Alan Lightman

Mr g: A Novel About the Creation

Pantheon; ISBN: 978-030737999-3; Pub.: 1/24/2012; $24.95

"With iridescent precision, fairy-tale wonder, and brainy humor, Lightman crafts an enthralling and provocative cosmic parable that offers a startlingly fresh perspective on the mysteries of the universe and the paradoxical human condition."

--"Booklist", starred review

Indie Bound Description & Reviews

Paula Broadwell; Vernon Loeb

All In:

The Education of General David Petraeus

Penguin; ISBN:978-159420318-3; Pub.: 1/24/2012; $29.95

"Anyone seeking to understand the nature of American warfighting in the 21st century, how it is both like and utterly unlike that of any previous one, needs to understand Petraeus, his remarkable career, his thinking, and his character.  All In is an excellent place to start.  It is fascinating and insightful, informed by remarkable access to the man both on and off the battlefield."

--Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down

Indie Bound Description & Reviews

Edmund White

Jack Holmes & His Friend

Bloomsbury; ISBN: 978-160819703-3; Pub.: 1/17/2012; $26.00

"Jack Holmes and Will Wright arrive in New York in the calm before the storm of the 1960s.  Coworkers at a cultural journal, they soon become good friends...But in the two decades of their friendship, from the first stirrings of gay liberation through the catastrophe of AIDS, Jack remains devoted to Will...Moving among beautifully delineated characters in a variety of social milieus, Edmund White brings narrative daring and an exquisite sense of life's submerged drama to this masterful exploration of friendship, sexuality, and sensibility during a watershed moment in history. "

--publisher description

Indie Bound Description

Alexandra Day

Carl at the Dog Show

Farrar, Straus & Giroux; ISBN: 978-037431083-7; Pub.: 1/17/2012; $14.99

"Madeleine’s mom has to help Carl's Cousin, Gamble, get ready to compete in his event at the dog show, and she tells Carl and Madeleine to meet her by the show ring.  Do Carl and Madeleine listen?  Of course not!..With its minimal text and Alexandra Day's signature art, Carl at the Dog Show is sure to please Carl fans, Rottweiler lovers, and dog enthusiasts of all sorts."

--publisher description

Diane Brady

Fraternity: In 1968, a visionary priest recruited 20 black men

to the College of the Holy Cross and changed their lives and the course of history.

Spiegel & Grau; ISBN: 978-038552474-2; Pub.: 1/3/2012; $25.00

"Rife with questions about education that are as vital today as they were in the sixties, Fraternity is a reminder that success in life is often about being given the chance to succeed, and that great educators have the power to shape the course of history.  This is an important story that will bring endless inspiration.

--Sampson Davis, author of The Pact: Three Young Men
Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream

Indie Bound Description & Reviews

Sebastian Seung

Connectome

How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; ISBN: 978-054750818-4; Pub.: 2/7/2012; $27.00

"The bold and thrilling quest to finally understand the brain—and along with it our mental afflictions, from depression to autism—-by a rising star in neuroscience...Sebastian Seung, a dynamic young professor at MIT, is at the forefront of a revolution in neuroscience.   He believes that our identity lies not in our genes, but in the connections between our brain cells—our own particular wiring.  Seung and a dedicated group of researchers are leading the effort to map these connections, neuron by neuron, synapse by synapse...Connectome is a mind-bending adventure story, told with great passion and authority.  It presents a daring scientific and technological vision for at last understanding what makes us who we are, both as individuals and as a species."

--publisher description

Ben Marcus

The Flame Alphabet

Knopf; ISBN: 978-030737937-5; Pub.: 1/17/2012; $25.95

"Language kills in Marcus’s audacious new work of fiction, a richly allusive look at a world transformed by a new form of illness...Biblical in its Old Testament sense of wrath, Marcus’s novel twists America’s quotidian existence into something recognizable yet wholly alien to our experience."

--"Publishers Weekly"

Indie Bound Description & Reviews

John Green

The Fault in Our Stars

Dutton; ISBN: 978-052547881-2; Pub.: 1/12/2012; $17.99

"A cancer support group might seem like an unlikely place to meet your true love, but for Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters the stars align and these two sweetly cynical souls find each other at an interesting moment in their lives.  In a story brimming with mystery, humor, and lots of love, Hazel and Augustus show readers that life is made up of a million moments worth noticing--much like a night sky filled with stars."

--Julie Wilson, The Bookworm, Omaha, NE

Indie Bound Winter 2012 Kids' Next List

David Snodin

Iago

Henry Holt & Co.; ISBN: 978-080509370-4; Pub.: 1/3/2012; $28.00

"Wounded in love, tormented by his past, Shakespeare's most complex villain is brought magnificently to life in this tale of two adversaries—one an accused killer; the other, one of the most powerful men in Venice...Exuberantly inventive, thrillingly complex, and richly entertaining, Iago will captivate fans already familiar with Shakespeare and appeal to anyone who loves a rich historical novel.  Iago marks the emergence of a remarkable new literary voice."

--publisher description

Indie Bound Description & Reviews

Thomas Frank

Pity the Billionaire:

The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right

Metropolitan Books; ISBN: 978-080509369-8; Pub.: 1/3/2012; $25.00

"Thomas Frank has crossed the Styx and returned to sing of the tortured, tormented souls of the Tea Party and their sufferings in the Socialist America they have conjured from thin air.  This he does with grace, style and humor, which not all of his subjects share.  Be glad that in this election year you can read Pity the Billionaire instead of turning on the television or the radio or your computer.  Pity the Billionaire?  Hell.  Pity us all."

--James K. Galbraith

Sunday "New York Times" Book Review

Adam Johnson

The Orphan Master's Son

Random House; ISBN: 978-081299279-3; Pub.: 1/10/2012; $26.00

"Sometimes we say that a book tries to be too many things.  This thought-provoking novel is many things--an adventure tale, an examination of identity and the nature of the self, a meta-narrative, a political novel, a love story, a survivor story, and more--and it succeeds on all counts.  Like the works of David Mitchell, The Orphan Master's Son is at once a joy to read, a challenging work, and ultimately, a terrific and satisfying story."

--Mark LaFramboise, Politics & Prose Books and Coffee Shop, Washington, DC

January 2012 Indie Next List

Christopher Paul Curtis

The Mighty Miss Malone

Wendy Lamb Books; ISBN:978-038573491-2; Pub.: 1/10/2012; $15.99

"...the Great Depression hit Gary hard, and there are no jobs for black men.  When her beloved father leaves to find work, Deza, Mother, and her older brother Jimmie go in search of him, and end up in a Hooverville outside Flint, Michigan.  Jimmie's beautiful voice inspires him to leave the camp to be a performer, while Deza and Mother find a new home, and cling to the hope that they will find Father.  The twists and turns of their story reveal the devastation of the Depression and prove that Deza truly is the Mighty Miss Malone."

--publisher description

Indie Bound Description & Reviews

Ayad Akhtar

American Dervish

Little, Bronw & Co.; ISBN: 978-031618331-4; Pub.: 1/9/2012; $24.99;

"At it's simplest, American Dervish is a coming-of-age story.  At its most complex, it is a story of religious faith, marital strife, human nature, love, envy, sexual awakening, betrayal, and racism.  It is impossible to leave Akhtar's exceptional debut novel without experiencing the struggles and pain of young Hayat as he comes to terms with both his Muslim faith and his humanity."

--Lynn Riggs, Books & Company, Oconomowoc, WI

"New York Times" Book Review

Penelope Lively

How It All Began

Viking; ISBN: 978-067002344-8; Pub.: 1/5/2012; $26.95

"When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike...Through a richly conceived and colorful cast of characters, Penelope Lively explores the powerful role of chance in people's lives and deftly illustrates how our paths can be altered irrevocably by someone we will never even meet.  Brought to life in her hallmark graceful prose and full of keen insights into human nature, How It All Began is an engaging, contemporary tale that is sure to strike a chord with her legion of loyal fans as well as new readers.  A writer of rare wisdom, elegance, and humor, Lively is a consummate storyteller whose gifts are on full display in this masterful work."

--publisher description

Indie Bound Description

Maira Kalman

Looking at Lincoln

Nancy Paulsen Books; ISBN: 978-039924039-3; Pub.: 1/5/2012; $17.99

"Abraham Lincoln is one of the first giants of history children are introduced to, and now Maira Kalman brings him to life with her trademark style and enthusiasm.  Lincoln's legacy is everywhere--there he is on your penny and five-dollar bill.  And we are still the United States because Lincoln helped hold them together...But who was he, really?  The little girl in this book wants to find out...Kalman shares Lincoln's remarkable life with young readers in a fresh and exciting way."

--publisher description

Indie Bound Description

Alex Gilvarry

From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant

Viking; ISBN: 978-067002319-6; Pub.: 1/5/2012; $26.95

"This is a bold book.  It is bold in its style, its thesis, and its story.  While Gilvarry's narrative and characters are big and playful, the underlying dilemmas are deadly serious: What happens to those falsely accused or mistakenly detained when the remedies of the American criminal justice system are unavailable to them?  How does one prove one's innocence when the system is set up to prove one's guilt?  Gilvarry skillfully navigates the space between black comedy and farce without delivering a polemic and instead gives us a novel that is delightful without being light."

--Catherine Weller, Weller Book Works, Salt Lake City, UT

January 2012 Indie Next List

Jeff Kinney

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever

Amulet Books; ISBN:978-141970223-5; Pub.: 11/15/2011; $13.95

"Greg Heffley is in big trouble.  School property has been damaged, and Greg is the prime suspect.  But the crazy thing is, he’s innocent.  Or at least sort of...The authorities are closing in, but when a surprise blizzard hits, the Heffley family is trapped indoors.  Greg knows that when the snow melts he’s going to have to face the music, but could any punishment be worse than being stuck inside with your family for the holidays?"

--publisher description

Stephen King

11/22/63

Scribner; ISBN: 978-145162728-2; Pub.: 11/8/2011; $35.00

"...a rabbit hole into the past...pops up in Lisbon Falls, a woebegone corner of Maine.  On one end is 2011...The diner--and the time portal inside it...On the other end is America under Eisenhower.  The mill churns out white smoke.  "Vertigo" is showing at the outdoor movie theater--on its first run...And John Kennedy, the young senator from Massachusetts, is still alive..."

--Errol Morris, excerpt from Sunday "New York Times Book Review"

Sunday "New York Times" Book Review

Annie Leibovitz

Pilgrimage

Random House; ISBN: 978-037550508-9; Pub.: 11/8/2011; $50.00

"Gazing at the traces left behind by her favorite artists, traces of their lives, their creature habits, Ms. Leibovitz finds something to nurture all of us--something about integrity, staying true to a vision.  She forges a connection to the past that informs the way she is moving forward."

--Dominique Browning, "The New York Times"

Full "New York Times" article

Neil MacGregor

A History of the World in 100 Objects

Viking; ISBN: 978-067002270-5; Pub.: 10/27/2011; $45.00

"...Amid all the swirl and sweep of his story, which transports us to every corner of the globe, and illustrates how different cultures have always communicated, traded, and fought with one another, the various processes by which the British Museum came into possession of MacGregor's 100 objects, and many more, come to seem just that little bit more normative...MacGregor's central point, that the cultures of the world are the inheritance of the world, is one he never neglects to emphasise..."

Tom Holland, "Guardian" (UK) review excerpt