Yesterday, I shared some of the book club recommendations I discovered while attending the highly popular Book Club Speed Dating session at Book Expo America.  Today, I’m sharing more of those recommendations, but combining it with another event that took place prior to BEA.

Harper Collins, the most supportive publisher of bloggers, IMHO, annually holds a Summer/Fall Book Preview for bloggers prior to BEA.  This year, since so many weren’t attending due to it being in Chicago rather than New York,  Harper Collins decided to do a live webinar preview.

Following are some of the titles I discovered during this preview. Since there are so many, I am breaking this up into two posts.

I’m so excited about so many of them!  I’ve listed the imprint for each group of titles.

Harper Books

 

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson (August 9):

August is a young woman who grew up in Brooklyn.  There was a side of Brooklyn where young girls were brilliant, talented, and had a future ahead of them.  Yet there was a darker side of Brooklyn, one in which parents abandoned their children, where young girls couldn’t walk down a dark hallway without fear of attack or abuse.

This book is a story of friendship, of hope, and the ever-shortening bridge between being a child and an adult.

 

 

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (September 13):

One instance, one chance encounter influences the lives of two families.  Spanning five decades, this novel showcases the connection the children involved forge in order to survive this tumultuous change in their lives.

 

The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick (October 11):

Róisín and François meet at a remote research facility in Antarctica.  The two couldn’t be any more different, yet the shared desire for a fresh start is what brings them together.  Unbeknownst to either one of them, their fates have been tied for centuries.

 

 

 

Ecco Books

Heat and Light by Jennifer Haigh (May 3):

Decades ago, coal mines in Bakerton helped fuel the country. Now, the mines have closed and the town is just a shell of its former self.  When they learn it sits upon Marcellus Shale, a massive deposit of natural gas, the remaining families are torn. Should they drill? Is the potential wealth it brings worth the health of their families? A wholly timely novel, this title reflects on a cast of characters and a community both blessed and cursed by the natural resources that sustain them.

The Risen by Ron Rash (September 6)

Honestly, this man could write gibberish and I would read it!  Luckily, that’s not the case!

One summer in 1969, two brothers (Eugene and Bill) meet a free-spirited, fiery red-head named Ligeia.  The relationship Eugene begins with her forces a wedge between him and his brother. Although the relationship ultimately ends, the rift does not.

Fast forward two decades. Bill has found success, while Eugene struggles to find his place in the world.  A reminder of the past forces Eugene to retrace history and the situations that helped shape his less than successful future.  Will uncovering the truth help heal him, move him forward? Or will it further his disillusionment and destroy the lives of those he loves?

Avon Books

A Scot in the Dark: Scandal & Scoundrel, Book II  by Sarah MacLean (August 30):

I don’t read a lot of romance. Nothing against it; it’s just not my thing.  But when I discovered Sarah’s books last year, I devoured them.  I’m quite thankful that my library keeps them in their collection; they are so good that I need to make them a permanent part of my personal library collection!

Harper Voyager

The Rift Uprising: The Rift Uprising Trilogy, Book 1  by Amy S. Foster (October 4):

The first in a trilogy, mixing speculative fiction with military thriller. Seventeen-year-old Ryn Whittaker is an elite soldier trained to protect a rift, a portal into alternate Earths that science is unable to close.  Her training is intense, for she’s never certain as to what sort of creature may attempt to pass through the rift into her world.  But when a seemingly harmless young man walks through, all of her training is useless.  He asks her questions about the rift that force her to question everything she has ever known, including the purpose of the rift itself.

Lost Gods by Brom (October 25): 

It’s quite hard to describe this one, other than it’s dark and chilling and totally my kind of book.

A young man must travel into Pergatory to save his wife and unborn child. Sound creepy enough? The illustrations are STUNNING. This is the talent that brought us Krampus. I’m sold.

Quite the list, right? Do any of these appeal to you? Come back later this week…there’s more!

As you may know, last week I was in Chicago attending Book Expo America.  Rather inundating you with dozens of update posts, I thought I’d share the takeaways I found most valuable.  The one that tops this, of course, is the annual Book Group Speed Dating session hosted by Reading Group Guides.

In this session, following the “speed dating” format, tables are visited by publicists sharing books they think would make great book club picks. It’s quite a session; given the hectic show floor we have more time to chat with publicists during this session than we do at any other time.  I look forward to this session each year!

There were DOZENS of titles shared (I’ll come back and link to the PowerPoint once it’s available), but rather than share them all I’ll share the ones I’m most interested in.  Note for the Fiction Book Club at One More Page Books: you will see some of these titles in the near future as book club picks!

Below, I’ve shared the title, the format (hardback or paperback) and the publication date! While many of these haven’t released yet, I’m hoping this post allows you to prepare your upcoming slate of book club reads! Since there were so many titles, there will be multiple posts!

Additionally, since each table was visited by a different slate of publicists, I do encourage you to visit other blog posts similar to this one! I didn’t get a chance to hear each publishing house’s picks, so I’m quite interested in hearing others’ perspectives as well!

Algonquin Books

Leave Me by Gayle Forman (Hardback, September 6):

We all know Forman from her tear-jerking young adult books. With this title, she makes her adult debut.

Maribeth Klein is an overwhelmed working mother. So focused on others that she doesn’t even realize she has a heart-attack.  Even more overwhelmed by her recovery, she packs up a bag and leaves. It is only then that she is able to get a new, fresh perspective on her life, perhaps seeing that she, too, plays a role in the increasing demands upon her own life.

 

Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt (Hardback, October 4):

It’s 1969. Sixteen-year-old Lucy decides to run off with her high school English teacher to “live off the land.”  When this dream turns into a nightmare, it is Lucy’s older sister and caregiver, Charlotte, who must find out what really happened.

 

The Good Negress by by A. J. Verdelle (Trade paperback, December 6):

Originally published in 1995, this title is set in the years leading up to the Detroit riots. Denise Palms, raised by her grandmother in rural Virginia, moves to Detroit to be reunited with her mother.  There, she’s expected to cook, clean, go to school, and take care of her mother’s baby once it is born.

But one of Denise’s teachers opens her eyes to her full potential, forcing her to reevaluate her life to see other possibilities.

 

 

The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers (Hardcover, January 2017):

Major Gryffth Hockaday is called off to fight in the Civil War, leaving behind his new bride and newborn son.  His wife, Placidia, is merely a teen herself, unfamiliar with how to run, much less raise a child, alone. By the time the Major returns two years later, Placidia is in prision, accused of giving birth to a child in his absence, and murdering it.

Told through court inquests, and journal entries.

Liveright 
The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky (Hardcover, October 11):

I was first introduced to Dermansky with previous title, Bad Marie. In this latest novel,  the main character Leah is gifted a flashy red sports car after her former boss and mentor dies. She must leave her life in the Bronx to travel to San Francisco to claim the car.  There, she spends several days revisiting her previous life, reflecting upon the chances and opportunities she’s missing in her current life.

Mira Books

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick (Small hardback, May 3):

Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper is a recent widower. It’s been a year since his wife passed away.  It is on this anniversary of her passing that Arthur discovers a gold charm bracelet he’s never seen before.  He decides to embark upon a journey, using the charms as his guide, to help him find the truth about his wife’s secret life, before they met. The journey is one full of hope and healing, found in the most unexpected of places.

 

St. Martin’s Press

I don’t know about you, but I’m obsessed with the Serial podcast.  This title promises to “reexamine the investigation that led to Adnan’s arrest, cover new evidence and possibilities that have since come to light, and review the court successes that have breathed new life to Adnan’s case. Woven with personal reflections from Adnan himself, including new never-before-seen letters he penned from prison, this in-depth book offers new insight into the story that captivated millions.”  Yes, please!

St. Martin’s Griffin

WARP by Lev Grossman (Trade Paperback, September 20):

This title is actually Lev Grossman’s debut novel, reissued with the recluctant, yet ultimately willing, Lev Grossman.  A post-college, coming of age story.  Though I wasn’t really a fan of The Magicians,  I’m interested in giving this debut a chance 🙂

A Boy Made of Blocks: A Novel  by Keith Stuart (Hardcover, September 6):

Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation   by Anne Sebba (Hardcover, October 18th):

Paris, 1940s. In history classes, we’ve read about the German occupation…but mostly through the eyes of men. This unique biography details how women were forced to make life or death decisions on a daily basis, struggling to provide for their families, forced to interact with the enemy on a daily basis.