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In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of December 13th and December 20th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.
This week, we are calling attention to our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks feature for December, which includes Indie Next, LibraryReads, Reese's Book Club, the "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, and more.
Last Wednesday night, we hosted a very special and FUN “Bookaccino Live” event. As part of Bookreporter's 25th anniversary celebration, 10 of our longtime reviewers --- Sarah Rachel Egelman, Megan Elliott, Pauline Finch, Harvey Freedenberg, Bronwyn Miller, Rebecca Munro, Eileen Zimmerman Nicol, Ray Palen, Norah Piehl and Stuart Shiffman --- talked about their three favorite books of 2021. Their selections cover a wide variety of genres, and there may be a few titles here that you didn’t have on your radar that you will want to check out.
Please note that Jana Siciliano, who was to be our 11th reviewer guest, was not able to join us due to illness. She did submit notes about her three selections, and we were planning to read them towards the end of the program. But as the event ran a bit longer that we had anticipated, we turned her comments into a blog post, which you can check out here.
If you missed the event, click here to watch the full presentation and here to listen to the podcast. We have timestamped the program, so if you would like to hear from a specific reviewer, you easily can do that! Also, a list of all the featured titles (including Jana’s picks) are here. Above you can see Carol; our Editorial Director, Tom Donadio; and all 10 reviewers as we appeared on Zoom, “Brady Bunch”-style.
For those of you who are doing online shopping, if you use the store links below, Bookreporter.com gets a small affiliate fee on your purchases. We would appreciate your considering this!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound
Upcoming Virtual Book and Author Events
As so many book and author events are happening online these days, we are highlighting a number of them that you may be interested in attending. Click on the links below for more info and to register.
Wednesday, December 15th at 7pm ET: Books & Books: Books & Books and Miami Book Fair present a virtual event with Siri Hustvedt, who will discuss her new essay collection, MOTHERS, FATHERS, AND OTHERS, with Sara Ruhl.
Wednesday, December 15th at 7pm ET: "Friends and Fiction": Join the "Friends and Fiction" authors --- Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey and Patti Callahan Henry --- for their special Christmas show!
Wednesday, December 15th at 8pm ET: Belmont Books: Belmont Books, Murder By The Book and Grand Central Publishing invite you to join Colleen Hoover as she discusses her book, VERITY, with fellow bestselling author Tarryn Fisher.
Wednesday, December 15th at 8pm ET: Murder By The Book: Matt Coyle will be in conversation with Maegan Beaumont about his new Rick Cahill novel, LAST REDEMPTION.
Wednesday, December 15th at 10pm ET: Mysterious Galaxy: Mysterious Galaxy presents a virtual event with Shea Ernshaw, author of A HISTORY OF WILD PLACES, who will be in conversation with Erika Swyler.
Thursday, December 16th at 7pm ET: Warwick's: Warwick's will host Sam Quinones as he launches his new book, THE LEAST OF US: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth, in conversation with Sherri Walker Hobson.
This Week's Bonus News:
Our Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks for December
Each month, we share top book picks from Indie Next and LibraryReads, as well as the Target Book Club title and Costco's "Buyer's Pick." We also feature a number of other prominent picks, including Oprah’s Book Club, the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Reese's Book Club, Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club, the "Good Morning America" Book Club, and Simon & Schuster’s Book Club Favorites.
Below is a preview of December's "Favorite Monthly Lists & Picks." For the complete Indie Next and LibraryReads lists, as well as additional links pertaining to this month's selections, please click here.
Indie Next
#1 Pick: SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE by Claire Keegan
PEOPLE FROM MY NEIGHBORHOOD: Stories written by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Ted Goossen
DAVA SHASTRI'S LAST DAY by Kirthana Ramisetti
THE ANOMALY written by Hervé Le Tellier, translated by Adriana Hunter
WISH YOU WERE HERE by Jodi Picoult
LibraryReads
Top Pick: THE BALLERINAS by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
BEASTS OF A LITTLE LAND by Juhea Kim
BRIGHT BURNING THINGS by Lisa Harding
THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS written by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai
A HISTORY OF WILD PLACES by Shea Ernshaw
Target Book Club
ATOMIC LOVE by Jennie Fields
Costco's "Buyer's Pick"
GO TELL THE BEES THAT I AM GONE by Diana Gabaldon
Reese's Book Club
LUCKY by Marissa Stapley
Jenna Bush Hager's "Read with Jenna" Today Show Book Club
BRIGHT BURNING THINGS by Lisa Harding
"Good Morning America" Book Club
DAVA SHASTRI'S LAST DAY by Kirthana Ramisetti
On Sale the Week of December 13th in Hardcover
December 14th
CREATIVE TYPES AND OTHER STORIES by Tom Bissell (Fiction/Short Stories)
A young and ingratiating assistant to a movie star makes a blunder that puts his boss and a major studio at grave risk. A long-married couple hires an escort for a threesome in order to rejuvenate their relationship. An assistant at a prestigious literary journal reconnects with a middle school frenemy and finds that his carefully constructed world of refinement cannot protect him from his past. A Bush administration lawyer wakes up on an abandoned airplane, trapped in a nightmare of his own making. In these and other stories, Tom Bissell vividly renders the complex worlds of characters on the brink of artistic and personal crises --- creative types who see things slightly differently from the rest of us.
Pantheon | 9781524749156
THE FORTUNE MEN by Nadifa Mohamed (Historical Fiction)
In Cardiff, Wales, in 1952, Mahmood Mattan, a young Somali sailor, is accused of a crime he did not commit: the brutal killing of Violet Volacki, a shopkeeper from Tiger Bay. At first, Mahmood believes he can ignore the fingers pointing his way; he may be a gambler and a petty thief, but he is no murderer. But as the trial draws closer, his prospect for freedom dwindles. Now, Mahmood must stage a terrifying fight for his life, with all the chips stacked against him: a shoddy investigation, an inhumane legal system, and, most evidently, pervasive and deep-rooted racism at every step. Under the shadow of the hangman's noose, Mahmood begins to realize that even the truth may not be enough to save him.
Knopf | 9780593534366
IT'S GETTING DARK: Stories written by Peter Stamm, translated by Michael Hofmann (Fiction/Short Stories)
Snowed in at a remote artists’ residency in Vermont, Peter recalls another Christmas some 30 years earlier, when he met Marcia by chance. Only now does he begin to see the consequences of their brief affair through a series of connections. When Hubert asks Sabrina to model for a sculpture, she’s flattered. But facing the finished product disturbs her, and she becomes determined to follow her double after it’s sold to a collector. Uneasy in his own skin, David decides to rob a bank. He’s heard that bank robbers often study the scene for weeks before they strike. So he’s started to lurk. In these powerfully affecting stories, Peter Stamm illustrates how fragile our reality really is, how susceptible to tricks of the heart and mind.
Other Press | 9781635420302
JANE AUSTEN'S LOST LETTERS: A Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery by Jane K. Cleland (Mystery)
Antiques appraiser Josie Prescott is approached by Veronica Sutton, who introduces herself as an old friend of Josie’s late father. She hands Josie a brown paper-wrapped package and leaves. Josie gasps when she sees what’s inside: a notecard bearing her name --- in her father’s handwriting --- and a green leather box. Inside the box are two letters in transparent plastic sleeves. The first bears the salutation, “My dear Cassandra”; the latter, “Dearest Fanny.” Both are signed “Jane Austen.” Could her father have really accidentally found two previously unknown letters by one of the world’s most beloved authors? Josie sets off on the quest of a lifetime to learn what Veronica knows about her father and to discover if the Jane Austen letters are real.
Minotaur Books | 9781250779380
SILENT PARADE: A Detective Galileo Novel by Keigo Higashino (Mystery)
A popular young girl disappears without a trace, and her skeletal remains are discovered three years later. When the prime suspect isn’t indicted, he returns to mock the girl’s family. And this isn’t the first time he’s been suspected of the murder of a young girl; nearly 20 years ago, he was tried and released due to lack of evidence. Detective Chief Inspector Kusanagi worked both cases. The neighborhood in which the murdered girl lived is famous for an annual street festival. During the parade, the suspected killer dies unexpectedly. DCI Kusanagi turns once again to his college friend, Physics professor and occasional police consultant Manabu Yukawa --- known as Detective Galileo --- to help solve the string of impossible-to-prove murders.
Minotaur Books | 9781250624819
On Sale the Week of December 13th in Paperback
December 14th
COUNT TO THREE by T.R. Ragan (Thriller)
Paperback Original
On her first day of kindergarten, five-year-old Tinsley disappeared without a trace. Five agonizing years later, her divorced mother, Dani Callahan, is a private investigator. She and Quinn Sullivan, a promising young assistant, are devoted to helping others find missing loved ones. And for Dani, finding Tinsley is still a never-ending obsession. Their newest case is Ali Cross, a teenager who vanished while walking home. A troubled boy’s eyewitness testimony to Ali’s abduction provides their only clues. And as their search for Ali gets underway, new information about Tinsley’s disappearance begins to surface too. As their investigations lead down two twisting paths, disturbing secrets are revealed and new victims find themselves in mortal danger.
Thomas & Mercer | 9781542093941
DOMINION: The History of England from the Battle of Waterloo to Victoria's Diamond Jubilee by Peter Ackroyd (History)
DOMINION, the fifth volume of Peter Ackroyd’s History of England, begins in 1815 as national glory following the Battle of Waterloo gives way to a post-war depression and ends with the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901. Spanning the end of the Regency, Ackroyd takes readers from the accession of the profligate George IV, whose government was steered by Lord Liverpool, whose face was set against reform, to the “Sailor King” William IV, whose reign saw the modernization of the political system and the abolition of slavery. But it was the accession of Queen Victoria, at only 18 years old, that sparked an era of enormous innovation.
St. Martin’s Griffin | 9781250812162
THE HOUSE UPTOWN by Melissa Ginsburg (Fiction)
Following her mother’s death, 14-year-old Ava is on a train heading to New Orleans, to stay with the grandmother she barely remembers. Lane is a well-known artist in the New Orleans art scene. She spends most of her days in a pot-smoke haze, sipping iced coffee, and painting, which has been her singular focus for years. Ava’s arrival unsettles Lane. The girl bears an uncanny resemblance to her daughter, from whom she was estranged before her death. Now her presence is dredging up painful and disturbing memories, which forces Lane to retreat even further into her own mind. As Ava and Lane attempt to form a bond, the oppressive heat and history of New Orleans bears down on them, forcing a reckoning neither of them are ready for.
Flatiron Books | 9781250784209
THE LOVE CON by Seressia Glass (Romantic Comedy)
Paperback Original
Sometimes Kenya Davenport believes she was switched at the hospital. How else could a lover of anime, gaming and cosplay come from STEM parents? Still, Kenya dreams of being able to turn her creative hobby into a career. She finally has a chance to make it big when she joins the reality show competition “Cosplay or No Way.” There's just one catch: the challenge for the final round is all about iconic pairs, and the judges want the contestants' significant others to participate. Unfortunately, Kenya is as single as can be at the moment. Luckily her best friend, Cameron Lassiter, agrees to be her fake boyfriend for the show. Can Kenya and Cam fake it until she makes it, or will she be real about her feelings, knowing it could cost her the best friend she’s ever had?
Berkley | 9780593199053
WILD THING: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix by Philip Norman (Biography)
Today, Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) is celebrated as the greatest rock guitarist of all time. But before he was setting guitars and the world aflame, James Marshall Hendrix was a shy kid in Seattle, plucking at a broken ukulele. Bringing Hendrix’s story to vivid life against the backdrop of midcentury rock, and interweaving new interviews with friends, lovers, bandmates and his family, WILD THING vividly reconstructs Hendrix’s remarkable career, from playing segregated clubs on the Chitlin’ Circuit to achieving stardom in Swinging London.
Liveright | 9781324091073
On Sale the Week of December 20th in Hardcover
December 21st
OBSERVATIONS BY GASLIGHT: Stories from the World of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye (Mystery/Short Stories)
OBSERVATIONS BY GASLIGHT is a thrilling volume of both new and previously published short stories and novellas narrated by those who knew the Great Detective, Sherlock Holmes. Beloved adventuress Irene Adler teams up with her former adversary in a near-deadly inquiry into a room full of eerily stopped grandfather clocks. Learn of the case that cemented the lasting friendship between Holmes and Inspector Lestrade, and of the tragic crime that haunted the Yarder into joining the police force. And witness Stanley Hopkins’ first meeting with the remote logician he idolizes, who one day will become his devoted mentor.
Mysterious Press | 9781613162613
On Sale the Week of December 20th in Paperback
December 21st
SLEEP WELL, MY LADY: An Emma Djan Investigation by Kwei Quartey (Mystery)
Hard-hitting talk show host Augustus Seeza has become a household name in Ghana, though notorious for his lavish overspending, alcoholism and womanizing. He’s dating the imposing, beautiful Lady Araba, who leads a self-made fashion empire. Fearing Augustus is only after her money, Araba’s religious family intervenes to break them up. A few days later, Araba is found murdered in her bed. Her driver is arrested after a hasty investigation, but Araba’s favorite aunt, Dele, suspects Augustus Seeza was the real killer. Almost a year later, Dele approaches Emma Djan, the only female PI at her agency. To solve Lady Araba’s murder, Emma must not only go on an undercover mission that dredges up trauma from her past, but navigate a long list of suspects with strong motives.
Soho Crime | 9781641293105
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