The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon
Fans of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series are unlikely to wait and ask questions before grabbing a copy of her latest, The Scottish Prisoner. And the end of November release date ensures that this meaty hardcover will be showing up in a lot of holiday packages.
11/22/63 by Stephen King
As I write this, it is the 48th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and I have just finished reading Stephen King’s new novel about a man who goes back in time to try to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from firing the three bullets that would change the world, 11/22/63. What a ride!
The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen
Rebecca Rasmussen’s debut novel earlier this year was one of those quiet arrivals that seems to build on its own steam.
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Who’s to say, when we start a life, where we will end up? What will we do? What will we regret? What, if anything, will we understand? These are a few of the questions posed by Julian Barnes’ Man Booker Award-winning novel, The Sense of an Ending.
Archie: The Married Life
It’s a sliding doors world for Archie Andrews in Archie: The Married Life where we look at two possible realities for the eternal teen as he moves into adulthood. In one thread he marries the rich and sultry Veronica Lodge. In the other, he ties the knot with perpetual girl next door, Betty Cooper.
Jane Austen Made Me Do It: Original Stories Inspired by Literature’s Most Astute Observer of the Human Heart edited by Laurel Ann Natt
If we are at the zenith of Jane Austen-inspired hysteria, then Jane Austen Made Me Do It is its nadir.
Fiction: Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks
As in earlier works like Continental Drift and The Sweet Hereafter, in Lost Memory of the Skin, as Margaret Atwood said, Banks “takes us into the dark side of the dark side.” The light never looked so sweet.
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay
Those who were enchanted by Ami McKay’s 2006 debut, The Birth House, have been anxiously awaiting her sophomore effort. It feels like it’s been a long time coming.
American Apocalypse by Nova
An Internet success story when it was self-published, now in an edited and redesigned edition from Ulysses Press, this newly published edition of American Apocalypse: The Collapse Begins makes dystopia a little more stylish.
The Price of Escape by David Unger
It seems that just about everyone who has read or reviewed The Price of Escape has referenced Franz Kafka or Joseph Conrad. Or both. You don’t have to be a literary genius to understand that’s not necessarily a good thing.
We the Animals by Justin Torres
We The Animals, the first novel by Justin Torres, is a searing series of lightning-flash vignettes that, together, tell the story of three devoted brothers in what appears to be contemporary New York.
Happiness Economics by Shari Lapeña
Though Shari Lapeña borrows the title for her second novel, the economics of happiness is a real and growing field.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s new novel, The Language of Flowers, came with a lot of hype. I wasn’t sure it would live up to it.
The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson
It’s impossible not to compare The Lantern with Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel, Rebecca because it’s a comparison that’s not far off the mark.
Notorious by Roberta Lowing
There is something bold and redemptive in Roberta Lowing’s Notorious, a debut novel that, unfortunately, never fully lives up to either its early promise or the sum of its parts.
House of Holes by Nicholson Baker
Depending on who you read, Nicholson Baker’s latest work of (ahem) literary erotica is either “a ridiculous porn-fest” (The Guardian), “a bona fide filth-fest” (the Los Angeles Times) and “Gleefully Goofy” (The Toronto Globe and Mail). The funny thing? All of those things are true. And more.
The Full Moon Bride by Shobhan Bantwal
Shobhan Bantwal’s fifth novel covers ground that will be familiar to her readers and that, in some ways, reads like a page from her own life.
Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliette Grey
Though we all know where Grey’s trilogy is going to end up, it’s all about the journey with Becoming Marie Antoinette, the first of three novels featuring the doomed queen to be penned by newcomer, Juliet Grey.
Tales From My Hard Drive by Megan Karasch
At the very beginning of Tales From My Hard Drive, Melissa comes home from breakfast at an irritatingly hip Los Angeles noshery just in time to bust her husband playing at Cirque de Soliel with another woman in the backyard.
What’s Yours Is Mine by Tess Stimson
The fact that North Americans have heard very little from former journalist Tess Stimson is about to change. Her smart, sophisticated and well-reviewed stories of love and life have gained her a significant following in her native United Kingdom. But these days, Stimson and her family live in Vermont, so it’s entirely appropriate that she’s picking up readers on this side of the pond like crazy.
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb takes up the voice Lavinia Mercy Warren Bump, for most of her life known as Mrs. Tom Thumb.
French Lessons by Ellen Sussman
French Lessons surprises on every level. One expects a single dimensional romp. Think Bridget Jones or just about any film starring Rene Zellweger. But once there, deeply engrossed between those covers, you discover anything but. Sussman is a force to be reckoned with. If only we can get the rest of the world to understand.
