Here we go again. It’s almost fall, and that means the publishing houses are pulling out the big guns, oddly enough just in time for the book world to have its say ahead of the holiday season. Maybe it’s coincidental.
Anyway, in the next few months, look for new fiction from such heavyweights as Alice Sebold, Tom Perrotta, Andrea Barrett, Patricia Cornwell, Richard Russo, William Trevor, Philip Roth and many more.
A newcomer, Brock Clarke, is stirring up interest in his “An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Houses in New England.”
And check the shelves for new nonfiction from the likes of Alan Greenspan, Robert Morgan, Paul Krugman, Edward Ball and Susan Faludi.
FICTION
The Abstinence Teacher, by Tom Perrotta, $24.95, Oct. – The author of “Little Children” returns with a story of an American family and what lies beneath the surface of the family members’ lives.
The Air We Breathe, by Andrea Barrett, $24.95, Oct. – Expanding on the lives of characters introduced in “Ship Fever,” Barrett sets her new novel in the days preceding American involvement in World War I.
The Almost Moon, by Alice Sebold, $24.99, Oct. – A woman steps over the line and kills her mother in the opening sentence of this new book from the author of the wildly popular “The Lovely Bones.”
An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England, by Brock Clarke, $23.95, Sept. – Teenager Sam Pulsifer never intended to burn down the Emily Dickinson House. And he certainly never intended to kill two people in the process. Now after his time in prison, he’s ready to get on with his life.
Beethoven Was One-Sixteenth Black, by Nadine Gordimer, $20, Dec. – The Nobel winner returns with a collection of stories on politics, memory, sexuality and love.
Book of the Dead, by Patricia Cornwell, $26.95, Oct. – In another of the author’s widely successful Dr. Kay Scarpetta novels, the good doctor deals with a string of brutal and baffling crimes.
Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo, $26.95, Oct. – Six years after winning a Pulitzer for “Empire Falls,” Russo returns with a sequel that has the author’s trademark small- town lives and families.
Certain Girls, by Jennifer Weiner, $26, Oct. – The long-awaited sequel to “Good in Bed” picks up with Cannie Shapiro a little older and wiser and even thinner while she raises her rebellious daughter.
Cheating at Canasta, by William Trevor, $24.95, Oct. Twelve new stories from the short-fiction master deal with regret, deception, adultery, aging and forgiveness.
Double Cross, by James Patterson, $27.99, Nov. – This newest from the prolific thriller author reunites the reader with Washington, D.C., police psychologist Alex Cross as he’s hot on the heels of another serial killer.
Exit Ghost, by Philip Roth, $26, Oct. – The protagonist of nine of Roth’s novels, Nathan Zuckerman, returns after 11 years to a New York he doesn’t recognize.
A Free Life, by Ha Jin, $26, Oct. – Jin’s story surrounds a family of three Chinese immigrants to the United States in the 1980s.
The Ghost, by Robert Harris, $26, Oct. – The author of “Pompeii” and “Imperium” returns with a tale of politics centering on a retired British prime minister who hires a ghost writer to pen his memoirs. Intrigue happens when the writer finds out too much.
Last Night at the Lobster, by Stewart O’Nan, $19.95 Nov. – The Red Lobster has been shut, but manager Manny DeLeon needs to navigate a tricky last shift and persuade his disgruntled staff to serve the final group of customers.
Playing for Pizza, by John Grisham, $27.95, Sept. – After an NFL quarterback has a remarkably awful performance, he winds up playing for a professional team in Italy.
Pontoon, by Garrison Keillor, $25.95, Sept. – Keillor continues the story of Lake Wobegon and all the assorted eccentrics who drive each other just a little bit crazy.
Protect and Defend, by Vince Flynn, $26.95, Oct. – No longer willing to wait for the world to deal with Iran, Israel destroys Iran’s two nuclear facilities. Iran swears vengeance against Israel and its patron, the United States.
The Race, by Richard North Patterson, $26, Nov. – Patterson is known for his topical novels and this one centers on a maverick candidate for president as he takes on his enemies and the ruthless American political machine.
Run, by Ann Patchett, $25.95, Sept. A novel about secrets, duty to family as well as familial responsibilities, and just how far a parent will go to protect his children.
Signed, Mata Hari, by Yannick Murphy, $23.99, Nov. – Murphy fictionalizes the story of the dancer who was accused of being a German spy in World War I and executed for her trouble.
Sundown, Yellow Moon, by Larry Watson, $25.95, Sept. – Watson (“Montana 1948”) sets his story of passion, grief and the nature of memory in North Dakota this time.
Tree of Smoke, by Denis Johnson, $27.50, Sept. – Johnson provides a wrap-up of the Vietnam War by following the exploits of a nephew who a Vietnam War hero is training as a spy.
World Without End, by Ken Follett, $35, Oct. – Eighteen years after his “Pillars of the Earth” became his bestselling book, Follett is back with a sequel. Set in 12th century England this epic is filled with pride and ambition, love and honor, vengeance and greed.
NONFICTION
The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, by Alan Greenspan, $35, Sept. – Greenspan was Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 1987 to 2006. Here he explains the new world economic order that has sprung up since the attacks on 9/11.
Boom! Aftershocks of the Sixties, by Tom Brokaw, $27.95, Nov. The former TV anchor examines how famous people, ordinary citizens and the national mindset were affected by turbulent times.
Boone: A Biography, by Robert Morgan, $29.95, Oct. – The author of the best-selling novel “Gap Creek” not only tells the story of frontiersman Daniel Boone but also of a nascent country.
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War, by David Halberstam, $35, Sept. – The late author offers a narrative of the political decisions and miscalculations of both sides as he tells the story of America’s forgotten war.
The Conscience of a Liberal, by Paul Krugman, $25.95, Oct. – The economist and New York Times columnist takes a look at the past 80 years of U.S. history, weaving an account of three generations of history with political, social and economic analysis.
The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944, by Rick Atkinson, $35, Oct. – Pulitzer Prize-winner Atkinson follows his “Army at Dawn,” about the allied campaign in North Africa, with this look at American and British forces invading Italy.
The Genetic Strand: Exploring a Family History Through DNA, by Edward Ball, $25, Nov. – Ball’s “Slaves in the Family” won the National Book Award, and the author returns with a forensic examination of his family history.
Fair Game: My Life As a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, by Valerie Plame, $26, Oct. – The CIA operative and subject of a much-watched congressional investigation tells her side of the story.
The Great Upheaval: America and the Birth of the Modern World 1788-1800, by Jay Winik, $29.95, Sept. – It was a short amount of time as history goes, but it saw a world war, emerging ideologies, the toppling of a world dynasty and the first modern conflict between Islam and a resurgent Christian empire.
Head and Heart: American Christianities, by Garry Wills, $27.95, Oct. – Religious writer Wills attempts to answer such questions as: Why is it that the struggle within American Christianity has always been between the head and the heart, between reason and emotion, enlightenment and evangelism?
