What would happen if Adolf Hitler woke up in modern-day Berlin? Find out with Timur Vermes' Look Who's Back, available in Kindle eBook, Hardcover or Paperback format. If you're not in the mood for satire, give Lucinda Riley's The Seven Sisters a shot. Riley is an internationally bestselling author and her newest book is available in Kindle eBook, Hardcover, Paperback or Audio CD.
If you like shows like NCIS, you'll probably enjoy this week's Rock with Wings, available in Kindle eBook, Hardcover, Paperback and Audio CD, or The Fall, available in Kindle eBook, Hardcover and Audio CD formats. Fans of books based on small towns in the South will enjoy Carolyn Hart's Don't Go Home as you follow Annie Darling as she hosts a party to welcome celebrated author, Alex Griffith, and his new novel Don't Go Home...but things go awry when the author turns up dead.
Fans of Oprah’s long-running book club have cause for celebration- Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 is here and it’s better than ever! Digital books have become a huge part of the literary world, with sites like Kindle, NOOK, and Scribd. changing the way we read. Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 offers a way for you to get Oprah’s personal book recommendations, reading notes, and group discussions in an interactive, digital format.
While Oprah’s book selections aren’t on a consistent schedule, the books she chooses are usually exceptional and worth the read. If you’re not caught up yet, check out the list below to see the books that have made the 2.0 list thus far.
Cheryl Strayed
Oprah’s first selection was a memoir about Cheryl Strayed’s journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. This 1,100-mile hike led her on a journey of personal self-discovery unlike any other. Uplifting and inspired, this novel was turned into a major motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon.
Ayana Mathis
Mathis’ debut novel is centered around an African-American family and their bold, harsh matriarch. Told from the resilient perspective of the children of the Great Migration, readers better understand the trials and hardships faced by black families of that day and age.
Sue Monk Kidd
Sue Monk Kidd, known for her beloved novel The Secret Life of Bees, once more offers a beautiful and intricately told story. We are treated to a unique tale of the relationship between a young, white landowner’s daughter, Sarah Grimke, and her slave girl Hettie “Handful” Grimke. Told over the course of 35 years, this novel is a touching, profound story that will truly move readers.
Cynthia Bond
Set in the rural part of East Texas, readers are introduced to the hard life of Ruby Bell. While she finally escapes to the freedom of New York City, Ruby is eventually required to return home in her thirties to take care of family matters. Unfortunately, it appears Ruby falls back into the pattern of violence that plagued her childhood- but this time she may not be strong enough to get out. Can a long time admirer protect her, or will he be forced to remain silently in the background?
If you prefer to read the best of the best, consider picking up some of these award winning books from 2014 spanning all sorts of different genres!
Donna Tartt
(Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
Follow Theo Decker, a boy in New York who survives an accident that kills his mother, as he grows up in a confusing world of wealth, artwork, antiques and fate.
Annie Baker
(Pulitzer Prize for Drama)
Full of humor and struggles, The Flick is about three ushers in a Massachusetts theater whose own stories trump the tales told on their 35 millimeter film projecters.
Alan Taylor
(Pulitzer Prize for History)
If you're a fan of American history, Taylor's detailed recreation of Virginia's turbulent history is sure to fascinate and inform.
Megan Marshall
(Pulitzer Prize for Biography)
Margaret Fuller's biography is that of an unsung hero in the literary world - she was Thoreau's first editor, a friend of Emerson, a war correspondent and more as Marshall brings her story to life.
Vijay Seshadri
(Pulitzer Prize for Poetry)
The third in Seshadri's series features poetry, prose and commentary on everyday consciousness.
Dan Fagin
(Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction)
Journalist Dan Fagin recounts over sixty years of unfolding, true stories about the dangers of pollution, the causes of cancer and a small town in New Jersey that helped bring light to it all.
Evan Osnos
(National Book Award for Nonfiction)
Also an Economist Best Book of 2014, learn more about China's dramatic transformation with the help of Osnos, a Beijing correspondent for the New York Times.
Phil Klay
(National Book Award for Fiction, John Leonard National Book Critics Circle Award)
Considered one of the best depictions of war in recent memory, this book brings readers to the frontlines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - and to the lives of soldiers who must return to civilian life afterwards.
Louise Glück
(National Book Award for Poetry)
Fans of Glück's previous Poems 1962-2012 will not be disappointed with this American poet's latest collection.
Jacqueline Woodson
(National Book Award for Young People's Literature)
Also a Newbery Honor Book, Woodson shares her personal story of growing up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970 as a teen raised in South Carolina and New York.
Richard Flanagan
(Man Booker Literary Prize)
With over 900 reviews and a 4.5 average star rating on Amazon, it's clear that the author of Gould’s Book of Fish was successful again with his latest award-winning novel.
Marilynne Robinson
(National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction)
Revisiting Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead and Orange Prize-winning Home, fans of Robinson's fiction will not want to miss her latest novel.
David Brion Davis
(National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction)
From one of the premier historians on the 20th century, Davis' 2014 book Davis brings his esteemed and prizewinning trilogy about slavery in the West to an end.
Roz Chast
(National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography)
Chast's latest memoir touches on a topic that nearly everyone must go through - adult children handling aging parents in a modern world.
John Lahr
(National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography)
Live the life of Tennessee Williams through Lahr's beautiful narrative showcasing one of the most prominent American playwrights of our time.
Ellen Willis
(National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism)
This collection brings together essays by Ellen Willis from the 1960s to the 2000s on matters including rock music, pornography, religion, war, drugs and more.
Claudia Rankine
(National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry)
Rankine's meditations on race, society and identity rings true - as one reviewer noted, it's full of "beautiful writing that conveys difficult truths"
Carl Hart
(PEN Literary Award)
Hart's memoir takes on concepts of race, drugs and poverty as he explains his landmark research in neuroscience and how he applies science to his life to help better others'.
Mark Fainaru-Wada
(PEN Literary Award)
Award-winning ESPN Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru seek to uncover the truth behind the violent sport of football and its links to brain damage.
Shawn Vestal
(PEN Literary Award)
Vestal takes on Joseph Smith and the very core of Mormonism in this critically acclaimed collection of stories.
Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky
(PEN Literary Award)
Translated by Joanne Turnbull, this book contains eleven stories by an author considered to be one of the greatest Russian writers of our century.
Bil Lepp
(PEN Literary Award)
Fans of beautiful illustrations and amusing stories will love this children's book for ages 3 and up.
Linda Leavell
(PEN Literary Award)
Modernist poet Marianne Moore's poems about survival get a life of their own in this biography written by Leavell, with support of the Moore estate.
James Wolcott
(PEN Literary Award)
With decades of critical writing under his belt, Wolcott's collection features essays on American literature, rock and roll, television shows and more.
Yannis Ritsos
(PEN Literary Award)
Ritsos is known as one of the most important poets of modern Greece and this collection proves it with three pieces written between 1948 and 1950.
Ruth Ellen Kocher
(PEN Literary Award)
Kocher's fourth volume of poetry explores the slave/dominant relationship in detail.
For more, also check out Goodreads' Best of 2014 list - it's not as official as other literary prizes, for sure, but there are still plenty of great books to discover!
Naturally, there are a lot of authors out there who are as great using Twitter's 140 character limit as they are with writing full length books!
If you're looking for some interesting new authors to follow, consider some of these options:
John Sandford's highly anticipated Gathering Prey comes out this week as you follow the Travelers, a group of nomads who commit no crimes, but are being picked off one by one. Martin Walker's favorite chief of police, Bruno, is back and on the case in The Children Return as his small town is targeted by a terrorist network. If you'd prefer a compilation of short stories, buy Mary Higgins Clark's Death Wears a Beauty Mask which you can buy in Hardcover, Kindle eBook or Audiobook format.
Fans of dramatic life stories have a few lovely options for books this week in the upcoming memoirs and biographies. The Hand on the Mirror: A True Story of Life Beyond Death by Janis Heaphy Durham recounts the tale of Durham's husband passing away from cancer and the launch of her life crossing spiritual boundaries. Follow the story of Louise Troh, fiancee of the first man to die of Ebola in America, in My Spirit Took You In which is available in Kindle eBook and Hardcover. Need something lighter than tragedy and death? Check out Dangerous When Wet by Jamie Brickhouse, considered o be both darkly comedic but also deeply poignant, in Kindle eBook or Hardcover format.
Do you enjoy speculating on the future? Look up Nicole Wallace's Madame President for a novel including domestic and political intrigue about the 45th President of the United States. From the Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley (author of Some Luck), her next book Early Warning will be available in Kindle eBook, Hardcover, Paperback and Audiobook.
Followers of the Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James Place series will enjoy Lorraine Heath's The Duke and the Lady in Red, available in Kindle eBook and Paperback. If you love Love in Bloom by Melissa Foster, then you'll want to pick up her new book this week - Catching Cassidy.
If you enjoy fantasy themed Young Adult novels, you're in luck this week. Fans of Game of Thrones-esque novels might enjoy The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey or An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. For a more unique book similar to the popular The Book Thief, consider picking up The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough available in Hardcover, Kindle eBook and Paperback format, if you'd like a different perspective on love and death.
