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Big Books of the Week

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (Forever: Grand Central; LJ starred review) leads holds this week.

Other titles in demand include:

Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles (Viking; LJ starred review)

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica (Park Row)

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (Tor)

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams (Dell)

These books and others publishing the week of April 1, 2024, are listed in a downloadable spreadsheet.

Librarians and Booksellers Suggest

Seven LibraryReads and nine Indie Next picks publish this week:

Sociopath: A Memoir by Patric Gagne (S. & S.)

“Engaging, candid, honest (!) book about what it feels like to be a sociopath. The author gives readers a rare glimpse of practically living in a sociopath's shoes with the way she writes her experiences and makes the mental issue accessible to those who might confuse it with plain old destructive behavior.”—Andrienne Cruz, LibraryReads Board

Hall of Fame picks include: She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica (Park Row) and Only and Forever by Chloe Liese (Berkley)

Hall of Fame pick Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (Forever: Grand Central; LJ starred review) is also an Indie Next pick:

“Justin and Emma share the same curse: everyone they date goes on to meet and marry their soulmate. They decide to date just for the summer to break the curse. Abby Jimenez writes characters working through their traumas with humor and joy.”—Chantalle Carles, East City Bookshop, Washington, DC

Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles (Viking; LJ starred review)

“Towles’s literary fiction never disappoints. In this collection of short stories and a novella, readers will be entranced by his use of sophisticated and smart language to convey aspects of the human condition. Highly recommended for book clubs and lovers of short stories.”—Julie Klein, The Bryant Library, NY

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“This collection of stories and a novella is the perfect thing to tide over Amor Towles’s legion of fans till the next novel. There’s even an Evelyn Ross appearance, from The Rules of Civility, which is worth the price of admission alone.”—Cody Morrison, Square Books, Oxford, MS

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams (Dell)

“Nora lands her first client as a sports agent, and it happens to be her ex-boyfriend from college. Derek, a tight end pro football player, needs all the help he can get to revive his career. Upbeat and engaging, this sports romance book is breezy with fun characters and plenty of heart.”—Andrienne Cruz, Azusa City Library, CA

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (Doubleday)

“Lauren, who's single, goes home to find that not only is she married, but she doesn’t recognize her husband. She discovers that by sending a husband to the attic, she can replace him with a new model - and there seems to be a never-ending supply. The quirky nature of the book, humorous writing, charming characters and the unbelievable situation will have readers completely engrossed.”—Douglas Beatty, Baltimore County Public Library, MD

It is also an Indie Next pick:

“Lauren is faced with a troubling situation—not only is she married to a complete stranger, she can also trade her husband in for a new one. The story leans into the wacky possibilities and bittersweet potentials that could tempt many of us.”—Erin Pastore, Water Street Bookstore, Exeter, NH

Six additional Indie Next picks publish this week:

A Good Happy Girl by Marissa Higgins (Catapult)

“Higgins’s debut is a pull on the cigarette you shouldn’t be having, the shot of adrenaline you get when you wake up through the daze of a hangover and remember your bad dreams. A Good Happy Girl is a pitch-perfect entry into the lesbian canon.”—Gaby Iori, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews, Chapel Hill, NC

Women! In! Peril!  by Jessie Ren Marshall (Bloomsbury)

“Women! In! Peril! is a sharply written, eclectically bizarre collection that starts with a bang and ends in tender tears, and everything in-between. A fantastic debut from an author to watch out for!”—Jessie Wright, Copper Dog Books, Beverly, MA

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez (Algonquin)

“Alvarez’s beautiful new novel synthesizes her familiar themes: storytelling, sisters, family differences, the violent legacy of the Dominican Republic, the allure of ‘home,’ and of ‘up North,’ and the craft of writing itself.”—Melanie Fleishman, Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger (Atlantic Monthly)

“Haunting yet hopeful, this futuristic tale will hit close to home with its honesty and pertinent observation of what it is to be human. I Cheerfully Refuse is proof of the power of a well-told story to ask the reader to live and feel deeply.”—Katrina Mendrey, Chapter One Book Store, Hamilton, MT

Clear by Carys Davies (Scribner)

“Insightful and memorable, Clear is an elemental portrayal of loneliness, language, and unlikely companionship. Set on a harsh and unforgiving isle in northern Scotland, Davies elegantly shares how regular daily moments can be profound.”—Miriam Roskam, Mountain Shire: Books & Gifts, Winter Park, CO

A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke (Avid Reader; LJ starred review)

“A Short Walk Through a Wide World is an epic novel charting the adventurous journey of one woman trying to outrun a mysterious curse. Douglas Westerbeke’s debut captures the imagination. A dazzling read!”—Linda Kass, Gramercy Books, Bexley, OH

In the Media

People’s book of the week is What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Morrow). Also getting attention are One Way Back: A Memoir by Christine Blasey Ford (St. Martin’s) and The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim (Morrow). “Portraits of Power” include: Life: My Story Through History by Pope Francis (HarperOne), All the World Beside by Garrard Conley (Riverhead), and Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki (Ballantine). 

The “Picks” section spotlights Apple TV+’s Palm Royale, based on Juliet McDaniel's novel Mr. and Mrs. American Pie. There is a feature on Rebel Wilson and her new memoir, Rebel Rising (S. & S.). People Health features Jonathan Haidt’s new book, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (Penguin Pr.). Plus, recipes from Dan Pashman, Anything’s Pastable: 81 Inventive Pasta Recipes for Saucy People (Morrow; LJ starred review), and Alexandra Stafford, Pizza Night: Deliciously Doable Recipes for Pizza and Salad (Clarkson Potter). 

Reviews

NYT reviews The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez (Algonquin): “Only an alchemist as wise and sure as Alvarez could swirl the elements of folklore and the flavor of magical realism around her modern prose and make it all sing”; The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony by Annabelle Tometich (Little, Brown): “In reclaiming Josefina from the mug shot and clickbait headlines that followed her arrest, the author opens the door to something even more lasting, and possibly more severe: a daughter’s unflinching gaze”; and Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles (Viking; LJ starred review): “Sharp-edged satire deceptively wrapped like a box of Neuhaus chocolates, Table for Two is a winner.”

Washington Post reviews Clear by Carys Davies (Scribner): “It’s hard to overstate how deftly and viscerally Davies’s prose conveys this world.” NYT also reviews: “The novel is bold and inevitably not flawless—the ending gestures toward an unconvincing resolution—but if you like wild writing and high-stakes thinking in small, polished form, you’ll like this.”

The New Yorker has four briefly noted book reviews.

Briefly Noted

The Hugo, Astounding, and Lodestar Awards finalists are announced. Locus has details. 

LitHub highlights new paperback releases for April. 

CrimeReads suggests 10 new books for the week. 

NYT previews 17 new books for April.

Washington Post shares 10 books for April. 

Time recommends 12 new books for the month. 

LitHub shares April’s best sci-fi and fantasy books. 

Amazon Editors select the best books of April.

Vogue suggests 10 historical fiction books.

Washington Post explores how new mysteries featuring autistic women challenge old stereotypes.

NYT considers how Karen Kingsbury is “extending the reach of Christian Fiction.”

Douglas Westerbeke, A Short Walk Through a Wide World (Avid Reader; LJ starred review), shares a list of inspirations with People. 

NPR talks with David Baron, author of American Eclipse: A Nation’s Epic Race To Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World (Liveright).

NYT features the new book by Peter Brown, All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words; Unpublished, Unvarnished, and Told by the Beatles and Their Inner Circle, written with Steven Gaines (St. Martin’s). Also, NYT considers Iman Mersal’s Traces of Enayat, tr. by Robin Moger (Transit). 

Vogue interviews Audrey Flack about her new memoir, With Darkness Came Stars: A Memoir (Penn State Univ.). 

Andrew Boryga discusses his novel, Victim (Doubleday), with Salon. 

“Neeli Cherkovski, Poet Who Chronicled the Beat Generation, Dies at 78.” NYT has the obituary. 

Authors on Air

Lisa Ko discusses her book, Memory Piece (Riverhead), on B&N's Poured Over podcast.

Rebel Wilson, Rebel Rising (S. & S.), will appear on Today.

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