpheus, Eurydice, and Charon delve into growth and forgiveness alongside plenty of spice as threats of war loom in Olympus. I can’t wait for the next novel.”—Emily Hall Schroen, Main Street Books, St. Charles, MO

Hall of Fame pick Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham (Minotaur: St. Martin’s) is also an Indie Next pick:

“Only If You’re Lucky is Stacy Willingham’s best work yet! I was immediately hooked by this tale of the tantalizing lure—and potential very dark side—of close friendships. And as always, Stacy’s Southern setting gives the perfect gothic vibe.”—Emilie Sommer, East City Bookshop, Washington, DC

Five additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer (Quirk; LJ starred review)

“Jenny Kiefer brilliantly pulls us into this story about a group of people who go out to discover a new cliff face to climb. But there is something very evil in the woods and it’s coming for them. Incredibly absorbing, you’ll be on the edge of your seat!”—Marguerite Turley, The Doylestown & Lahaska Bookshops, Doylestown, PA

Where You End by Abbott Kahler (Holt)

“A very dark and intriguing thriller where one cannot rely on memory. After lies are uncovered, the twins still must work together to survive a cult. The pacing and character development are excellent and will keep you turning the page.”—Stephanie Csaszar, Books Around the Corner, Gresham, OR

The Tusks of Extinction by Ray Nayler (Tor.com; LJ starred review)

“A ‘read in one sitting, think about for days’ book. Ray Nayler has once again made me realize how amazing animals are, and how awful and greedy people can be. It’s not all doom and gloom—there’s joy in imagining mammoths roaming the steppes again.”—Laura Cummings, White Birch Books, North Conway, NH

True North by Andrew J. Graff (Ecco)

“Andrew Graff shines again in True North. Join the Brecht family as they navigate the rapids of river, marriage, and their future as they try and save a family-owned rafting company and come to terms with what’s truly important in their lives.”—Betsy Von Kerens, The Bookworm of Omaha, Omaha, NE

The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B. Miller (Avid Reader:S. & S)

“This is a sweeping story of Italy during WWII, told by a fourteen-year-old orphaned by the allied bombing of Rome. The brutality of war can tear any family apart.”—Karen Bradley, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, MI

In the Media

People’s book of the week is Where You End by Abbott Kahler (Holt). Also getting attention are The Fetishist by Katherine Min (Putnam) and Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj (HarperVia). There is also a Q&A with Brad Meltzer, author of the “Kid Pick,” I Am Ruth Bader Ginsburg, illus. by Christopher Eliopoulos (Rocky Pond). 

The “Picks” section spotlights AMC’s Monsieur Spade, based on characters by Dashiell Hammett. There is a feature on the new Mean Girls film (based on the Broadway musical, which was based on the 2004 film—which was based on Rosalind Wiseman’s Queen Bees and Wannabes.)

Also featured is Boy George and his new memoir, Karma: My Autobiography (Mango). Plus, recipes from Sohla El-Waylly, Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook (Knopf), and Scott Mowbray and Ann Taylor Pittman, The Global Pantry Cookbook: Transform Your Everyday Cooking with Tahini, Gochujang, Miso, and Other Irresistible Ingredients. 

Reviews

NYT reviews American Girls: One Woman’s Journey into the Islamic State and Her Sister’s Fight Ro Bring Her Home by Jessica Roy (Scribner): “American Girls falls into a too-common category of contemporary nonfiction: the magazine article padded to reach book length, with new detail that does not necessarily offer new insight. This leaves it trapped in amber”; Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science by Benjamin Breen (Grand Central): “Breen is an engaging writer invigorated by his topic, and to synthesize so much information is an accomplishment”; and Burn Man: Selected Stories by Mark Anthony Jarman (Biblioasis): “He may have the crackling syntax of Hannah, Johnson’s gift for shocking yet poetic images, and the penchant for loners and misfits of both, but Jarman’s voice rings unique.” Plus, three historical fiction novels: We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein (Algonquin); An Ordinary Youth by Walter Kempowski, tr. by Michael Lipkin (NYRB Classics); and A Volga Tale by Guzel Yakhina, tr. by Polly Gannon (Europa). 

Washington Post reviews More: A Memoir of Open Marriage by Molly Roden Winter (Doubleday; LJ starred review): “This book will no doubt find its way into the hands of many people who wouldn’t be caught dead with a copy of The Ethical Slut but who are curious enough about open marriage to read the guidebook first, even if they’re not quite ready to take the trip”; Nonfiction by Julie Myerson (Tin House): “Myerson’s attempt to blur the line between fiction and nonfiction makes her book less successful as either one”; and Magus: The Art of Magic from Faustus to Agrippa by Anthony Grafton (Belknap): “As Grafton shows, Renaissance magic wasn’t restricted to investigating the hidden networks connecting man and the cosmos. Its students were also drawn to the related arts of cryptography and biblical interpretation.”

Briefly Noted

Earlyword’s January GalleyChat roundup is out now. 

February’s LibraryReads list is out, featuring top pick A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen (Del Rey: Ballantine).

Poet Jason Allen-Paisant’s poetry collection Self-Portrait as Othello wins the T.S. Eliot Prize. The Guardian has coverage. 

Judy Blume will receive the inaugural Eleanor Roosevelt Lifetime Achievement Award for Bravery in Literature, USA Today reports. 

Washington Post has a big 2024 books preview with read-alikes in multiple categories. 

The Guardian features the “10 best new novelists for 2024.”

LA Times talks with Manjula Martin about her new book, The Last Fire Season: A Personal and Pyronatural History (Pantheon). 

Muhammad H. Zaman talks with NPR’s Goats And Soda about his book, We Wait for a Miracle: Health Care and the Forcibly Displaced (Johns Hopkins Univ.). 

Riley Keough will finish her latye mother Lisa Marie Presley’s untitled memoir, due out October 15. EW reports. 

NYT has a feature on Molly Roden Winter’s new book, More: A Memoir of Open Marriage (Doubleday; LJ starred review).

Michele Norris discusses her new book, Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity (S. & S.), with LA Times.

LitHub highlights 23 new books for the week.

BookRiot shares new books publishing this week.

CrimeReads notes the year’s best international crime series. 

Authors on Air

Hisham Matar discusses his new novel, My Friends (Random), with NPR’s All Things Considered.

A new Fear Street movie, based on the R.L. Stine series, is forthcoming from Netflix, Deadline confirms.

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