The January/February 2003 Book Sense 76 Preview
Dear Booksellers,
Another great 76! Thank you for the terrific recommendations. Another 2,000 nominations to choose from!
By the way, if you notice some February pubs missing here that you passionately e-mailed me about already, don't fear; I'm holding them for March/April, which is looking great already!!
Reminder: We're doing a History 76 Top Ten with the History Channel, and I need any recommendations from you in that category by January 17, a week before the January 24 March/April deadline. Don't worry; I'll remind you again in January, apres le deluge.
Carl
carl@booksense.com
1. MICHELANGELO AND THE POPE'S CEILING, by Ross King (Walker, $28, 0802713955; Jan.) Also an Audio Partners Audio (1572703059)
2. THE PASSION OF ARTEMISIA, by Susan Vreeland (Penguin, $13 paper, 0142001821, Dec. 31)
3. COAL: A Human History, by Barbara Freese (Perseus, $25, 0738204005; Dec.)
4. SAMARITAN, by Richard Price (Knopf, $25, 0375411151; Jan. 7) Also a Random House Audio CD (0739302175)
5. THAT OLD ACE IN THE HOLE, by Annie Proulx (Scribner, $26, 0684813076; Dec.) Also an S&S Audio (0743524977; CD, 0743524985)
6. OLD FLAMES, by John Lawton (Atlantic, $24, 0871138646; Jan.)
7. HAIL TO THE CHIEFS: Presidential Mischief, Morals & Malarkey from George W. to George W., by Barbara Holland (Permanent Press, $28, 1579620817; Jan.)
8. FOREVER: A Novel, by Pete Hamill (Little, Brown, $25.95, 0316341118; Dec. 30) Also an S&S Audio (0743509153)
9. SWEET DREAM BABY: A Novel, by Sterling Watson (Sourcebooks/Landmark, $22, 140220017X; Nov.)
10. ONE STEP BEHIND, by Henning Mankell (Vintage Black Lizard, $13, 1400031516; Jan. 14)
| For Word and Book Lovers ... which is all of us, yes? |
THE DIMWIT'S DICTIONARY: 5,000 Overused Words and Phrases and Alternatives to Them, by Robert Hartwell Fiske (Marion Street Press, $19.95 paper, 0966517679)
OUT OF THE FLAMES: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World, by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone (Broadway, $24.95, 0767908368; Oct.)
| February Is Black History Month |
EVERY TONGUE GOT TO CONFESS: Negro Folk-tales From the Gulf States, by Zora Neale Hurston (Perennial, $12.95 paper, 0060934549; Nov.)
| Do-It-Yourself (Pssst, guys, take a look; I did.) |
DARE TO REPAIR: A Do-It-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home, by Julie Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet (HarperResource, $14.95 paper, 0060959843)
| Rural Life |
Q ROAD: A Novel, by Bonnie Jo Campbell (Scribner, $24, 0743203658; Sept.)
THE RURAL LIFE, by Verlyn Klinkenborg (Little, Brown, $20, 0316741671; Dec.)
| Featured Novelists |
| Pairs of novels from six of our favorite authors Bernard Cornwell
Carol Goodman
Kathy Hepinstall
Jane Stevenson
Anne Ursu
Robert Wilson
|
| More Outstanding New Fiction in Hardcover |
BEHINDLINGS, by Nicola Barker (Ecco, $27.95, 0060185694; Dec.)
A BOX OF MATCHES, by Nicholson Baker (Random House, $19.95, 0375502874; Jan.)
CHILD OF MY HEART, by Alice McDermott (Farrar, $23, 0374121230; Nov.)
DANCER, by Colum McCann (Metropolitan, $26, 0805067922; Jan. 6)
GILLIGAN'S WAKE, by Tom Carson (Picador, $25, 031229123X; Jan.)
HIS MOTHER'S SON, by Cai Emmons (Harcourt, $25, 0151007349; Jan.)
MR. LINCOLN'S WARS, A Novel in Thirteen Stories, by Adam Braver (Morrow, $23.95, 006008118X; Jan. 7)
OFFICER FRIENDLY AND OTHER STORIES, by Lewis Robinson (HarperCollins, $23.95, 0060513683; Jan.7)
THE SEDUCTION OF SILENCE, by Bem Le Hunte (HarperSanFrancisco, $25.95, 006052197X; Jan. 7)
SNOW, by Maxence Fermine; translated by Chris Mulhern (Atria/S&S, $15, 074345684X; Dec. 24)
| New Fiction in Paperback |
THE ASH GARDEN, by Dennis Bock (Vintage, $13, 0375727493; Jan. 7)
BAGGAGE, by Emily Barr (Plume, $13, 0452283825; Jan.)
BIG STONE GAP, by Adriana Trigiani (Fawcett, $7.50, 0345459202; Jan. 1)
CAPTAIN SATURDAY, by Robert Inman (Back Bay, $13.95, 0316089737; Jan. 1)
EDINBURGH, by Alexander Chee (Picador, $13 paper, 0312305036; Nov.)
FAIR WARNING, by Robert Olen Butler (Grove, $12, 0802139566; Jan.)
FIFTH LIFE OF THE CATWOMAN, by Kathleen Dexter (Berkley, $13 paper, 0425186180; Nov.)
FINGERSMITH, by Sarah Waters (Riverhead, $15, 1573229725; Nov.)
GOULD'S BOOK OF FISH: A Novel in Twelve Fish, by Richard Flanagan (Grove, $14, 0802139590; Jan.)
THE LOVE OF STONES, by Tobias Hill (Picador, $14, 0312311311; Jan.)
ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET, by Sebastian Faulks (Vintage, $14, 0375704566; Jan. 7)
THE SIEGE, by Helen Dunmore (Grove, $13, 0802139582; Dec.)
SOPHIE AND THE RISING SUN, by Augusta Trobaugh (Plume, $13, 0452283493; Oct.)
| Humor ... and some bitter satire |
THE HARMON CHRONICLES, by Harmon Leon (ECW Press, $13.95 paper, 1550225278; Oct.)
KICK ME: Adventures in Adolescence, by Paul Feig (Three Rivers Press, $12.95 paper, 0609809431; Sept.)
THE MALCONTENTS: The Best Bitter, Cynical, and Satirical Writing in the World, edited by Joe Queenan (Running Press, $29.95, 0762413441; Nov.)
| Memoir and History |
AN ARMY AT DAWN: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, by Rick Atkinson (Holt, $30, 0805062882; Oct.) Also an S&S Audio (0743527151)
DEATH AT THE PRIORY: Love, Sex, and Murder in Victorian England, by James Ruddick (Grove, $13 paper, 0802139744; Jan.)
THE DEVIL THAT DANCED ON THE WATER: A Daughter's Quest, by Aminatta Forna (Atlantic, $25, 0871138654; Jan.)
EARLY MORNING: Remembering My Father, William Stafford, by Kim Stafford (Graywolf Press, $26, 1555973728; Nov.)
THE FROZEN-WATER TRADE: A True Story, by Gavin Weightman (Hyperion, $23.95, 078686740X; Jan.)
HIGH AND MIGHTY: SUV's -- The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way, by Keith Bradsher (PublicAffairs, $28, 1586481231; Sept.)
LUNAR MEN: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World, by Jenny Uglow (Farrar, $30, 0374194408; Nov.)
MEMOIRS: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics, by Edward Teller (Perseus, $18.95 paper, 0738207780, Nov.)
A NAME OF HER OWN, by Jane Kirkpatrick (WaterBrook Press, $13.99 paper, 1578564999; Sept.)
ROWING TO LATITUDE: Journeys Along the Arctic's Edge, by Jill Fredston (North Point, $14 paper, 0865476551; Oct.)
SIXTEEN SCANDALS: 20 Years of Sex, Lies, and Other Habits of Great Leaders, by William Strauss, Elaina Newport, and the Capitol Steps Comedy Troupe (Sourcebooks/MediaFusion, $24.95 book & CD, 1570718903; Oct.).
SOUL OF NOWHERE: Traversing Grace in a Rugged Land, by Craig Childs (Sasquatch, $22.95, 1570613060; Oct.)
THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN'T TALK: Why I Refused to Testify Against the Clintons & What I Learned in Jail, by Susan McDougal (Carroll & Graf, $25, 0786711280; Jan.)
| SF/Fantasy |
FOOL'S ERRAND: The Tawny Man, Book 1, by Robin Hobb (Bantam Spectra, $6.99 paper, 0553582445; Dec.)
KILN PEOPLE, by David Brin (Tor, $7.99 paper, 0765342618; Jan. 7)
THE MAQUISARDE, by Louise Marley (Ace, $23.95, 044100976X; Dec.)
| A few gems from last year we missed … until now. THE HOPE VALLEY HUBCAP KING, by Sean Murphy (Dell, $5.99 paper, 0440240891; Oct.) OUR BAND COULD BE YOUR LIFE: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981-1991, by Michael Azerrad (Back Bay, $15.95, 0316787531; July) SAMUEL JOHNSON IS INDIGNANT, by Lydia Davis (Picador, $13 paper, 0312420560; Sept.) SPARROWHAWK: Book One: Jack Frake, by Edward Cline (MacAdam/Cage, $13.50 paper, 1931561214; July) SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD, by Robert McCammon (River City Press, $27.95, 1880216620; Sept.) T'ONGIL: The Thirst for Love, by Julian Winter (Stillmind, $19.95 paper, 0971598118; July) |
Worth at least a moment's reflection in these strange times
THE ENIGMA OF ANGER: Essays on a Sometimes Deadly Sin, by Garrett Keizer (Wiley, $22.95, 0787957283; July)
| And to keep you going: Some early thoughts of spring CULTIVATING DELIGHT: A Natural History of My Garden, by Diane Ackerman (Perennial, $13.95 paper, 0060505362; Oct.) |
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
