Apple cider vinegar Is Pilates for you? 'Ambient gaslighting' 'Main character energy'
BOOKS
Dennis Lehane

Winter books preview: Morrison, Lehane, Hornby

Jocelyn McClurg
USA TODAY
"Funny Girl" by Nick Hornby

'Tis the season to stay inside and wrap yourself up with a cozy blanket and a good book. USA TODAY's Jocelyn McClurg highlights 10 notable new titles to watch for between now and April.


1. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (Riverhead, fiction, on sale Jan. 13)

What it's about: Twisty thriller from the U.K. about an unhappy young divorcee who involves herself in the case of a missing woman from her old neighborhood.

Why it's notable: It's being called the next Gone Girl, and DreamWorks has jumped aboard by acquiring movie rights.

2. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby (Riverhead, fiction, on sale Feb. 3)

What it's about: Set in swinging 1960s London, it's the story of Sophie Straw, who rises from ingénue to TV comedian.

Why it's notable: Hornby's About a Boy is now an NBC comedy; he also wrote the screenplay to Wild starring Reese Witherspoon.

3. Holy Cow by David Duchovny (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, fiction, on sale Feb. 3)

What it's about: A first novel narrated by Elsie Bovary, a cow who with her pals a pig and a turkey hope to escape their dinner-table fate as they journey across the Middle East.

Why it's notable: Holy cow! Who knew that Duchovny was on his way to getting a Ph.D in literature before he became an actor?

4. The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf, fiction, on sale March 3)

What it's about: Mystical story of a couple who set off across a "troubled land of mist and rain" in hopes of finding their son.

Why it's notable: It's the first novel in nearly a decade from the author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go; Kirkus calls it "a fairy tale for grown-ups."

5. Dead Wake by Erik Larson (Crown, non-fiction, on sale March 10)

What it's about: The sinking of the British ocean liner Lusitania by a German U-boat in 1915; timed to the 100th anniversary.

Why it's notable: Fans of Larson's best sellers The Devil in the White City and In the Garden of Beasts know he's a master of juicy, narrative non-fiction.

6. World Gone By by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow, fiction, on sale March 10)

What it's about: A final showdown for mob kingpin Joe Coughlin, who appeared in Lehane's best sellers The Given Day and Live by Night.

Why it's notable: Ben Affleck is set to direct a Warner Bros. production of Live By Night.

7. At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen (Spiegel & Grau, fiction, on sale March 31)

What it's about: The "awakening" of a young socialite from Philadelphia who reluctantly follows her husband to the Scottish highlands during World War II.

Why it's notable: The author of Water for Elephants returns to historical fiction after her diversion into the animal kingdom with Ape House.

8. A Fine Romance by Candice Bergen (Simon & Schuster, non-fiction, on sale April 7)

What it's about: The memoir focuses on the actress' marriage to the late director Louis Malle and her relationship with their daughter.

Why it's notable: It's been 31 years since Bergen's coming-of-age memoir Knock Wood.


"Michelle Obama: A Life" by Peter Slevin


9. Michelle Obama: A Life by Peter Slevin (Knopf, non-fiction, on sale April 7)

What it's about: A biography of the first lady.

Why it's notable: There have been countless books (pro and con) about the president, and now his popular wife gets her due.

10. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison (Knopf, fiction, on sale April 21)

What it's about: Novel explores the consequences of an allegation made by a student about a teacher.

Why it's notable: Any new book by the Nobel Laureate (Beloved) is an attention grabber.

Featured Weekly Ad