October 15, 2013

October 15th

ACTORS ANONYMOUS by James Franco
Told in a dizzying array of styles --- from lyric essays and disarming testimonials to hilariously rambling text messages and ghostly footnotes --- and loosely modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous's Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, James Franco’s debut novel is an intense, wild ride into the dark heart of celebrity.
Little A/New Harvest * 9780544114531

BEHIND THE SHATTERED GLASS: A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander
Anglemore Park is the ancestral home of Lady Emily Hargreave's husband, Colin. But the stately calm of country life is destroyed when their neighbor, the Marquess of Montagu, bursts through the French doors from the garden and falls down dead in front of the shocked gathering. Who has a motive for murdering the young aristocrat?
Minotaur Books * 9781250024701

BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY by Helen Fielding
Pondering endless modern dilemmas, Bridget Jones stumbles through the challenges of loss, single motherhood, tweeting, texting, technology, and rediscovering her sexuality in --- Warning! Bad, outdated phrase approaching! --- middle age.
Knopf * 9780385350860

CHRISTMAS BLISS by Mary Kay Andrews
Christmas is coming, but Savannah antiques dealer Weezie Foley is doubly distracted: by her upcoming wedding to her longtime love, chef Daniel Stipanek, and also by the fact that her best friend and maid-of-honor, BeBe Loudermilk, is due to give birth any day --- and is still adamantly refusing to marry her live-in-love Harry.
St. Martin's Press * 9781250019721

THE DAWN OF CHRISTMAS: A Romance from the Heart of Amish Country by Cindy Woodsmall
Sadie enjoys her freedom away from home and her mission trips to Peru, but after four years, her Old Order Amish family insists it’s time to come home and settle down. Levi, a bachelor who distrusts women after a family heartbreak, also has no desire for romance. To keep their families from meddling in their lives, Sadie and Levi devise a plan --- but soon discover that the walls around their hearts are breaking down.
WaterBrook Press * 9780307732132

DEAD MAN'S TIME by Peter James
During the investigation of a savage burglary in Brighton, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace realizes he has kicked over a hornets nest of new and ancient hatreds. At its heart is one man, Gavin Daly, who has a score to settle and a promise to keep --- both of which lead to a murderous trail linking the antiques world of Brighton, the crime fraternity of Spain’s Marbella, and New York.
Minotaur Books * 9781250030184

THE FAMILY: Three Journeys into the Heart of the Twentieth Century by David Laskin
A century and a half ago, a Torah scribe and his wife raised six children in a yeshiva town at the western fringe of the Russian empire. Bound by their customs and ancient faith, the pious couple expected their sons and daughter to carry family traditions into future generations. But the social and political crises of our time decreed otherwise. The torrent of history took the scribe’s family down three very different roads.
Viking Adult * 9780670025473

GOOD GOD, LOUSY WORLD, AND ME: The Improbable Journey of a Human Rights Activist from Unbelief to Faith by Holly Burkhalter
For over 30 years, Holly Burkhalter has worked as an international rights advocate for victims of genocide, rape and injustice. Throughout most of her career, the heartbreak she encountered around the world --- and in her own life --- had convinced her that there was no such thing as a loving God. Then, Holly discovered a new truth: God was there --- in the grief, in the violence, in the questions. And God was good.
Convergent Books * 9781601425089

THE HEAVENS RISE by Christopher Rice
Deep in the swamps outside of New Orleans, Niquette Delongpre and her family uncover a well on their property that brings ancient things to the surface --- things that should have stayed buried. When Niquette is exposed to a small parasite, it triggers in her mysterious and dangerous powers. As she tries to come to grips with these new abilities and what they might mean for her future, she realizes that she is not alone.
Gallery Books * 9781476716084

HE WALKS AMONG US: Encounters with Christ in a Broken World by Richard and Renee Stearns
We often separate ourselves from people who are different from us, sometimes even intentionally. HE WALKS AMONG US is a great reminder of all the things we share in common --- hopes, dreams, heartaches --- and most important of all, it reminds us that He walks among us. All of us. This book offers great perspective from our brothers and sisters around the world.
Thomas Nelson * 9781400321865

HOW TO BE A GOOD WIFE by Emma Chapman
Good wife Marta has been married for so long that she can hardly remember a past without Hector. But now strange visions flit at the corner of her eye, including that of a blonde girl no one else can see. Is she losing her mind, or is she starting to remember something important?
St. Martin's Press * 9781250018199

IDENTICAL by Scott Turow
State Senator Paul Giannis is a candidate for Mayor of Kindle County. His identical twin brother Cass is newly released from prison, 25 years after pleading guilty to the murder of his girlfriend, Dita Kronon. When Evon Miller, an ex-FBI agent who is the head of security for the Kronon family business, and private investigator Tim Brodie begin a re-investigation of Dita's death, a complex web of murder, sex and betrayal dramatically unfolds.
Grand Central Publishing * 9781455527205

JFK IN THE SENATE: Pathway to the Presidency by John T. Shaw
Before John F. Kennedy became a legendary young president, he was the junior senator from Massachusetts. The Senate was where JFK's presidential ambitions were born and first realized. In the first book to deal exclusively with JFK's Senate years, author John T. Shaw looks at how the young Senator was able to catapult himself on the national stage.
Palgrave Macmillan * 9780230341838

JOHNNY CARSON by Henry Bushkin
In the '70s and '80s, “The Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson was the country's highest-paid entertainer and its most enigmatic. He was notoriously inscrutable, as mercurial (and sometimes cruel) off-camera as he was charming and hilarious onstage. During the apex of his reign, Carson's longtime lawyer and best friend was Henry Bushkin, who now shows us Johnny Carson with a breathtaking clarity and depth that nobody else could.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt * 9780544217621

JUST ONE EVIL ACT: A Lynley Novel by Elizabeth George
Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers and her partner, Inspector Thomas Lynley, discover that the case they've taken on is far more complex than a typical kidnapping, revealing secrets that could have far-reaching effects outside of the investigation. With both her job and the life of a little girl on the line, Barbara must decide what matters most, and how far she’s willing to go to protect it.
Dutton Adult * 9780525952961

THE KENNEDY HALF-CENTURY: The Presidency, Assassination, and Lasting Legacy of John F. Kennedy by Larry J. Sabato
John F. Kennedy died almost half a century ago --- yet because of his extraordinary promise and untimely death, his star still resonates strongly. On the anniversary of his assassination, celebrated political scientist and analyst Larry J. Sabato explores the fascinating and powerful influence JFK has had over five decades on the media, the general public, and especially on each of his nine presidential successors.
Bloomsbury USA * 9781620402801

THE LAST DARK: The Climax of the Entire Thomas Covenant Chronicles by Stephen R. Donaldson
Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery have fought for what they love in the magical reality known only as "the Land." Now they face their final crisis. Reunited after their separate struggles, they discover in each other their true power --- and yet they cannot imagine how to stop the Worm of the World’s End from unmaking Time. Nevertheless, they must resist the ruin of all things, giving their last strength in the service of the world's continuance.
Putnam Adult * 9780399159206

THE MEN WHO UNITED THE STATES: America's Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible by Simon Winchester
How did America become “one nation, indivisible”? What unified a growing number of disparate states into the modern country we recognize today? To answer these questions, Simon Winchester follows in the footsteps of America’s most essential explorers, thinkers and innovators. Throughout, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, and to what degree.
Harper * 9780062079602

NORMAN MAILER: A DOUBLE LIFE by J. Michael Lennon
J. Michael Lennon knew Norman Mailer for 35 years, and in writing this biography, he has had the cooperation of Mailer’s late widow, Norris Church, his ex-wives, and all of his children, as well as his sister, Barbara. He also had access to Mailer’s vast, unpublished correspondence and papers, and he interviewed dozens of people who knew him.
Simon & Schuster * 9781439150191

ORR: My Story by Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr is often referred to as the greatest ever to play the game of hockey. But all the brilliant achievements leave unsaid as much as they reveal. Orr is speaking out now because “I am a parent and a grandparent and I believe that I have lessons worth passing on.” ORR: MY STORY is more than a book about hockey --- it is about the making of a man.
Putnam Adult * 9780399161759

POLICE: A Harry Hole Novel by Jo Nesbø
For years, detective Harry Hole has been at the center of every major criminal investigation in Oslo. His dedication to his job and his brilliant insights have saved the lives of countless people. But now, with those he loves most facing terrible danger, Harry is not in a position to protect anyone. Least of all himself...
Knopf * 9780307960498

QUIET DELL by Jayne Anne Phillips
Weeks after meeting a chivalrous, elegant man named Harry Powers, Asta Eicher and her three children are dead. Journalist Emily Thornhill becomes deeply invested in understanding what happened, and allies herself with a banker who is wracked by guilt for not saving Asta. She goes to West Virginia to cover the murder trial and to investigate the story herself, accompanied by a charming and unconventional photographer who is equally drawn to the case.
Scribner * 9781439172537

THE REASON FOR MY HOPE: Salvation by Billy Graham
The saving message of the Gospel is the heartbeat of preacher and evangelist Billy Graham. Millions around the world have heard Graham proclaim this unchanging truth. He has never forgotten the transformation of his own life, when he first said yes to God’s gift of salvation, and he has witnessed multitudes turn their hearts to the God of Hope. THE REASON FOR MY HOPE presents the essence of that transformative message.
Thomas Nelson * 9780849947612

THE WOLVES OF MIDWINTER: The Wolf Gift Chronicles by Anne Rice
In THE WOLF GIFT, the first of her strange and mythic imaginings of the world of wolfen powers, Anne Rice conjured up a daring new world set against the wild and beckoning California coast. Now in her new novel, Rice takes us once again to the rugged coastline of Northern California, to the grand mansion at Nideck Point, and further explores the unearthly education of her transformed Man Wolf.
Knopf * 9780385349963

October 17th

DUKE: A Life of Duke Ellington by Terry Teachout
Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington was the greatest jazz composer of the 20th century --- and an impenetrably enigmatic personality whom no one, not even his closest friends, claimed to understand. DUKE peels away countless layers of Ellington’s evasion and public deception to tell the unvarnished truth about the creative genius.
Gotham * 9781592407491

SEVEN DEADLIES: A Cautionary Tale by Gigi Levangie Grazer
A ninth grader on a full scholarship at a fancy private school in Beverly Hills, Mexican American Perry Gonzalez is an aspiring writer who has penned seven deadly stories --- all drawn from her observations of the privileged teens around her. Greed, for instance, is evoked by an ambitious youngster with a Ponzi scheme that could wreck his own grandmother, while lust surfaces dangerously at a private concert involving the Judas Brothers.
Blue Rider Press * 9780399166730

SPIRIT OF STEAMBOAT: A Walt Longmire Story by Craig Johnson
Sheriff Walt Longmire is reading A CHRISTMAS CAROL in his office on December 24th when he’s interrupted by a mysterious young woman with more than a few questions about his predecessor, Lucian Connally. Lucian swears he’s never laid eyes on the woman before. Disappointed, she whispers “Steamboat” and begins a story that takes them all back to Christmas Eve 1988, when three people died in a terrible crash and a young girl had the slimmest chance of survival.
Viking Adult * 9780670015788

October 15th

THE GOVERNESS OF HIGHLAND HALL: Edwardian Brides, Book One by Carrie Turansky
Paperback Original
Worlds lie between the marketplaces of India and the halls of a magnificent country estate like Highland Hall. Will Julia be able to find her place when a governess is neither upstairs family nor downstairs help?
Multnomah Books * 9781601424969

ILLUMINATIONS: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharratt
Offered to the Church at the age of eight, Hildegard von Bingen was entombed in a small room where she was expected to live out her days in silent submission. Instead, she found comfort and grace in studying books, growing herbs, and rejoicing in her own secret visions of the divine. Some 30 years later, Hildegard broke out of her prison with the heavenly calling to speak and write about her visions and to liberate her sisters and herself from the soul-destroying anchorage.
Mariner Books * 9780544106536

THE LITTLE BOOKSTORE OF BIG STONE GAP: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book by Wendy Welch
Wendy Welch and her husband had always dreamed of owning a bookstore, so when they left their high-octane jobs for a simpler life in an Appalachian coal town, they seized an unexpected opportunity to pursue their dream. Against all odds, but with optimism, the help of their Virginian mountain community, and an abiding love for books, they succeeded in establishing more than a thriving business --- they built a community.
St. Martin's Griffin * 9781250031617

MAN IN THE EMPTY SUIT by Sean Ferrell
Every year, a time traveler throws a party with all the other versions of who he has been and who he will be. However, the year he turns 39, the party takes a turn for the worse. He encounters the body of his 40-year-old self, dead of a gunshot wound to the head. He has one year to save himself, and all the other guests. But can he trust his past and future selves?
Soho Press * 9781616953010

MENNONITE MEETS MR. RIGHT: A Memoir of Faith, Hope, and Love by Rhoda Janzen
Paperback Original
At the end of her bestselling memoir, MENNONITE IN A LITTLE BLACK DRESS, Rhoda Janzen had reconnected with her family roots, though her future felt uncertain. When this overeducated professor starts dating the most unlikely of men --- a weight-liftin', church-goin', truck-drivin' rocker named Mitch --- she begins a surprising journey to faith and love.
Grand Central Publishing * 9781455502875

MICK JAGGER by Philip Norman
From exclusive interviews with those closest to Mick Jagger, such as ex-girlfriends Chrissie Shrimpton and Cleo Sylvestre, which shed light on little seen aspects of Jagger's personality, to record-straightening revelations about Jagger's infamous 1967 drugs bust and the notorious Altamont concert, Philip Norman's groundbreaking biography crafts a vivid portrait of the real man behind the swagger, little glimpsed and much misunderstood.
Ecco * 9780061944864

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
Charles Talent Manx likes to take children for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing --- and terrifying --- playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.” Victoria McQueen, the only kid to ever escape Manx’s unmitigated evil, is all grown up now and desperate to forget. But Manx is on the road again and has picked up a new passenger: Vic’s own son.
William Morrow Paperbacks * 9780062200587

A RELUCTANT COURTSHIP: The Daughters of Bainbridge House, Book 3 by Laurie Alice Eakes
Paperback Original
Honore Bainbridge has been courted by two men, one of whom turned out to be a traitor, the other a murderer. Banished to her family's country estate, she finally meets the man she is sure is exactly right for her: Lord Ashmoor. But he too is under suspicion because of his American upbringing and accusations that he has helped French prisoners escape from Dartmoor Prison. Though they find themselves drawn to each other, family obligations may conspire to keep them apart forever.
Revell * 9780800734688

UNDER A BLACKBERRY MOON by Serena B. Miller
Paperback Original
Just a few days after she gives birth alone in the Northwoods, a recently widowed young Chippewa woman stumbles into a nearby lumber camp in search of refuge and sustenance. Come summer, the camp owner sends Skypilot, his most trusted friend, to accompany Moon Song and her baby on the long and treacherous journey back to her people. But when tragedy strikes off the shore of Michigan's Upper Peninsula wilderness, Moon Song and Skypilot must depend on each other for survival.
Revell * 9780800721183

THE WALL AROUND YOUR HEART: How Jesus Heals You When Others Hurt You by Mary DeMuth
Paperback Original
In THE WALL AROUND YOUR HEART, Mary DeMuth shows you that you can reach wholeness and healing in the aftermath of painful relationships by following the road map of the Lord’s Prayer. You’ll walk through story after story of hurt people who are led through biblical truth into amazing, life-sustaining, joyful growth.
Thomas Nelson * 9781400205219

THE WALNUT TREE: A Holiday Tale by Charles Todd
While visiting France in the summer of 1914, Lady Elspeth Douglas is stranded at the port city of Calais with a sea of travelers, soldiers and refugees trying to leave the continent after the Germans invade Belgium at the start of World War I. She begins heroically carrying water to weary soldiers near the front, where she is rescued from a German shelling by Captain Peter Gilchrist. Once she is safely home in England, she cannot forget the gallant captain.
William Morrow Paperbacks * 9780062236876

WHEN WE WERE ON FIRE: A Memoir of Consuming Faith, Tangled Love, and Starting Over by Addie Zierman
Paperback Original
In the strange, us-versus-them Christian subculture of the 1990s, a person’s faith was measured by how many WWJD bracelets she wore and whether he had kissed dating goodbye. Evangelical poster child Addie Zierman wore three bracelets asking what Jesus would do. She also led two Bible studies and listened exclusively to Christian music. She was on fire for God and unaware that the flame was dwindling --- until it burned out.
Convergent Books * 9781601425454

YOUNG PHILBY by Robert Littell
When Kim Philby fled to Moscow in 1963, he became the most notorious double agent in the history of espionage. Recruited into His Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service at the beginning of World War II, he rose rapidly in the ranks to become the chief liaison officer with the CIA in Washington after the war. Robert Littell recounts the little-known story of the spy's early years.
St. Martin's Griffin * 9781250037565