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Buzzy Book News

CrimeReads explores “the new generation of African crime writers” highlighting the work of Femi Kayode, Lightseekers (Hachette Audio; LJ starred review); Ameera Patel, Outside the Lines (Catalyst: Consortium); Chanette Paul, Sacrificed (Catalyst); Kwei Quartey, The Missing American (Soho Crime: Random House); Bryony Rheam, All Come to Dust (Parthian); and Michael Stanley, Facets of Death (Poisoned Pen).

The 2021 Goodreads Choice Award winners are announced. USA Today has the scoop.

A portion of the Gilgamesh tablet has been returned to Iraq. PBS reports.

The Cut covers the case of Alice Sebold and gives commentary.

Lit Hub shares "the biggest literary stories of the year: 50 to 31."

New Title Bestsellers

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

Fiction

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult (Ballantine) arrives at No. 2 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list and No. 5 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives (Cat Kid Comic Club #2) by Dav Pilkey (Graphix: Scholastic) debuts at No. 3 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Autopsy (Kay Scarpetta, Bk. 25) by Patricia Cornwell (Morrow; LJ starred review) cuts to No. 8 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list and No. 9 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey (Orbit: Hachette) rises to No. 7 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list and No. 9 on the NYT Hardcover Fiction Best Sellers list.

Nonfiction

Twelve and a Half by Gary Vaynerchuk (HarperCollins) begins at No. 1 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown (Random House) finds No. 2 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks (Ballantine; LJ starred review) starts at No. 6 on the NYT Hardcover Nonfiction Best Sellers list.

Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio (S. & S.) launches to No. 12 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list.

Reviews

NYT reviews Accidental Gods by Anna Della Subin (Macmillan): ““Accidental Gods” meanders at times, delineating some connections that are less plausible than others; but then the book is less a straightforward historical study than an irreverent bible in its own right, a sort of celestial thought experiment.” Also, The Generational Myth: Why When You’re Born Matters Less Than You Think by Bobby Duffy (Basic: Hachette): “Alas, despite his valiant efforts, overgeneralizations are unlikely to go away. But whether you are a skeptic or a believer in the idea that a generational label has meaning, you will learn something from this amusing and informative book.” Plus, Women in the Picture: What Culture Does With Female Bodies by Catherine McCormack (Norton): ““Women in the Picture” mounts a sensitive and probing critique of the motifs, the preordained poses and affectations of the female figure in art. If feminism aspires to render itself obsolete, McCormack’s project too yearns for a future when critiquing such postures — the flayed victims, the temptresses and the sexless “mammies” — will no longer be necessary. For now it is.” And, A Natural History of the Future by Rob Dunn (Basic: Hachette): "From a human perspective this will be an impoverished world, and many of Dunn’s warnings are concrete and sobering. But readers are left to draw many of the connections for themselves — and as the anecdotes and factoids pile up, they begin to take on a koan-like quality."

USA Today reviews Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding (HarperVia; LJ starred review): "There is always more than one side to a story. And somewhere, flitting among the many participants' views, is the truth ... author Lisa Harding shines some light on how the truth can be dimmed by our own trauma and others' expectations."

Tor.com reviews Network Effect by Martha Wells (Tor: Macmillan): “In Wells’ all-too-familiar future, Murderbot’s love for media is a constant, subtle reminder that there are people creating art and telling stories even in this hyper-privatized world—and telling them just to tell them!”

Locus Magazine reviews Diverse Futures: Science Fiction and Authors of Color by Joy Sanchez-Taylor (Ohio State): “In addition to the aforementioned writers and edi­tors, Diverse Futures contains many references to criticism on all of its covered topics, and so doubles as a primer for anyone curious as to the current state of academic thinking on these issues. These refer­ences inform the chapter-specific introductions and summations, and comprise a lengthy closing bibliog­raphy.”

Book Marks shares "The Best Reviewed Books of 2021: Short Story Collections."

Briefly Noted

Minnie Driver has announced a new essay collection Managing Expectations (HarperCollins) to come out in May 2022 exploring “her journey to Hollywood, fame and being a single parent.” People has more.

Will Smith, Will (Penguin Random House), speaks to NYT about no longer "trying to be perfect."

The Millions continues its series on A Year in Reading with Tim Lane, Toybox Americana: Characters Met Along the Way (W. W. Norton).

Tor.com shared “Five Books With Twisty Curses at Their Heart” and “Golden Age and New Wave SF Classics That Should Be Adapted Right Now.”

CrimeReads has three new novels by Scottish authors called “Tartan Cozies” to warm up winter and "The Best Crime Novels of 2021."

The Washington Post recommends books: “seven surprising choices for the readers on your list.”

NYT lists "The Best Historical Fiction of 2021."

Authors on Air

Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart (Knopf) will be adapted into film via Orion Pictures. Variety speaks to the author and musician about her “banner year.”

Entertainment Weekly features an interview with Matt Fraction, author of the Hawkeye comic book series, who talks about how he “influenced the new Disney+ series.”

Nikole Hannah-Jones speaks at the Women in Entertainment event about The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story with the New York Times Magazine (One World; LJ starred review) and “how slavery influenced the country’s founding.” The Hollywood Reporter shares the video. The NYT Magazine announces Hannah-Jones' discussion of the project for students.

Katie Kitamura, author of Intimacies (Riverhead), chats with Jordan Kisner on the Thresholds podcast about “the discomfort of calling herself a writer.”

Louis Ozawa, narrator of the audiobook Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II by Daniel James Brown (Viking), speaks to AudioFile's Robin Whitten in honor of the Best History and Biography Audiobooks of 2021.

Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City (Hachette), stars in a one-woman show Is There Still Sex in the City?. NYT reports.

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