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Big Books of the Week

What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline (Putnam) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (Morrow; LJ starred review)

The Missing Piece by John Lescroart (Atria)

How To Be a Wallflower (Would-Be Wallflowers, Bk. 1) by Eloisa James (Morrow)

The Long Weekend by Gilly Macmillan (Morrow)

These books and others publishing the week of Mar. 28, 2022 are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Awards & Current Affairs

The Oscars were awarded last night, with honors going to several adaptations including Dune, based on the book by Frank Herbert, The Power of the Dog, based on the book by Thomas Savage, and Drive My Car, based on the story by Haruki Murikami. LitHub has a literary guide to the Academy Awards. The night also saw the first best picture Oscar awarded to a streaming service. 

The 2022 British Book Awards shortlists are announced.

The Republic of Consciousness Award shortlist is announced. 

The Authors' Club announces the 2022 Best First Novel Award shortlist.

Datebook offers a "Putin Primer," a look into the Russian leader's heart and soul through books. The Atlantic suggests Mikhail Yuriev’s 2006 utopian novel, The Third Empire: Russia as It Ought to Be, as a window into the Kremlin's foreign policy strategy. And, LitHub highlights "Russian books that outlived the censors."

Publishing Perspectives has programming highlights from the London Bookfair. 

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Three Library Reads selections publish this week:

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn (Morrow; LJ starred review)

“World War II Russian sniper Lyudmila makes a name for herself as “Lady Death,” but after getting injured she is sent to D.C. to convince the USA to assist the USSR. A nonlinear structure builds suspense between two timelines. Quinn always writes well-researched novels with great characters. For readers of The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II and War of the Rats."—Christina Orlandos, Springfield-Greene County Public Library, Springfield, MO

What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline (Putnam)

“A carjacking involving a seemingly perfect family from the Philadelphia suburbs launches a suspenseful tale of bad guys, good guys, good bad guys, and bad good guys. With enough red herrings to fill a smorgasbord, this book about grief, corruption, and family will appeal to fans of Iris Johansen, John Grisham, and Wanda M. Morris.”—Lois Gross, Hoboken Public Library, Hoboken, NJ

Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Berkley)

“The Chan family is back! Meddy Chan is getting married, and the wedding planners are perfect--until Meddy overhears the wedding photographer talking about murdering someone at the reception. Her aunties spring into action, setting into motion a series of madcap misadventures intended to save Meddy's special day. A charming combo of close-knit family, humor, and light mystery; great for fans of Mia P. Manansala and Jade Chang.”—Nanette Donohue, Champaign Public Library, Champaign, IL

In the Media

The People "Picks" book of the week is Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse (Flatiron; LJ starred review). Also getting attention are The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser (St. Martin’s), and Her Last Affair by John Searles (Morrow). A “Self-Help” section highlights How Creativity Rules the World: The Art and Business of Turning Your Ideas into Gold by Maria Brito (HarperCollins Leadership), Generation Sleepless: Why Tweens and Teens Aren't Sleeping Enough and How We Can Help Them by Heather Turgeon MFT and Julie Wright MFT (TarcherPerigee), and Embrace the Work, Love Your Career: A Guided Workbook for Realizing Your Career Goals with Clarity, Intention, and Confidence by Fran Hauser (The Collective Book Studio). The “Kid Pick” is Stella Keeps the Sun Up by Clothilde Ewing (Denene Millner Books: S. & S. for Young Readers). 

The “Picks” section spotlights Netflix’s new season of Bridgerton, based on the book series by Julia Quinn. Plus, there is an exclusive feature on novelist Anne Tyler at age 80, her latest book, French Braid (Knopf), and a look at her essential titles. The interview with Tyler is also online.

Reviews

NYT reviews Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything—Even Things That Seem Impossible Today by Jane McGonigal (Spiegel & Grau): “One gets the sense that McGonigal could hold her own in a high-stakes discussion with military strategists, but overall, “Imaginable” strikes an upbeat, conversational tone.” And, The Shame Machine: Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation by Cathy O’Neil (Crown): “What O’Neil adroitly illustrates is that shame is often a lonely experience, which is perhaps why it is so easy to exploit it for profit.”  Plus, short reviews of new story collections including: Being Here: Stories by Manini Nayar (Univ. Pr. of Kentucky), How Strange a Season by Megan Mayhew Bergman (Scribner), and Seeking Fortune Elsewhere by Sindya Bhanoo (Catapult).

The Washington Post reviews White Lies: The Double Life of Walter F. White and America's Darkest Secret by A. J. Baime (Mariner): “Baime details those difficulties, but he never really grapples with the racial dynamics behind them. It’s a crucial omission, as it’s through those dynamics that White’s story speaks most powerfully to the American dilemma.” And, A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear (Harper): "The setting is England, 1942, and Maisie becomes embroiled in an intricate plot that involves attacks on military planes, a missing private and a group of men hoping to kill first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. If that sounds like a lot, it is, but Winspear (mostly) pulls it off."

NPR reviews Monarch by Candice Wuehle (Soft Skull): "Readers hungry for the motives of MONARCH — or even what the cryptonym means — won't find much here, a choice that pays off. Wuehle is less concerned with deep state spycraft than with the question of how to differentiate who we are from who we are programmed to be."

Briefly Noted

Kyleigh Leddy, The Perfect Other: A Memoir of My Sister (Harper), talks with FoxNews about her memoir about her sister’s struggles with schizophrenia. FoxNews also talks with baseball spouse and author Billie Jauss about her new book, Distraction Detox: Release Emotional Barriers, Restructure Priorities, And Realize God’s Best (Iron Stream Media), and finding fulfillment.

The Millions has an interview with Matt Bell, Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts (Soho Pr.) about becoming a “radical reviser.”

Legal scholars Madiba Dennie and Kate Kelly, author of the forthcoming Ordinary Equality: The Fearless Women and Queer People Who Shaped the U.S. Constitution and the Equal Rights Amendment illus. by Nicole LaRue (Gibbs Smith), discuss the Senate interrogation of Ketanji Brown Jackson at OprahDaily.

NYT previews spring titles including: 18 New Works of Fiction,17 New Nonfiction Books, and a recommendation of “old and new books."

USA Today picks five books for the week. 

CrimeReads suggests 10 books out this week.

USA Today rounds up the best reviewed rom-coms for March.

Authors On Air

Bridgerton is back. People recaps Friday’s Bridgerton premiere and breaks down the differences between the series and Julia Quinn’s novel, The Viscount Who Loved Me (Avon). People also has a spoiler-filled “guide to who everyone marries in the books.”  Vulture has a books-to-series character guide. Entertainment Weekly suggests “12 enemies-to-lovers books Hollywood should adapt after Bridgerton.” Plus, GMA talks with actors Simone Ashley and Charithra Cahndran on what to expect this season.

CBS Sunday Morning examines The Godfather at 50. 

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey will promote their forthcoming book, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There (Dey Street Books), at a one-night event in NYC on May 18th, the day after the book is set to publish. Deadline has details.

NPR’s Fresh Air remembers author and stateswoman Madeleine Albright. 

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