The November Indie Next List & Notables Preview

Here's a preview of the November Indie Next List now on its way to ABA member stores in the IndieBound movement.

I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass
(Pantheon, $24.95, 9780375422751 / 0375422757)
"Louisa -- solid, steady, dependable. Clem -- younger, rebellious, daring, and the favorite. This is a story, told over 25 years, of two sisters -- opposite as night and day, oil and water, yin and yang -- and how they remain connected. In my opinion, this is Julia Glass' best book yet!" --Vicki McNeil, Watermark Book Co., Anacortes, WA

The Fire: A Novel by Katherine Neville
(Ballantine, $26, 9780345500670 / 0345500679)
"After reading Katherine Neville's novel The Eight years ago, I had high expectations for this sequel. The Fire delivered more than I could have hoped -- history, intrigue, chess moves, fascinating characters, and an engrossing plot. A great read that I can't wait to recommend." --Susan Sinclair, Newtown Bookshop, Newtown, PA

The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir by John Grogan
(Morrow, $25.95, 9780061713248 / 0061713244)
"John Grogan has another winner in The Longest Trip Home, his reminiscence of growing up a somewhat reluctant Catholic. It's funny, romantic, and poignant -- an entertaining and worthwhile read." --Alec Milner, Vintage Books, Vancouver, WA

The Memorist by M.J. Rose
(Mira, $24.95, 9780778325840 / 0778325849)
"M.J. Rose does it again with The Memorist, another breathtaking thriller. She interweaves a multiplicity of themes involving a quest to resolve issues from the past, the music of Beethoven, a secret society, and the threats of terrorism -- bringing all the plot strands together for an incredible denouement." --Mary Alice Gorman, Mystery Lovers Bookshop, Pittsburgh, PA

Songs for the Missing: A Novel by Stewart O'Nan
(Viking, $23.95, 9780670020324 / 067002032X)
"Popular high school student Kim Larsen disappears from her Midwestern home. Yes, it's every parent's nightmare. And, yes, this book pulls you in with its quiet power and alternating moods of hope and doom, as you are drawn into reading it long into the night. Highly recommended." --Nancy Simpson, The Book Vault, Oskaloosa, IA

Between Here and April by Deborah Copaken Kogan
(Algonquin, $23.95, 9781565125629 / 1565125622)
"I loved Between Here and April, which on so many levels raises issues -- memory, facing the past and admitting its impact on the present, motherly love, and fidelity -- all in a novel that has a suspenseful race to its conclusion. Readers will be satisfyingly rewarded." --Cheryl McKeon, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA

Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff by Fred Pearce
(Beacon, $24.95, 9780807085882 / 080708588X)
"It's official: Everyone is going green. Sometimes, though, learning which behaviors really make a difference seems an impossible task. In Confessions of an Eco-Sinner, Fred Pearce is determined to find the truth by following his possessions from the cradle to the grave. What he learns is sometimes disturbing, occasionally rewarding, and always eye-opening." --Rachel Tavares, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ

Conspiracy of Silence by Martha Powers
(Oceanview, $24.95, 9781933515182 / 193351518X)
"Mystery lovers are in for a treat. Martha Powers' character, Clare Prentice, a Chicago journalist, begins to unravel secrets of her past ... and discovers that her whole life is a lie. A compelling, fast-paced story set in a small town determined to keep its secrets, Conspiracy of Silence is a must-read, not-to-be-missed mystery." --Melissa Wade, Vero Beach Book Center, Vero Beach, FL

The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford
(Crown, $19.95, 9780307405784 / 0307405788)
"Les Standiford gives us the chance to understand Dickens not only as an author, but as a person struggling to save his career, who, in the process, reinvigorates the Christmas spirit. Standiford excels at telling the story of historical figures in a way that reads like a novel, so we learn almost in spite of ourselves. This is an irresistible read for the holiday season!" --Rona Brinlee, The Book Mark, Atlantic Beach, FL

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
(Riverhead, $25.95, 9781594489990 / 1594489998)
"As always, Vowell is darkly hilarious and freshly informative. She pokes fun at the buckle-shoed Puritans who first settled here, but she also tells a story of how their quirks, foibles, and love of words formed our country's personality. Her distinct and sharply witty voice makes this book an edifying delight." --Laura DeLaney, The Rediscovered Bookshop, Boise, ID

A Mercy: A Novel by Toni Morrison
(Knopf, $23.95, 9780307264237 / 0307264238)
"With an economy of language that is both piercing and fine, Toni Morrison is a master in full stride as she takes us on a journey, set in 1680s America, where survival requires trust and dependence between people, particularly women, of different race and experience. Raising the question of the price of dominion, A Mercy explores the very art of thwarted mercy itself. This is a brilliant and flawless novel." --Sheryl Cotleur, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It by Tilar Mazzeo
(Collins, $25.95, 9780061288562 / 006128856X)
"The story of how -- in 1800s France -- this brave and cunning woman emerged from small-time broker to dominate the international luxury market is intoxicating. Mazzeo's prose is appropriately effervescent as she explores the secrets and science of wine making and the numerous factors that contributed to champagne becoming the world's most powerful symbol of celebration and the good life. A toast to Mazzeo for capturing the essence of a radical life -- cheers!" --Melba Major, Square Books, Oxford, MS

Once Were Cops: A Novel by Ken Bruen
(St. Martin's Minotaur, $22.95, 9780312384401/312384408)
"If you haven't read any Bruen yet, this gritty noir tale of a wild Irish cop on the loose in the NYPD is a great introduction. There are twists and turns aplenty is this riveting read." --Rich Chasse, The Kennebunk Book Port, Kennebunkport, ME

Hardly Knew Her: Stories by Laura Lippman
(Morrow, $23.95, 9780061584992 / 0061584991)
"It's fair to say that not many know Baltimore and Maryland as well as Laura Lippman, and her latest stories in Hardly Knew Her really delve into the lives of both the under-employed and the moneyed from every level. A terrific collection by a wonderful writer!" --Kathleen Dixon, Islandtime Books & More, Washington Island, WI

The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story by Matt Bondurant
(Scribner, $25, 9781416561392 / 1416561390)
"I loved this book -- an effective symbiosis of style, substance, and narrative technique. The novel absorbs the reader into its riveting account of the 1920s and 1930s Virginia moonshine trade and offers a fascinating perspective of American history. I was immersed from beginning to end." --Kristin Kirkham, The University Book Store, Madison, WI

The Eleventh Man: A Novel by Ivan Doig
(Harcourt, $26, 9780151012435 / 0151012431)
"A football team that makes the papers in 1941 goes to war in 1943, its players deployed from Europe to the Pacific -- all but the quarterback, who, son of a journalist, is assigned to chronicle their exploits for the wartime propaganda machine he loathes. Indelibly wrought characters and a plot that mixes love, treason, heroism, and history make this a blissfully good read." --Betsy Burton, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT

Second Violin: An Inspector Troy Thriller by John Lawton
(Atlantic, $24, 9780871139917 / 087113991X)
"Second Violin is the work of an accomplished author who draws you into the story through fully developed characters and plot twists that keep you engrossed. I'm not sure how I missed Lawton's earlier Inspector Troy titles, but I will make up for it by recommending them to anyone who loves historical fiction, thrillers, or just a good yarn." --Ann Carlson, Harborwalk Books, Georgetown, SC

The Best American Comics 2008, edited by Lynda Barry, Jessica Abel, and Matt Madden
(Houghton, $22, 9780618989768 / 0618989765)
"Lynda Barry gives us a volume that is an editorial miracle. The whimsical, the malicious, the heartbreaking, the surreal, the hilarious -- all the work included testifies to the vibrancy of the contemporary comic form. This is a collection to convert the remaining unbelievers and to excite the connoisseurs." --Josh Cook, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA

Freeman Walker: A Novel by David Allan Cates
(Unbridled, $25.95, 9781932961553 / 1932961550)
"Armed with his 'free' papers and a copy of the Declaration of Independence, seven-year-old Jimmy Gates is sent to England for an education by his owner-father. After his father dies, the schooling ends, as Jimmy becomes an apprentice, learning life's lessons from prostitutes and revolutionaries. Taking a new name, Freeman Walker grows into manhood on the battlegrounds of the Civil War and his adventures tell us much about freedom and bring home the message that 'freedom isn't free.'" --Barbara Theroux, Fact & Fiction, Missoula, MT

Fred Astaire by Joseph Epstein
(Yale, $22, 9780300116953/300116950)
"How could a string bean with an oversize forehead, jug ears, and an obvious toupee be one of the romantic leads of movie history? Epstein meditates on this heavenly hoofer from every angle, and the results will have you jonesing for a TCM movie marathon." --Daniel Goldin, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops, Milwaukee, WI

Fiction

The Long Knives Are Crying by Joseph M. Marshall III (Fulcrum, $24.95, 9781555916725 / 1555916724)

The Sin Eaters by Andrew Beahrs (Toby Press, $24.95, 9781592642366 / 1592642365)

Thank You for All Things by Sandra Kring (Bantam, $5.99 paper, 9780553591491 / 0553591495)

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (Orbit, $7.99 paper, 9780316033671 / 0316033677)

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (Little Brown, $24.99, 9780316154857 / 0316154857)

Nonfiction

Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict Between Faith and Reason by Russell Shorto (Doubleday, $26, 9780385517539 / 038551753X)

The Edge of Never: A Skier's Story of Fathers and Sons, Life and Death in the World's Most Dangerous Mountains by William Kerig (Stone Creek, $15.95 paper, 9780965633840 / 0965633845)

Holy Roller: Growing Up in the Church of Knock Down, Drag Out; Or, How I Quit Loving a Blue-Eyed Jesus by Diane Wilson (Chelsea Green, $24.95, 9781933392820 / 1933392827)

How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum by Keri Smith (Perigee, $14.95 paper, 9780399534607 / 0399534601)

Mona Lisa in Camelot: How Jacqueline Kennedy and Da Vinci's Masterpiece Charmed and Captivated a Nation by Margaret Leslie Davis (Da Capo, $24.95, 9780738211039 / 0738211036)

The Search for Spirituality: Our Global Quest for a Spiritual Life by Ursula King (BlueBridge, $24.95, 9781933346144 / 1933346140)

Something for the Pain: One Doctor's Account of Life and Death in the ER by Paul Austin (Norton, $24.95, 9780393065602 / 039306560X)

Underground America: Narratives of Undocumented Lives by Peter Orner (McSweeney's, $15 paper, 9781934781166 / 1934781169)

The Unfinished Game: Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century Letter That Made the World Modern by Keith Devlin (Basic, $24.95, 9780465009107 / 0465009107)

Mystery/Suspense

Blackbird, Farewell: A CJ Floyd Novel by Robert Greer (Frog Books, $25.95, 9781583942505 / 1583942505)

The Draining Lake: A Thriller by Arnaldur Indridason (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95, 9780312358730 / 0312358733)

Exposed: A Maggie O'Dell Novel by Alex Kava (Mira, $24.95, 9780778325574 / 0778325571)

The Night Stalker: A Novel of Suspense by James Swain (Ballantine, $25, 9780345475527 / 0345475526)

The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson (Vanguard, $25.95, 9781593154943 / 1593154941)

Stealing Trinity by Ward Larsen (Oceanview, $24.95, 9781933515175 / 1933515171)