The 2005 December Book Sense Picks & Notables Preview

November 03, 2005

Here is the full listing of the December Book Sense Picks, with booksellers' comments, as well as a preview of the December Book Sense Notables. Independent booksellers in the Book Sense program will be receiving their December Picks fliers in the November Red Box. (The flier includes jacket images, bibliographic information, and bookseller quotes.)

November Notables fliers and shelf-talkers, featuring booksellers' comments, are now available in PDF format at www.bookweb.org/read/6977.

More information about the Picks program, including a full list of upcoming deadlines, can be found at www.bookweb.org/booksense/seventysix/.

1. SEASONED IN THE SOUTH: Recipes From Crook's Corner and From Home, by Bill Smith, preface by Lee Smith (Algonquin, $19.95, 1565124790) "This book is filled with delicious Southern recipes, often with French or Mediterranean accents. If you're skeptical, Smith's recipe for 'Figs with Ham and Sauce Bellevue' will make you a believer!" --Frazer Dobson, Park Road Books, Charlotte, NC

GOODNIGHT NOBODY: A Novel, by Jennifer Weiner (Atria, $26, 0743470117) "Weiner's latest is funny and smart, with a good murder thrown in -- think The Stepford Wives meets Desperate Housewives. I finished it in one weekend and ended it feeling lighter and happier." --Jan Warner-Poole, Storyteller Books, Vancouver, WA Also a Simon & Schuster Audioworks Audio (Abridged CD, 0743544307)

A PRIVATE HOTEL FOR GENTLE LADIES: A Novel, by Ellen Cooney (Pantheon, $23.95, 0375423400) "In her latest novel, Ellen Cooney has provided us with a delightful look at Victorian New England. Her exploration of the complex sexual and social chasms between women and men is intriguing. Her heroine, Charlotte Heath -- 30 years old and coming-of-age -- is a joy!" --Jane Jacobs, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA

CHRISTMAS JARS: A Novel, by Jason F. Wright (Shadow Mountain, $7.95 paper, 1590384814) "This charming tale has the potential to become a classic. Akin to 'The Gift of the Magi,' it's a wonderful story of giving and receiving." --Deanna Kattau, The Bethel Avenue Book Company, Port Orchard, WA

THE JUNGLE LAW: A Novel, by Victoria Vinton (MacAdam/Cage, $25, 1596921498) "Anyone who has ever been caught up in Kipling's magical world of Mowgli and the Seeonee Wolf Pack will love Victoria Vinton's first novel, set in Vermont, where Kipling (already famous at 27) moved in 1892 and where he wrote The Jungle Books. She skillfully weaves the story of two families, one struggling to build a life on an impoverished Vermont farm, and the other Kipling's own. An outstanding debut!" --Marian Nielsen, Orinda Books, Orinda, CA Also a Recorded Books Audio (Unabridged CD, 1419357794)

BEASTS OF NO NATION: A Novel, by Uzodinma Iweala (HarperCollins, $16.95, 006079867X) "Uzodinma Iweala's novel of child soldiers in West Africa is a particularly vivid and haunting story. I am sure this powerful novel will stay with me." --Suzy Staubach, UConn Co-op, Storrs, CT

A WAR AGAINST TRUTH: An Intimate Account of the Invasion of Iraq, by Paul William Roberts (Raincoast Books, $16.95 paper, 1551928191) "Roberts magnificently conveys the horror, chaos, absurdity, and utter tragedy that has been taking place in Iraq. He writes with intensity, passion, and great humanity. This brilliant book is a must-read." --Patrick Gaffey, Maria's Bookshop, Durango, CO

A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS: Stories, by Yiyun Li (Random House, $21.95, 1400063124) "Set both in contemporary China and among Chinese Americans living in the U.S., the stories in this extraordinary debut illuminate a culture very foreign to our own -- yet they are universal in their insight into human nature." --Mary Benham, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

MUSIC LUST: Recommended Listening for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason, by Nic Harcourt (Sasquatch, $16.95 paper, 1570614377) "Music addicts will want to peruse Music Lust with iPods at the ready, exploring the new worlds opened up by radio guru Nic Harcourt. His personal asides and opinionated, but well-informed, reviews make this much more than simply another collection of musical lists." --Scott Foley, Grass Roots Books & Music, Corvallis, OR

THIRD GIRL FROM THE LEFT: A Novel, by Martha Southgate (Houghton Mifflin, $24, 0618470239) "The influence of film links the lives of three generations of black women -- the daughter (a film student), the mother (a former blaxploitation film actress), and the grandmother (an avid filmgoer) who experienced the Tulsa race riots firsthand. This is a fine novel with rich family dynamics and cultural history." --Stan Hynds, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, VT

THE MAYOR OF LEXINGTON AVENUE: A Novel, by James Sheehan (Yorkville Press, $14.95 paper, 097674421X) "It's hard to believe that this is James Sheehan's first novel. A long-time trial attorney in Florida, he has written a legal thriller set in a small Florida town that is utterly fascinating. We hope this is just the beginning of a long literary career." --Virginia Hobson Hicks, Books on the Bluff, Townsend, GA

BURNING FENCE: A Western Memoir of Fatherhood, by Craig Lesley (St. Martin's, $24.95, 0312318464) "Lesley captures the rugged landscape of eastern Oregon and tells his family's story, a narrative filled with hardships and abandonment, about people living on the edge and under the law. While exploring how history and place shape who we are, Lesley searches for understanding in his life as a son and a father. A great story and a very thought-provoking read." --Pat Rutledge, A Book For All Seasons, Leavenworth, WA

GUIDED BY VOICES: A Brief History: Twenty-One Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll, by James Greer (Grove/Black Cat, $16 paper, 0802170137) "Like the seminal indie band it profiles, this bio is a cool blast of rock-and-roll fun that lets you feel like you're hanging out with the band (only without the hangovers). Filled with first-hand stories of pick-up basketball, late-night eateries, practical jokes, and, of course, plenty of music making, this book is everything a GBV fan could want. It also makes for a compelling argument for the casual reader to become a new fan of the band. Enrollment is always open." --Michael Keefe, Annie Bloom's Books, Portland, OR

TRAIL OF FEATHERS: Searching For Philip True, by Robert Rivard (PublicAffairs, $27.50, 158648222X) "This story of the disappearance and murder of an American reporter in the wilderness of western Mexico is more than a tale of true crime. Rivard delves into the psyche of a man, a time, a country, and an indigenous people in a straightforward yet spellbinding narrative. It's a mesmerizing story." --Barbara Hoagland, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT

THE ROSARY, by Garry Wills (Viking, $24.95, 0670034495) "Both a history of the rosary and a guide to its practice, Wills' new book goes to the heart of the Catholic faith, including reflections on the associated prayers and scriptural passages, here in Wills' own translations. A wonderfully meditative read, not just for Catholics." --Penny Burt, Olsson's Books & Records, Washington, DC

TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL: The Making of a Movie Star, by Tab Hunter, with Eddie Muller (Algonquin, $24.95, 1565124669) "Tab Hunter tells his life story with candor, good humor, and a strong sense of self. The subtitle of this book is 'The Making of a Movie Star,' but it's more about the making of a man." --Tara O'Donnell, Paperbacks Plus, Bronx, NY

NEW AND SELECTED POEMS: Volume Two, by Mary Oliver (Beacon, $24.95, 0807068861) "In Oliver's latest collection, fluttering petals are little fires, blue herons are the poems Oliver wishes to write, and Percy, her dog, hungrily consumes the Bhagavad Gita and extracts Donald Rumsfeld from the armpit of the president in order to inspire more rational behavior. Mary Oliver wants to break our hearts, or, as she says, to open them up so that they will never again close to the world. I doubt that my heart has ever been more lovingly broken." --Whitney Williams, Water Street Books, Exeter, NH

A CENTURY OF NOVEMBER: A Novel, by W.D. Wetherell (University of Michigan Press, $14 paper, 0472031228) "W.D. Wetherell's latest novel is a marvelous gem of a story. It takes place on the European front during the First World War and is as much about the horrors of war as the beauty of life. Beautifully written, this is my favorite of Wetherell's novels, and perhaps the one to earn him the recognition he deserves." --Penny McConnel, Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, VT (For a special offer on this title, click here.)

THE CHILDREN'S BLIZZARD, by David Laskin (Perennial, $13.95 paper, 0060520760) "A riveting winter read, Laskin's story chronicles a monster blizzard that devastated the Great Plains in January 1888 and left some 500 people -- mostly children trying to get home from school -- frozen dead on the prairie. This is not your Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter." --Katherine Le Croy, Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Memphis, TN

THE COLDEST WINTER: A Stringer in Liberated Europe, by Paula Fox (Henry Holt, $18, 0805078061) "Paula Fox is a master of evoking scenes and characters with a few well-chosen sentences. In her latest memoir, she paints a powerful portrait of post-WWII Europe." --Carol Schneck, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, MI

Fiction

EATING HEAVEN, by Jennie Shortridge (NAL, $12.95 paper, 0451216431)
THE GUEST, by Hwang Sok-Yong, Kyung-Ja Chun and Maya West (Trans.) (Seven Stories, $27.95, 1583226931)
POPCO, by Scarlett Thomas (Harvest, $14 paper, 015603137X)
SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING, by Amy Tan (Putnam, $26.95, 0399153012)
SLEEPING WITH SCHUBERT, by Bonnie Marson (Ballantine, $13.95 paper, 0812968395)

Nonfiction

ALL I DID WAS ASK: Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists, by Terry Gross (Hyperion, $14.95 paper, 0786888202)
THE BEATLES: The Biography, by Bob Spitz (Little, Brown, $29.95, 0316803529)
CONSIDER THE LOBSTER: And Other Essays, by David Foster Wallace (Little, Brown, $25.95, 0316156116)
DARKEST BEFORE DAWN: Sedition and Free Speech in the American West, by Clemens P. Work (University of New Mexico Press, $34.95, 0826337740)
EVERY BOOK ITS READER: The Power of the Printed Word to Stir the World, by Nicholas A. Basbanes (HarperCollins, $29.95, 0060593237)
THE FLOWER SHOP: Charm, Grace, Beauty & Tenderness in a Commercial Context, by Leonard Koren (Stone Bridge, $19.95 paper, 1933330007)
FLYING THROUGH MIDNIGHT: A Pilot's Dramatic Story of His Secret Missions Over Laos During the Vietnam War, by John T. Halliday (Scribner, $27.50, 0743274881)
FRIED TWINKIES, BUCKLE BUNNIES, & BULL RIDERS: A Year Inside the Professional Bull Riders Tour, by Josh Peter (Rodale, $24.95, 1594861196)
LAUGHING WITH LUCY: My Life With America's Leading Lady of Comedy, by Madelyn Pugh Davis, with Bob Carroll, Jr. (Emmis, $19.95, 1578602475)
PERFUME DREAMS: Reflections on the Vietnamese Diaspora, by Andrew Lam, Richard Rodriguez (foreword) (Heyday, $14.95 paper, 1597140201)
QUEENAN COUNTRY: A Reluctant Anglophile's Pilgrimage to the Mother Country, by Joe Queenan (Picador, $14 paper, 031242521X)

Cooking

THE BEST RECIPES IN THE WORLD, by Mark Bittman (Broadway, $29.95, 0767906721)
MOOSEWOOD RESTAURANT SIMPLE SUPPERS: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table, by Moosewood Collective (Clarkson N. Potter, $32.50, 0609609122)

Mystery and Suspense

JAMAICA ME DEAD, by Bob Morris (St. Martin's Minotaur, $22.95, 0312328915)
SIX FOR GOLD: A John the Eunuch Mystery, by Mary Reed, Eric Mayer (Poisoned Pen, $24.95, 1590581458)

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