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Big Books of the Week

The Investigator (Letty Davenport, Bk. 1) by John Sandford (Putnam; LJ starred review) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose by Dav Pilkey (Graphix)

The No-Show by Beth O’Leary (Berkley)

The Sacred Bridge by Anne Hillerman (Harper)

Summer at the Cape by RaeAnne Thayne (HQN)

These books and others publishing the week of Apr. 11th, 2022 are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Three LibraryReads and seven Indie Next selections publish this week. 

The No-Show by Beth O’Leary (Berkley)

"It’s Valentine’s Day, and three women are stood up--by the same guy. The story is told from the perspectives of the women, and their stories weave together seamlessly. The characters are delightful! Sure to please both existing fans and those new to this author."—Karen Clements, Lake Villa District Library, Lindenhurst, IL

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Berkley; LJ starred review)

“A well-paced, wrenching book about the reproductive rights of Blacks and the poor in the mid 20th century. The story moves back and forth in time with fully drawn characters, giving the reader a view of the consequences of the health care system's policies and fresh outrage at the wrongs perpetrated upon Black women. For readers of Celeste Ng and Rebecca Skloot.”—Leona Arthen, The Worthington Library, Worthington, OH

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Dolen Perkins-Valdez has a gift. Take My Hand sheds light on the long history of forced sterilization of African American women and introduces the incredible Civil Townsend, whose compassion I see in Black women doctors in my own life.”—Morgan Harding, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, DC

Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough (Morrow)

“Emma has the perfect career, husband, and family. She also has a secret that is about to catch up with her. She is turning 40 and slowly spiraling out of control as the past creeps closer. Is her insomnia touching her with insanity, or is she about to relive what she has been trying to hide all these years? For fans of The End of Her and Mrs. March. ”—Selena Swink, Lake Public Library, Lake, MS

Six additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

Thin Places: A Natural History of Healing and Home by Kerri ní Dochartaigh (Milkweed Editions)

“Memoir and folklore weave together in this haunting story of a childhood unfolding during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, capturing a burning desire to find balance and peace. Superbly beautiful, raw, and heartbreaking writing.”—BJ Hegedus, Postalworks Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett (Ballantine)

“Small-town residents — dead, alive, missing, and four-pawed — are the heart of this unforgettable novel of Emma's quarter-life and family crises. Hartnett’s quirky humor makes dark stuff feel manageable, a skill we need these days.”—Maggie Robe, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC

Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life by Delia Ephron (Little, Brown & Co.; LJ starred review)

“Left on Tenth is prime Delia — honest, raw, generous — be it her husband’s death, a call with Verizon, or the long and painful journey through leukemia. She’s endured so much, but shares with remarkable humor and an overflowing heart.”—Melanie Fleishman, Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI

Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott (Atria)

“I have so much love for Bomb Shelter, as a mom, a woman, an animal lover, and simply as a fellow human. I love Mary Laura’s humor and her compassionate and certain voice. I can’t wait to share this book with EVERYONE!”—Sue Kowalski, The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn, Glen Ellyn, IL

The Caretakers by Amanda Bestor-Siegal (Morrow)

“This book took me completely by surprise as it wormed its way into my heart. An absolutely stunning portrayal of motherhood, wealth, and pretense told through the interconnected stories of the women in a small French neighborhood.”—Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books, Rogers, AR

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda (HarperVia; LJ starred review)

“A subtle, understated vampire book. Lydia is mixed-race, mixed-species, and trying to make it on her own. Her hunger and desire to be human lead to complicated relationships with food and her friends. This one’s oh-so-satisfying.”—Maggie Henriksen, Carmichael’s Bookstore, Louisville, KY

In the Media

The People "Picks" book of the week is Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life by Delia Ephron (Little, Brown & Co.; LJ starred review). Also getting attention are Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow (Dial), and The Candy House by Jennifer Egan (Scribner; LJ starred review). A “New in Nonfiction” section highlights Learning America: One Woman's Fight for Educational Justice for Refugee Children by Luma Mufleh (Mariner; LJ starred review), Easy Beauty: A Memoir by Chloé Cooper Jones (Avid Reader Pr.: S.& S.), and Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain (Crown). The “Picks” section spotlights the feature film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

There is a feature on the guiding joy of Robin Roberts and her new motivational book, Brighter by the Day: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams, written with Michelle Burford (Grand Central). And, a feature on Garcelle Beauvais and her memoir, Love Me as I Am (Amistad). Plus, Alexis deBoschnek, To the Last Bite: Recipes and Ideas for Making the Most of Your Ingredients (S. & S.), and Tieghan Gerard, Half Baked Harvest Every Day: Recipes for Balanced, Flexible, Feel-Good Meals (Clarkson Potter), share recipes.

Reviews

NYT reviews Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation by Liana Finck (Random): “is smart and smarting and sometimes a revelation, though not exactly of the theological variety. And if her earlier chapters, showcasing God, outshine the others, the fault isn’t entirely Finck’s.” Plus, Misty Copeland reviews Serenade: A Balanchine Story by Toni Bentley (Pantheon): “Serenade is a book that will delight balletomanes for generations to come; but it will also appeal to those newer to the dance world, with its delicate balance of personal memoir, rarefied elegance, history of the arts and pure human interest.”

The Washington Post reviews The Unwritten Book by Samantha Hunt (Farrar): “Hunt seeks beauty in impermanence, whether it’s in an old car, the house in the movie Poltergeist or the boy band One Direction. Because everyone and everything will one day become an absence, to be alive is to be haunted, Hunt argues. The key is to acknowledge one’s ghosts, to keep them present, even when they’re terrifying.” And, Truly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, and the Romance of the Century by Stephen Galloway (Grand Central): “Galloway, the former executive editor of the Hollywood Reporter, lifts himself clear of previous chronicles, including Olivier’s own self-lacerating memoirs, by supplementing firsthand accounts with retrospective diagnoses by experts like Kay Redfield Jamison and by tracing a genetic link to Leigh’s great-uncle, housed in a Kolkata asylum for much the same symptoms.” And, Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life by Delia Ephron (Little, Brown & Co.; LJ starred review): “When she examines “life and death in close focus, side by side,” she reminds us that darkness makes the light look even brighter.” Plus, Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives by Mary Laura Philpott (Atria): "Philpott can spin copy from the stuff of life with the best of them, aiming her talent at a new generation of mid-lifers, who could use a book that speaks to them. And like her antecedents, Philpott possesses that rare ability to dole out prose that’s equal parts comedy and pathos, tragedy and celebration."

Briefly Noted

The May Indie Next List Picks are out, featuring #1 selection Book Lovers by Emily Henry (Berkley; LJ starred review), which arrives May 3rd.

The 2022 Tolkien Society Award winners are announced.

The Guggenheim Foundation announces its 2022 fellows.

Publishing Perspectives previews the Hay Festival 2022, including a lineup of more than 500 speakers.

NYT has a feature on Delia Ephron and her new memoir, Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life (Little, Brown & Co.; LJ starred review).

USA Today talks with Jonathan Van Ness about their new book of essays, Love That Story: Observations from a Gorgeously Queer Life (HarperOne). 

The Irish Times talks to Douglas Stuart about Young Mungo (Grove; LJ starred review), “performative masculinity, and trying to fit in.”

LA Times interviews Devon Price about his book, Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity (Harmony; LJ starred review), “why his ideas shouldn't be ‘radical,’ and how Autism and being transgender are ‘inseparable’ for him.

The Millions talks with Dan Chaon about forthcoming book Sleepwalk (Henry Holt and Co.), due out May 24th.

The Atlantic's "Books Briefing" considers "The Fight Over What Kids Can Read."

Grace D. Li, author of Portrait of a Thief (Tiny Reparations Books), recommends books featuring diverse characters at Entertainment Weekly.

T&C offers read-alikes for fans of Pachinko, based on the novel by Min Jin Lee.  

USA Today picks five books for the week.

CrimeReads suggests 10 books out this week. 

Vulture lists “The Best Books of the Year (So Far).”

Tordotcom has new horror and genre-bending books for April.

Buzzfeed shares 14 new historical fiction books.

"Jack Higgins, Author of ‘The Eagle Has Landed,’ Dies at 92." The NYT, The Guardian, and USA Today have obituaries.

“Eleanor Munro, Who Profiled Women Artists, Is Dead at 94.” NYT has an obituary.

Authors On Air

CBS Sunday Morning interviews Bill Browder, Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath (S. & S.), about "Putin, the Magnitsky Act, and unmasking Russian money laundering."

NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour recommends books about life in the United States.

People has a story on Amy Poehler’s new venture, an adaptation of The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson (Scribner), for Peacock.

Viola Davis, Finding Me (HarperOne), will be on with Jimmy Kimmel, and Lala Kent, Give Them Lala (Gallery), will be on Watch What Happens Live today.

Molly Shannon, Hello, Molly! ,written with Sean Wilsey (Ecco) will visit Stephen Colbert tomorrow night. Julia Haart, Brazen: My Unorthodox Journey from Long Sleeves to Lingerie (Crown), will be on Watch What Happens Live. Valerie Biden Owens, Growing Up Biden (Celadon), will visit The View. Plus, Robin Roberts, Brighter by the Day: Waking Up to New Hopes and Dreams, written with Michelle Burford (Grand Central), will visit Live with Kelly and Ryan and Tamron Hall.

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