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Posts by Katie H
Don’t let the mounds of crusty snow or the frigid blasts of winter’s winds fool you: spring is nigh. Much like a cranky groundhog roused from his winter den, the publishing industry is waking up to some of the more anticipated titles of 2020, and a fine crop of them can be found landing on shelves in March. On to the notable offerings:
Browsing for ebooks in Overdrive just became a lot easier! Wisconsin’s Digital Library introduces its’ new Lucky Day ebook collection February 14, just in time for readers to find a book they love among the offerings of high demand, popular titles. Featuring over 2,400 in-demand titles across all age levels, Lucky Day books can be borrowed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Every reader likely has their own idea of an escapist read, but for me, there’s a few prerequisites: a location completely unlike the environment I’m currently occupying, a storyline worlds away from current headlines, and characters that I can root for. Christina Lauren’s romantic comedy The Unhoneymooners fits the bill perfectly. It’s a classic enemies-to-lovers story that can be easily devoured in a couple of long winter evenings, boasts snappy and fun dialog, but still has a bit of substance to it.
Overdrive has announced the newest addition to its Big Library Read program with the young adult novel I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by debut authors Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal. High school students Lena and Campbell aren’t friends. African American Lena has a plan for the future, a fine boyfriend and a sure sense of herself. Campbell, who is white, just wants to make it through her first year at a new school without incident.
As the quote goes, there’s a big difference between being mostly dead and all dead, and in the publishing world, 2019 is only mostly dead as publishers are wrapping up their offerings and looking forward to 2020. But for readers, 2019 is more than slightly alive with plenty of notable titles hitting shelves in November and December. And with the 24 hour news cycle churning away, the possibility of some last minute newsmakers running up the bestseller lists is a definite possibility. Here are some of the highlights left to come in 2019:
Mystery author Ann Cleeves has long developed a following for her mysteries that are as much about the relationships between her characters as the crimes grounding the stories. Her Vera Stanhope and Shetland series, both adapted for television, have been particularly acclaimed. The Shetland series has ended with the recently published Wild Fire, but fans mourning the loss of Jimmy Perez and the evocative Scottish setting can take comfort in the launch of Cleeves’ new Two Rivers series.
Have we recovered from September yet? It seemed like last month had a very full slate of new offerings to check out, along with the announcements of a couple of notable award lists and Big Important Books.
Beethoven is everywhere. Cell phones trill ‘Fur Elise,’ parents dote as their offspring murder ‘Ode to Joy’ and the first four notes of the Fifth Symphony practically define classical music for many. For all his familiarity, though, Beethoven the man is frustratingly hard to pin down. Little written evidence survives of the composer’s formative years, and later documents have become burnished by fame over the years. Beethoven scholar and British radio host John Suchet tries to fill in some of the holes in a very user-friendly portrait in Beethoven: The Man Revealed.
It’s pretty clear early on in Norco ’80 that very few people are going to come out at the conclusion looking like heroes. In Peter Houlahan’s deeply researched, thrilling recreation of the 1980 robbery and the trial that followed it, there is always the overriding sense of, well, senselessness.
Of all the months on the publishing calendar, September might be the most pivotal of the year. Publishers are starting to put out their prestige titles, those works that editors and publicists feel have the best chance at the prizes that garner headlines and sales. On to the (many) highlights: