While there are a few of the titles we've come to expect on the fiction charts over the summer, the fall does begin with a number of new titles, including something about a code and symbols that seems to be pretty popular. Margaret Atwood's post-apocalyptic story surges on the chart after a few weeks of heavy publicity, and Lorrie Moore returns after a decade and a half novel drought, so there are a number of interesting stories out there. Personally, I was pleased to see James Ellroy make the chart in a month when his gritty crime tale mixing fiction and reality was ready to be overshadowed by a number of big, big releases. If you went through the list of titles this month, you might actually be optimistic about the state of fiction (with the possible exception of Debbie Macomer's The Perfect Christmas, which seems ready to be a Hallmark special presentation ready to happen or possibly a movie starring Sandra Bullock and some British guy) as there's only one James Patterson title, but keep in mind, November is a whole new ballgame....
It's a follow-up to the Da Vinci Code, it's the fastest selling adult novel in history. Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon takes on Mal'akh, a tattooed and brilliant villain, while wrapped up in the secrets of Freemasonry that lurks all around him in Washington, D.C.
In the new installment of Gabaldon's "Outlander" series, time traveling nurse, Claire and her outlaw husband, Jamie take on the troubles of the late 18th century in America.
Part of the wildly successful Prey series, detective Virgil Flowers is back on the case, tackling a series of murders at an exclusive resort for women.
A: Theresa Park P: Grand Central C: Mainstream Fiction NYT: 4 LAT: 4 BS: 4
Soon to be a film starring Miley Cyrus, Nicholas Sparks revisits themes familiar to his readers: love, the beach, faith and unfortunate circumstances. Also, there are loggerhead turtles. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
In Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962, there are lines that are not crossed. With the civil rights movement exploding all around them, three women start a movement of their own, forever changing a town and the way women--black and white, mothers and daughters--view one another. Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger
When you inherit a cemetery, you should probably expect a few attached strings. In the case of twin nieces in London, it's their aunt haunting the premises. The Perfect Christmas, by Debbie Macomer
A: Theresa Park P: Mira C: Mainstream Fiction NYT: 1 LAT: BS:
A thirty-three year old woman wants a husband and to start a family more than anything. After trying everything, she gives in and and pursues the services of a matchmaker. For better or worse, Simon Dodson is a different kind of matchmaker...one that will help his client discover love right under her nose and right under the mistletoe. Hothouse Orchid, by Stuart Woods
Even a seasoned CIA agent like Holly Barker deserves a holiday after an international terrorist nearly takes her life. But a trip to Florida, where the aforementioned terrorist is in hiding and someone who nearly raped Barker in the past is now a police chief, may not have been the best idea.
Pat Conroy returns with his first novel in fourteen years with a book full of tearfilled moments as a gossip columnist in Charleston, South Carolina looks back on his life, his group of friends, and their loves and losses.
A: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh/William Morris Agency P: Little, Brown C: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense NYT: 7 LAT: BS:
Instead of an Alex Cross story, per se, this new entry in the endless parade of novels with James Patterson's name on the cover is a story told by Alex about the past. Alex tells the story of Ben Corbett, a brave lawyer at the turn of the century who takes on the Ku Klux Klan. The Year of the Flood, by Margaret Atwood
The final volume in Ellroy's Underworld USA trilogy is a brutal look at where politics, crime and voodoo (seriously...voodoo) collided at the end of the sixties, with Howard Hughes, J. Edgar Hoover and Richard Nixon as characters.
I don't know when the post-apocalyptic second novel of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series is set, but I'm quite certain I don't want to be around if this future comes to be as children are forced in a pop culture arena death match. A Gate at the Stairs, by Lorrie Moore
Although it's been a decade and a half since Moore's last novel was published, she hasn't lost a bit of her biting charm over those years. A Gate at the Stairs pokes dark fun at the midwest while simultaneously telling the story of a young, naive woman's coming of age.
The "girl with the dragon tattoo", Lisbeth Salander, returns in the second thriller in Stieg Larsson's posthumous trilogy in a thriller mixing journalism, cybercrimes, murder and sex trafficking. The White Queen, by Philippa Gregory
The wars of the Plantagenets are detailed by Philippa Gregory as the the kings and queens prior to the Tudor era battle for power, including the White Queen, Elizabeth Woodville. Woodville catches the eye of the young king and quickly pushes for her sons to rise up the royal ladder, until the Tower of London collides with her plans. Juliet, Naked, by Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby might not stretch himself as a writer outside familiar pop culture laden confessional themes, but he does them so well, it's hard to complain. Filled with longing and regret, Hornby's new novel tells the story of an out of love couple tied together (and driven apart) by the work of an obscure singer-songwriter.
Dan Gibson is a writer and editor who cannot resist the siren's call of Tucson, Arizona, moving away several times only to be drawn back again. He joined The Editorial Department in spring of 2009 to co-manage Between the Lines and to monitor and report on all manner of publishing trends. Between bouts of glazed-over staring at a computer screen, he tries to spend as much time as he can with his family, the stack of compact discs piled on his desk and playing soccer.
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