Scott Turow, “Personal Injuries” One reviewer actually said Turow was “well on his way to making Kindle County the Yoknapatawpha of American law.” How come? Because he’s good. Every page of this tale about a sting operation bears the stamp of a born storyteller. (Oct.)
“Africana,” edited by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Kwame Anthony Appiah Subtitled “The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience,” this enormous single-volume reference work’s more than 3,500 entries magnificently tell a story that ultimately includes the people and cultures of two continents. (Oct.)
Stephen King, “Hearts of Atlantis” Not a few King fans insist that his short works are his best. This collection–three novellas and two stories–scores one for that team. These thoughtful and scary tales all contend with the ’60s and fallout from that decade. “Hearts” promises to be one of the biggest literary successes of the fall. (Sept.)
Dava Sobel, “Galileo’s Daughter” Galileo had his troubles with the Inquisition, but that didn’t keep him from placing his daughter in a convent. And that didn’t keep them from being intellectual pen pals. Recapitulating the splendors of her best seller “Longitude,” Sobel finds a new way to celebrate history’s intellectual heroes. (Oct.)
Jonathan Lethem, “Motherless Brooklyn” His first novel, “Gun, With Occasional Music,” posited a future that was part sci-fi dystopia, part snarling noir. Four books later, Lethem has settled down a lot–this book is only a detective story, a shrewd portrait of Brooklyn, a retold “Oliver Twist” and a story so baroquely voiced (the hero has Tourette’s syndrome) that Philip Marlowe would blush. And tip his fedora. (Oct.)
Michael Lewis, “The New New Thing” In Silicon Valley maverick Jim Clark, “Liar’s Poker” author Lewis has found nothing less than a modern Prometheus. Clark, creator of Netscape, would rather be known for Hyperion, his sails-by-itself yacht. Just reading about this dynamo is exhausting–and inspiring. (Oct.)
Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, “Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home”; Cheryl Mendelson, “Home Comforts” A French chef and “The French Chef” team up to make–and argue over–recipes, with a fall PBS series served on the side. Now look around your own home. Dusty and depressing? “Home Comforts” is a domestic how-to for the 21st century. Guilt-inducing for sure, but if you want to do right by halogen lamps, synthetic carpets and precut veggies, it’s all here. (Sept., Nov.)
Kent Haruf, “Plainsong” In Haruf’s quietly told tale of the Western plains, a pregnant high-school student is cast out by her own mother, and the repercussions move through the community like ripples from a stone cast in a pond. Mark this novel down as the season’s sleeper. (Oct.)
