Complete Book Coverage for Nov. 1, 2009
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Douglas Adams’ ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ continues with another author -- and can’t quite measure up to the original.
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The mysteries of the ancient world are evoked in Alan Jacobs’ ‘When Jesus Lived in India’ and Janet Soskice’s ‘The Sisters of Sinai.’
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An author gets a dose of small-town ‘show biz’ while on book tour.
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This time, that mix of empathy and distance, that need to look at everything with an outsider’s eye, is trained on Imperial County.
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An unsettling look at key figures relegated to working in the labor icon’s shadow, and how that situation came about.
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An aging actor finds temporary relief from thoughts of his mediocrity in a wild affair that proves to be more risky than he expected.
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A portrait of the photographer, whose work has indelibly shaped our image of the Great Depression.
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After his father’s death, a son seeks to understand his father’s interest in a war veterans’ march on Washington decades before. But this memoir reveals little about the dad.
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Unpublished stories and fragments from the late author show false starts and digressions as he developed his signature style.
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‘The Chain Letter of the Soul’ by Bill Holm, ‘Singing for Mrs. Pettigrew’ by Michael Morpurgo
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Fiction Weeks on list1.Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown : $27.99) An LAPD detective travels to Hong Kong to solve the murder of a Chinese immigrant.2 2.The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Doubleday: $25.99) Harvard professor Robert Langdon uses his symbology skills to find a missing Freemason in Washington, D.C.6 3.The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam: $24.95) The lives of a maid, a cook and a college graduate become intertwined while changing a Mississippi town. 21 4.Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn (Atria: $27.99) Two counterterrorism operatives deal with the fallout from a deadly terrorist attack. 25.Blood’s a Rover by James Ellroy (Knopf : $28.95) A bank heist sets off an escapade through ‘60s L.A. with run-ins with the mob, the FBI and Howard Hughes. 46.Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $13.95) Greg desires to spend summer vacation indoors despite his mother’s wishes for outdoor family fun. 27.Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Riverhead: $25.95) A woman acquaints herself with the songwriter whose album caused the breakup of her recent relationship.38.The Wild Things by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $19.95) An interpretation and elaboration of Maurice Sendak’s “ Where the Wild Things Are.”19.Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls (Scribner: $26) The story of a hard-knock gal who raised horses and survived floods and the Depression.2 10.Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Amulet: $12.95) Greg’s dad enlists him in sports to toughen him up.2911.The Humbling by Philip Roth (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: $22) A washed-up stage actor is rejuvenated when he begins an erotic affair with a younger woman.112.Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem (Doubleday: $27.95) New Yorkers try to find meaning in their superficial lives.113.The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam: $27.95) Kay Scarpetta’s fame grows as do the bizarre events surrounding several unsolved cases.114.The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson (Knopf: $25.95) A hacker implicated in two murders must revisit her past to prove her innocence. 1315.A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris (Ace: $23.95) A complete collection of Sookie Stackhouse short stories.2Nonfiction 1.Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon (Harper: $26.99) A collection of autobiographical essays reflecting on what it means to be a man and father.2 2.Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high achievers.47 3.Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom (Hyperion: $23.99) Albom’s observations of a rabbi and a pastor on an eight-year journey of faith.4 4.True Compass by Edward Kennedy (Twelve: $35) The memoirs of the late U.S. senator from Massachusetts.55.The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins (Free Press: $30) A pro-evolution argument filled with scientific evidence. 36.Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer (Doubleday: $27.95) A chronicle of Pat Tillman, the NFL star turned Army Ranger whose death in Afghanistan stunned the power structure. 67.Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s: $24) The disappearance of a Syrian American father and good Samaritan in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. 78.Arguing With Idiots by Glenn Beck (Threshold Editions: $29.99) Secrets for winning arguments with small-minded people.49.Republican Gomorrah by Max Blumenthal (Nation Books: $25) A liberal look at how fringe elements are defining a new Republican Party.1 10.Jim Cramer’s Getting Back to Even by James J.
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Fiction 1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson ($14.95) 2.
