Nicholas Sparks' 'Longest Ride' debuts at No. 1
Here's a look at what's buzzing in the book world today:
Quite a 'Ride': Nicholas Sparks feels right at home at No. 1 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list, and that's where he lands this week with his new novel, The Longest Ride. It's Sparks' 11th title to hit the top spot. His first No. 1 USA TODAY title was The Notebook in 1996; the most recent was The Best of Me, his last book, in 2011. A new Sparks novel is synonymous with a new Sparks movie, and Ride has been picked up by Fox 2000 for a planned Valentine's Day weekend release in 2015. — Jocelyn McClurg
Oy 'Vey'! Richard Paul Evans is best known for The Christmas Box, the 1993 novella he self-published and saw go to No. 1. To young readers, he's known for his adventure series starring a teen superhero, Michael Vey, who has electrical powers and is undeterred by having Tourette's syndrome. Michael Vey 3: Battle of the Ampere lands this week at No. 10. The series' first two books landed at No. 7 and No. 15. Evans told Amazon.com that "I felt like the young-adult genre had been overrun by vampire- and dystopian-themed books." — Bob Minzesheimer
'Bird' man: James McBride is not only a novelist and memoirist (The Color of Water), he's a saxophonist. For his new novel, The Good Lord Bird, about a 10-year-old slave who joins John Brown's 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, McBride formed a five-member jazz band. This week, McBride hosted a foot-stomping reading/concert sponsored by New York's National Jazz Museum in Harlem. It featured spirituals that inspired Brown, who, McBride says, "was not as crazy as the historians say." The band will perform Oct. 26-27 at the Texas Book Festival in Austin. Bird is on the "long list" for the National Book Award. — Minzesheimer
Some 'Recreation' reading: Before Parks and Recreation returns tonight, check out our interview with Nick Offerman, aka Ron Swanson, about his new book of advice, Paddle Your Own Canoe. He's not the only one on the Parks and Rec set with a book deal: Amy Poehler is writing a memoir and Aziz Ansari just got a book deal (and tried to bribe Offerman into writing his book!).
Fiction roundup: Looking for some fall fiction? Check out four mini-reviews of some anticipated titles: Nine Inches: Stories by Tom Perrotta, Hope for the Haunted by John Searles, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and Enon by Paul Harding. For more suggestions, check out USA TODAY's list of 30 cool fall books.
Buggy book: Author David Shannon learned about head lice the hard way — and he has written an adorable children's book about the not-so-cute bugs. USA TODAY's Bob Minzesheimer talks to Shannon about the story behind Bugs in My Hair!
Non-required reading: Do you read outside of work and school? Last year, 54% of adults read novels or short stories for pleasure, according to the National Endowment for the Arts' annual report.
A writer's process:The New Yorker talks to Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Lowland (a finalist for the National Book Award), about her writing process and how "it's always been a series of fits and starts." In her review, USA TODAY's Olivia Barker writes that The Lowland (3 1/2 stars) "soars in its intimacy."
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