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Awards & News

Maria Stepanova wins the Berman Literature Prize for her family saga In Memory of Memory, tr. by Sasha Dugdale (New Directions); the award honors works “in the spirit of the Jewish tradition.” The Bookseller has coverage.

The shortlist is announced for the Nan Shepherd Prize for underrepresented voices in nature writing. The Bookseller has the news.

Finalists are announced for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts, CBC reports.

New Title Best Sellers

Links for the week: NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers | NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers | USA Today Best-Selling Books

Fiction

The Exchange by John Grisham (Doubleday) takes No. 1 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list and the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Spy X Family, Vol. 10 by Tatsuya Endo (VIZ Media) grabs No. 6 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig (Orbit) rules at No. 10 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young (Delacorte) rises to No. 15 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list.

Nonfiction

Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow (Crown) conquers No. 1 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list and No. 2 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith (Dey Street) merits No. 3 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list and No. 15 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones by Dolly Parton, written with Holly George-Warren & Rebecca Seaver (Ten Speed), sings at No. 4 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list.

Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well by Gabrielle Lyon (Atria) thrives at No. 5 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Dead Wrong: Diagnosing and Treating Healthcare’s Misinformation Illness by Geeta Nayyar (Wiley) is right at No. 11 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will by Robert M. Sapolsky (Penguin Pr.) hits No. 12 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list.

Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine by Andrew Roberts & David Petraeus (Harper) fights at No. 12 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list and No. 13 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list.

Reviews

Washington Post reviews An Inconvenient Cop: My Fight To Change Policing in America by Edwin Raymond (Viking): “An Inconvenient Cop is structured so the reader sees where Raymond came from, where he hoped to go and where he ended up, at least for now”; The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok (Morrow): “The language is plush, at times lyrical, though the momentum can get bogged down in detailed descriptions of the characters’ every emotion, and the many glances, facial expressions and jaw-clenches of their social interactions”; Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe by Carl Safina (Norton): “Safina lacks [Lyanda Lynn] Haupt’s lyrical grace, but his thinking aloud still makes for lively and exciting conversation with an author—spontaneous, if not polished; vivid, if not elegant”; and “five great sci-fi and fantasy novels to read now.”

NYT reviews Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World by Mary Beard (Liveright: Norton): “As a writer, Beard is so appealing and approachable that even the recalcitrant reader who previously gave not a single thought to the Roman Empire will warm to her subject”; The Greatest Capitalist Who Ever Lived: Tom Watson Jr. and the Epic Story of How IBM Created the Digital Age by Ralph Watson McElvenny and Marc Wortman (PublicAffairs): “Spins the Watsons into near-Shakespearean figures, as if Succession were set in the era of Mad Men”; and newly published poetry.

LitHub rounds up “5 Book Reviews You Need to Read This Week.”

Briefly Noted

LJ has new Prepub Alerts.

NYT’s “Inside the Best-Seller List” features Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon (Morrow; LJ starred review).

IVP will launch a Bible studies imprint, focusing on studies of scripture through the lens of a theme, in February 2024, Publishers Weekly reports.

In honor of Black Speculative Fiction Month in October, LA Times has a feature on Tananarive Due, author of The Reformatory (Gallery/Saga; LJ starred review), plus a list of “6 books to get you started with Black horror, classic and new.”

The Rumpus has a Q&A with Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, author of the debut short story collection Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare (Bloomsbury).

Publishers Weekly interviews Perry Garfinkel, author of Becoming Gandhi: Living the Mahatma’s 6 Moral Truths in Immoral Times (Sounds True).

Salon speaks with comedian and musician Reggie Watts about his memoir, Great Falls, MT: Fast Times, Post-Punk Weirdos, and a Tale of Coming Home Again (Tiny Reparations).

Washington Post talks to journalist Elena Kostyuchenko about her new book, I Love Russia: Reporting from a Lost Country, tr. by Bela Shayevich and Ilona Yazhbin Chavasse (Penguin Pr.).

NYT profiles Margaret Renkl, author of The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year (Spiegel & Grau).

Vanity Fair interviews Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet (S. & S.).

Henry Winkler, author of Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond (Celadon), answers NYT’s “By the Book” questionnaire.

NYT hears from Adam Grant, author of Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things (Viking), about “three key takeaways from his book that could help you unlock your own hidden potential.”

BookRiot identifies “24 African poets you need to read.”

Tor.com gathers “Five Stories Featuring High-Tech Solutions to the Problems of Marriage.”

Kirkus lists “5 Indie Mysteries That Really Rock.”

The Atlantic writers and editors each share one book “that changed how I think.”

Parade rounds up “34 Halloween Books To Get You in the Spooky Mood.”

For CBC, Ken Dryden, author of The Class: A Memoir of a Place, a Time, and Us (McClelland & Stewart), names six books that have inspired him throughout his life.

NYPL’s blog shares “A Reading List for Scorpio Season,” featuring “secrets, darkness, and deception.”

Publishers Weekly runs a religion and spirituality books preview for November 2023.

Rock Brynner, “son of Hollywood royalty” and novelist, has died at 76; NYT has an obituary.

Authors on Air

Jesmyn Ward appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers to talk about her latest novel, Let Us Descend (Scribner; LJ starred review); Kirkus summarizes.

NPR’s Code Switch talks to U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, editor of the forthcoming poetry anthology You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World (Milkweed Editions).

NPR’s Fresh Air interviews Werner Herzog about his new memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir, tr. by Michael Hofmann (Penguin Pr.).

Tomorrow, Good Morning America will host David Platt, author of Don’t Hold Back: Leaving Behind the American Gospel To Follow Jesus Fully (Multnomah); The View will talk to Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key, authors of The History of Sketch Comedy: A Journey Through the Art and Craft of Humor (Chronicle); and The Talk will interview Cedric the Entertainer, author of Flipping Boxcars (Amistad).

Shelf Awareness rounds up the schedule for this weekend’s Book TV on C-SPAN 2.

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