Best Books of 2013!

Best Books of 2013!

We've had an amazing year in books and are thrilled to be represented on so many Best of 2013 lists. Here's a look at the highlights:
BOOKLIST

Arts & Literature
     IN THE BODY OF THE WORLD by Eve Ensler

Biography
     JACK LONDON by Earle Labor

Health & Medicine
     IN THE KINGDOM OF THE SICK by Laurie Edwards

History
     THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel 

Social Sciences
     EBONY AND IVY by Craig Steven Wilder
     GOSPEL OF FREEDOM by Jonathan Rieder
     HOPE AGAINST HOPE by Sarah Carr
     IN THE NAME OF GOD by Cameron Stauth
     THE UNWINDING by George Packer

Adult Books for Young Adults
  
     A CHANCE TO WIN by Jonathan Schuppe
     THE GAMAL by Ciarán Collins

Books for Youth 
     ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell
     IF YOU FIND ME by Emily Murdoch

Audio for Adults
 
     HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny

 

KIRKUS REVIEWS 

Best Fiction
     LOOKAWAY, LOOKAWAY by Wilton Barnhardt
     BOX OFFICE POISON by Phillipa Bornikova
     GHOSTS OF BUNGO SUIDO by P.T. Deutermann
     MIDNIGHT by Kevin Egan
     JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS by Sebastian Faulks
     HAVISHAM by Ronald Frame
     TRANSCENDENTAL by James Gunn
     GOOD PEOPLE by Ewart Hutton
     SOMEONE by Alice McDermott  
     THE NIGHT GUEST by Fiona McFarlane
     SOMETHING MORE THAN NIGHT by Ian Tregillis
     THE LAND ACROSS by Gene Wolfe
     QUEEN VICTORIA’S BOOK OF SPELLS by Ellen Datlow 

Best Teen 
     ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell 

Best Nonfiction  
     THE GUNS AT LAST LIGHT by Rick Atkinson
     REPORT FROM THE INTERIOR by Paul Auster
     SHOUTING WON'T HELP by Katherine Bouton
     MORTAL SINS by Michael D'Antonio
     THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel
     THE SEARCHERS by Glenn Frankel
     THE GREAT DISSENT by Thomas Healy
     THE BOOK OF MY LIVES by Aleksandar Hemon
     THE BROTHERS by Stephen Kinzer
     A FORT OF NINE TOWERS by Qais Akbar Omar
     THE UNWINDING by George Packer
     MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward
     EBONY AND IVY by Craig Steven Wilder

 

LIBRARY JOURNAL

Top 10 Best Books of 2013   
     THE SEARCHERS by Glenn Frankel 

More of the Best 
     JACK LONDON by Earle Labor
     OWNING THE EARTH by Andro Linklater

Best Books 2013: Memoir 
     HER by Christa Parravani

Best Books 2013: Consumer Health 
     MIDLIFE EATING DISORDERS by Cynthia M. Bulik 

Best Books 2013: Sci-Tech  
     BUG MUSIC by David Rothenberg

Best Books 2013: Audio  
     LOOKAWAY, LOOKAWAY by Wilton Barnhardt
     HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Top 10 Best Books of 2013  
     MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward  

Best Fiction  
     PERCIVAL EVERETT BY VIRGINIA RUSSELL by Virgil Russell
     SOMEONE by Alice McDermott

Best Mystery  
     HOUR OF THE RED GOD by Richard Crompton
     HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny
     ENIGMA OF CHINA by Qiu Xiaolong

Best Poetry  
     METAPHYSICAL DOG by Frank Bidart
     INCARNADINE by Mary Szybist

Best SF/Fantasy/Horror  
     TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SCIENCE FICTION, edited by David G. Hartwell and Patrick Nielsen Hayden
     VICIOUS by V.E. Schwab

Best Comics
     THE PROPERTY by Rutu Modan

Best Nonfiction  
     MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward
     MORTAL SINS by Michael D'Antonio
     THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel
     FORTY-ONE FALSE STARTS by Janet Malcolm
     SCARCITY by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir
     THE UNWINDING by George Packer

Best Children's Fiction  
     ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell

Best Religion  
     MY BRIGHT ABYSS by Christian Wiman


SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL  

Best Fiction
     ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell
     FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell

LibraryReads logoAnd here are all of our LibraryReads’ selections from 2013:

September list 
     #1: FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell
     #2: HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny

November list
     #2: THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS by Julia Spencer-Fleming
     #8: THE RAVEN'S EYE by Barry Maitland

December list 
     #7: DANGEROUS WOMEN, edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois
     #9: THE TRIP TO ECHO SPRING by Olivia Laing

While it's not technically a "Best of 2013" list, NPR's Book Concierge is definitely a collection of favorites throughout the year. 

[...]

Know More...

Sneak Peek: The December 2013 Indie Next list

Sneak Peek: The December 2013 Indie Next list

Indie Next logoThe December Indie Next list was recently announced and we're thrilled that it includes so many wonderful Macmillan titles! 

THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS by Julia Spencer-Fleming
The eighth book in the Clare Fergusson and Russ van Alstyne series is also #2 on the November LibraryReads list and is celebrating a very special #BookBday today!

JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS by Sebastian Faulks
Bertie and Jeeves are back and in fine fettle, courtesy of Sebastian Faulks's homage to P.G. Wodehouse. Faulksie's done him proud: four outstanding starred pre-pub reviews. Well done, old chap!

THE HOUSEMAID'S DAUGHTER by Barbara Mutch
The great praise keeps coming in for this debut novel: "Rich in detail and subtle in its politics, this affecting novel tells a poignant, inspiring story." –Booklist, starred review

REPORT FROM THE INTERIOR by Paul Auster
In the bestselling author's most intimate autobiographical work to date, Auster describes his journey into adulthood through the postwar 1950s into the turbulent 1960s.

[...]

Know More...

2013 Tri-State Adult Book Buzz!

2013 Tri-State Adult Book Buzz!

Today is the Tri-State Book Buzz (12:30-5pm EST, #bookbuzznyc) where Anne will be telling you all about the super fabulous upcoming titles listed below!

JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS by Sebastian Faulks
Four pre-pub starred reviews! “In my humble opinion, Faulks has outdone Wodehouse.” — Publishers Weekly, starred & boxed review

AN OLD BETRAYAL by Charles Finch
The seventh book in Finch’s bestselling Victorian mystery series, starring his intelligent and charming sleuth extraordinaire Charles Lenox. 

ONCE UPON A LIE by Maggie Barbieri
In a dramatic departure from her Murder 101 series, Barbieri has written a riveting mystery about one burnt out mother's desperate determination to protect her family's future by facing down her past. 

THE ORPHAN CHOIR by Sophie Hannah
A standalone psychological suspense novel that is “Absolutely haunting, in every sense of the word.” — Booklist, starred review 

SNOWBLIND by Christopher Golden
Survivors of a blizzard twelve years ago are being haunted by the memories of those who died. Stephen King said, "Throw away all those old ‘it was a dark and stormy night’ novels; this one is the real deal.”

APPLE TREE YARD by Louise Doughty
A woman in the wrong place, at the wrong time with the wrong man—evocative of the psychological suspense and dangerous eroticism found in the blockbuster thrillers “Unfaithful” and “Fatal Attraction.” 

BAD WOLF by Nele Neuhaus
The next book in the internationally bestselling series that began with SNOW WHITE MUST DIE.

THE INNOCENT SLEEP by Karen Perry
A couple are restarting their lives five years after their son died in a tragic accident. But is the son really dead?

THE CAIRO AFFAIR by Olen Steinhauer
International politics are at play as an Egyptian agent, an American analyst, a CIA agent, and a bereaved wife all converge on Cairo to find out why a diplomat was assassinated.

DESTROYER ANGEL by Nevada Barr
In the next book in the Anna Pigeon series, Anna must rescue her four friends from armed thugs while on a camping trip with no access to the outside world and limited resources.

RUNNER by Patrick Lee
An explosive new thriller series starring retired special forces operative Sam Dryden. Library Journal called it “a high-tech thriller that’s hard to put down.”

NOTORIOUS by Allison Brennan
Brennan launches a new series starring investigative reporter Max Revere, a tough-as-nails lady with with her own TV show and a knack for solving cold cases. 

DOING HARM by Kelly Parsons
In this highly anticipated debut thriller from board-certified urologist Parsons, a doctor is about to get his dream job at a Boston hospital when he learns his patient’s mysterious death was caused by a sociopath he knows. 

WHERE MONSTERS DWELL by Jørgen Brekke
Two gruesome murders take place half a world apart in Virginia and Norway and are somehow connected to The Book of John—a journal bound in human skin written by a sixteenth century serial murderer from Norway. 

PRECIOUS THING by Colette McBeth
Rachel and Clara are two best friends who drift apart—until Rachel's job as a crime reporter leads her back to Clara, who turns out to be the missing person at the police press conference Rachel is covering.

SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler
An outstanding debut selected by the ABA for the Spring 2014 Indies Introduce program. Set in a small Midwest town, this deeply moving novel explores the age-old question of whether or not you can ever truly come home again. 

RADIANCE OF TOMORROW by Ishmael Beah
An uplifting and heartbreaking first work of fiction from the author of A LONG WAY GONE.

THE HEADMASTER’S WIFE by Thomas Christopher Greene
Inspired by a personal loss, this is a beautifully written, haunting and deeply affecting portrait of one couple at their best and worst. 

LOST LAKE by Sarah Addison Allen
Newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin have come to the Lost Lake Cottages in Suley, Georgia to find closure and peace and also find second chances and happiness. Have your hanky handy.


Can't make it to NYC? Don't worry, we've got you covered. Here's
the handout that went in everyone's gift bags. To those of you attending, see you soon!

 

[...]

Know More...

What ho?! FOUR stars for JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS!

What ho?! FOUR stars for JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS!

P.G. Wodehouse was one of the finest comic English writers ever, gifting the world with his delightful duo Bertie Wooster (a young man about town) and his butler, the inimitable Jeeves (the very model of the modern manservant). Now the Wodehouse estate has given their blessing to internationally acclaimed novelist Sebastian Faulks, who has brought Bertie and Jeeves back for the first time in nearly forty years in JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS

In this hilarious affair of mix-ups and mishaps, Bertie agrees to “help” his old friend Peregrine “Woody” Beeching regain his fiancée even though he's nursing a bit of his own heartbreak. Plan A fails spectacularly, and suddenly Jeeves ends up having to impersonate one Lord Etringham, while Bertie plays the part of Jeeves’ manservant “Wilberforce." From there the plot becomes even more hilarious and convoluted, in a brilliantly conceived, seamlessly written comic work worthy of the master himself. 

Critics agree, giving JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS FOUR STARRED pre-pub reviews, with major publicity expected from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, CNN.com, and the Daily Beast (to name a few), as well as a December Indie Next pick:

“Faulks has captured Bertie’s voice, his innocent zest and his spirited banter with Jeeves to a fare-thee-well... Faulks has risen to the challenge splendidly with this ‘homage’ to Wodehouse. Jeeves and Wooster live again!”
Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"OK, fine, this P. G. poseur gets the plot right, but what about the all-important patter, the Bertie-isms and the priceless Bertie-Jeeves dialogue duets. But Faulksie nails it again, evoking rather than imitating, but doing so in perfect pitch. Top drawer!”
Booklist, starred review

Let word go forth, from Mayfair to Herald Square, from Piccadilly to Kansas City: Jeeves and Wooster are back and in fine fettle. After sampling this tasty bonbon, Wodehouse fans and new readers will want to go back to the original series.”
Library Journal, starred review

“In addition to concocting an intricate farce complete with fresh metaphors and literary allusions worthy of the master himself, Faulks has varied the standard Wodehouse formula in ways both subtle and daring. The heartwarming denouement, which reveals how the godlike Jeeves has manipulated the action from behind the scenes, humanizes Bertie and Jeeves as Wodehouse never did. In my humble opinion, Faulks has outdone Wodehouse.”
Publishers Weekly, starred & boxed review


Well done, old chap!
Want to read what all the hullabaloo is about? Make sure to get whitelisted on Edelweiss and download your review copy. 

Edelweiss download button [...]

Know More...

css.php