The November/December 2002 Book Sense 76 Preview

Dear Booksellers,

Well, you did it again. Thank you! A record number of submissions … and from a number of new voices. This 76 has more first-time nominators than ever, a very good sign.

Carl
carl@booksense.com

1. BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS, by Sijie Dai (Anchor, $10 paper, 0385722206; Nov. 1)

2. POPULATION, 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time, by Michael Perry (HarperCollins, $24.95, 0060198524; Oct. 8)

3. HOW TO COOK A TART: A Novel, by Nina Killham (Bloomsbury, $21.95, 1582342695; Oct. 1)

4. LYDIA CASSATT READING THE MORNING PAPER, by Harriet Scott Chessman (Plume, $13 paper, 0452283507; Oct. 29)

5. OFF TO THE SIDE, by Jim Harrison (Grove, $25, 0871138603; Nov. 1)

6. IGNORANCE, by Milan Kundera (HarperCollins, $23.95, 0060002093; Oct.)

7. THE LITTLE FRIEND, by Donna Tartt (Knopf, $26, 0679439382; Oct. 22) Also a Random House Audio (CD, 0553714031)

8. A PARCHMENT OF LEAVES, by Silas House (Algonquin, $23.95, 1565123670; Oct.)

9. IN HER SHOES, by Jennifer Weiner (Atria/S&S, $25, 0743418190; Sept.)

10. THE LAST NOEL, by Michael Malone (Sourcebooks, $19.95, 1402200129; Nov.)

AGE OF GOLD: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream, by H.W. Brands (Doubleday, $24.95, 0385502168; Aug.) Also a Random House Audio (0553713574)

AIDAN'S WAY: The Story of a Boy's Life and a Father's Journey, by Sam Crane (Sourcebooks, $18.95, 1570719039; Oct.)

ALFRED E. SMITH: The Happy Warrior, by Christopher Finan (Hill & Wang, $26, 0809030330; June)

CALLIE'S TALLY: An Accounting of Baby's First Year, by Betsy Howie (J.P. Tarcher, $22.95, 1585421758; Sept.)

CHOICE CUTS: A Savory Selection of Food Writing From Around the World and Throughout History, edited by Mark Kurlansky (Ballantine, $26.95, 0345457102; Oct. 29)

ELMER McCURDY: The Misadventures in Life and Afterlife of an American Outlaw, by Mark Svenvold (Basic, $25, 046508348X; Oct. 15)

HIDING PLACES: A Father and His Sons Retrace Their Family's Escape from the Holocaust, by Daniel Asa Rose (Three Rivers Press, $14 paper, 0609809156; Aug.)

IT'S A FREE COUNTRY: Personal Freedom in America After 9/11, edited by Danny Goldberg, Victor Goldberg, and Robert Greenwald (RDV Books/Akashic Books, $19.95, 0971920605; Sept.)

THE LAST TRAIN TO PARADISE: Henry Flagler and the Building of the Railroad That Crossed the Ocean, by Les Standiford (Crown, $24, 0609607480; Sept.) Also a Random House Audio (CD, 0553756842)

LIVES OF THE MUSES, by Francine Prose (HarperCollins, $25.95, 0060196726; Sept.)

MEASURING AMERICA: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise of Democracy, by Andro Linklater (Walker, $27, 0802713963, Nov. 1)

MY LOSING SEASON, by Pat Conroy (Nan Talese/Doubleday, $25, 0385489129; Oct. 15) Also Random House Large Print (0375431799) and Random House Audio (0553714074; Unabridged, 0553714090; CD, 0553714082)

NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG: On Forgotten Roads With an Indian Elder, by Kent Nerburn (New World Library, $15 paper, 1577312333; Sept.)

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS: The True Story of the Man Who Unlocked the Secrets of the Aurora Borealis, by Lucy Jago (Vintage, $14 paper, 0375708820; Oct. 29)

PATTERNS OF HOME: The 10 Essentials of Enduring Design, by Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow (Taunton Press, $34.95, 1561585335; Sept.)

PICASSO'S WAR: The Destruction of Guernica and the Masterpiece That Changed the World, by Russell Martin (Dutton, $23.95, 0525946802; Oct. 24)

SHOES OUTSIDE THE DOOR: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center, by Michael Downing (Counterpoint, $16.50 paper, 1582432546; Sept.)

TAILSPIN: The Strange Case of Major Call, by Bernard F. Conners (British American Pub., $26.95, 0945167504; Aug.)

WITTGENSTEIN'S POKER: The Story of a Ten-Minute Argument Between Two Great Philosophers, by David Edmonds and John Eidinow (Ecco, $13.95 paper, 0060936649; Sept.)

ALL IS VANITY, by Christina Schwartz (Doubleday, $24.95, 0385499728; Oct. 15) Also a Random House Audio (0739301993)

AN AMERICAN SUMMER, by Frank Deford (Sourcebooks, $24.95, 1570719926; Sept.)

ANNIE DUNNE, by Sebastian Barry (Viking, $24.95, 0670031127; Aug.)

AS HIGH AS THE SCOOTER CAN FLY, by Lia Nirgad (Overlook Press, $23.95, 1585673137; Oct. 10)

THE AUTOGRAPH MAN, by Zadie Smith (Random House, $24.95, 037550186X; Oct. 1)

BIG SNOW, by David Park (Bloomsbury, $24.95, 1582342490; July)

CARAMELO, by Sandra Cisneros (Knopf, $24, 0679435549; Sept.)

THE CAVE, by Jose Saramago (Harcourt, $25, 0151004145; Nov.)

CHASING RUMI: A Story About Finding the Heart's Desire, by Roger Housden (HarperSanFrancisco, $17.95, 0060084456; Oct.)

CLARA CALLAN, by Richard B. Wright (HarperCollins, $25.95, 0060506067; Oct.) Also a HarperAudio (1565117603)

THE CONQUEST, by Yxta Maya Murray (Rayo/HarperCollins, $24.95, 0060093595; Oct.)

THE DARK BRIDE, by Laura Restrepo (Ecco, $24.95, 006008894X; Sept.) (Spanish edition: LA NOVIA

OSCURA, $14.95 paper, 0060514310)

A GIRL, IN PARTS, by Jasmine Paul (Counterpoint, $24, 158243218X; Oct.)

HELLO TO THE CANNIBALS, by Richard Bausch (HarperCollins, $27.95, 006019295X; Sept.)

THE HOLY, by Daniel Quinn (Context, $25, 189395630X; Oct.)

I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT: The Life of Kate Reddy, Working Mother: A Novel, by Allison Pearson (Knopf, $23, 0375414053; Oct.) Also a Random House Audio (CD, 0739301721)

THE LOST GARDEN, by Helen Humphreys (Norton, $23.95, 0393051838; Oct. 14)

OYSTER BLUES, by Michael McClelland (Simon & Schuster, $19.95, 0743452593; Oct.)

PARADISE ALLEY, by Kevin Baker (HarperCollins, $26.95, 0060195827; Oct.)

THE ROUND BARN, by Suzi Wizowaty (Hardscrabble Books/University Press of New England, $24.95, 1584652829; Sept.)

QUEEN BEE OF MIMOSA BRANCH, by Haywood Smith (St. Martin's, $24.95, 0312300565; Oct.)

SALTHILL, by Judith Barnes (St. Martin's, $24.95, 0312290187; Oct.)

SECONDHAND SMOKE, by Patty Friedmann (Counterpoint, $25, 1582432171; Sept.)

SWAN, by Frances Mayes (Broadway, $25, 0767902858, Oct.) Also a Random House Audio (0553713779)

WELCOME TO HIGBY, by Mark Dunn (MacAdam/Cage, $25, 1931561176; Oct.)

WHITE APPLES, by Jonathan Carroll (Tor, $24.95, 0765303884; Oct.)

AVOIDANCE, by Michael Lowenthal (Graywolf Press, $16, 1555973671; Nov.)

BEAR V. SHARK, by Chris Bachelder (Scribner, $13, 0743219473; Oct. 29)

EDGEWATER ANGELS, by Sandro Meallet (Vintage, $13, 037572561X; Aug.)

THE ELEGANT GATHERING OF WHITE SNOWS, by Kris Radish (Spinsters Ink/Word Dist., $14, 1883523427; Sept.)

ERASURE, by Percival Everett (Hyperion, $14.95, 0786888156; Oct.)

FARM FATALE: A Comedy of Country Manners, by Wendy Holden (Plume, $13, 0452283027; Feb.)

THE FUTURE HOMEMAKERS OF AMERICA, by Laurie Graham (Warner, $14, 0446679364; Oct.)

THE HUNTSMAN, by Whitney Terrell (Penguin, $14, 0142001317; Aug.)

INNOCENTS, by Cathy Coote (Grove, $12, 0802139272; Sept.)

LIFE WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES, by Stephen Elliott (McAdam/Cage, $12.50, 1931561192; Oct.)

LOOK AT ME, by Jennifer Egan (Anchor, $14, 0385721358, Oct.)

NIAGARA FALLS ALL OVER AGAIN, by Elizabeth McCracken (Delta, $12.95, 0385336489, Nov. 1)

THE MINOTAUR TAKES A CIGARETTE BREAK, by Steven Sherrill (Picador, $14, 0312308922, Oct.)

THE PAINS OF APRIL, by Frank Turner Hollon (MacAdam/Cage, $7.50, 1931561141; Aug.)

THE PHARMACIST'S MATE, by Amy Fusselman (Penguin, $11, 0142002356; Oct. 29)

SALAMANDER, by Thomas Wharton (Washington Square Press, $14, 0743444159; Aug.)

STILL SHE HAUNTS ME, by Katie Roiphe (Delta, $12.95, 038533530X; Oct.)

WHY DID I EVER, by Mary Robison (Counterpoint, $14, 1582432554, Oct.)

POEMS SEVEN, by Alan Dugan (Seven Stories Press, $18.95 paper, 1583225129; Oct.)