Editor’s Choice
The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder, by Rebecca Wells, $25.99. Wells (“Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”) weaves more of the magic that made her a best seller. Calla Lily’s story may not be as involved or satisfying as that of the Ya-Yas, but she’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser thanks to her humble aspirations, ever-hopeful heart and perseverance no matter what fate throws at her. Publishers Weekly
FICTION
Killer Summer, by Ridley Pearson, $24.95. Best-seller Pearson makes the most of the theme of the lawman with a bunch of personal problems in his engaging third crime thriller to feature Walt Fleming, the likable sheriff of Sun Valley, Idaho (after “Killer View”). Publishers Weekly
Assegai, by Wilbur Smith, $27.95. Smith continues the saga of the Courtney family of Africa, begun in the 1890s with “When the Lion Feeds.” In this installment, Leon Courtney, ladies’ man and former lieutenant in the King’s African Rifles, becomes a professional big-game hunter and safari guide in the years leading up to WWI. Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne, by James Gavin, $27. The clouds rarely lift in this grim, perceptive biography of Hollywood’s first African-American screen siren. Gavin (“Deep in a Dream: The Long Night of Chet Baker”) makes clear that much of Horne’s perpetual frustration stemmed from the racism black entertainers faced in the era before civil rights. Publishers Weekly
The Road to Woodstock: From the Man Behind the Legendary Festival, by Michael Lang, with Holly George Warren, $29.99. In addition to providing an engaging record of the sights and sounds of the festival, Lang offers an in-depth look at the business behind the creation and execution of the event that all but defined the late 1960s. Well-written, informative and tons of fun, Lang’s book will be appreciated by rockers and musicologists of all ages. Kirkus
Next Stop, Reloville: Life Inside America’s New Rootless Professional Class, by Peter T. Kilborn, $26. Kilborn examines the nomadic lifestyles of the estimated 10 million American professionals “who were moved in the last year or two and will be moved again soon.” The number of these “Relos” has boomed since the 1970s with the growth of the U.S. economy and foreign trade, giving rise to suburban communities across the country (Relovilles) where most residents are white, affluent and continually on the go. Kirkus
PAPERBACKS
The Spies of Warsaw, by Alan Furst, $15. As the Nazis plan an invasion, France’s military attache in Warsaw does a little spying, eats good meals, travels a bit and spends time in pleasant surroundings with a lovely lawyer for the League of Nations. . . . There is all of the wonderfully wistful late-’30s atmosphere that is (Furst’s) specialty. Kirkus
The Black Death: A Personal History, by John Hatcher, $16. In an experimental narrative for an academic historian — blending some fiction with solid facts — Hatcher, of Cambridge University, offers a “literary docudrama” that looks at the lives of ordinary people during the Black Death that devastated Europe in the 1340s. Kirkus
Off Season, by Anne Rivers Siddons, $13.99. A widow returns to her family cottage in Maine, her late husband’s ashes and ornery cat in tow, and ponders her first experience of love and loss. Siddons frames the story around the sudden death of Cam McCall, Virginia architect. Kirkus
COMING UP
Manhood for Amateurs, by Michael Chabon, $25.99. A charming collection of autobiographical essays — on childhood, parenthood and lifelong geekhood — from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist. Kirkus
