Sunday, September 12, 2010

Barnes & Noble Predicts Big Books for Fall

Barnes and Noble expects an outstanding title selection for fall 2010 in both fiction and non-fiction with strong titles ranging from thrillers, paranormal romance and mystery, to political memoirs, historical biographies and a strong line up in teen and young adult titles.

"There is a wide variety of titles hitting shelves this fall season and Barnes & Noble is thrilled to offer customers such a fantastic selection as we head into the holiday season," said Patricia Bostelman, vice president of marketing at Barnes & Noble. "We know our customers are looking forward to new titles from bestselling authors who haven't published in a while such as Jonathan Franzen, Laura Hillenbrand and Tom Clancy. We are also excited about the large selection of memoirs coming out of the political, celebrity and music worlds. This is going to be a strong fall season with choices for everyone."

Freedom: A Novel by Jonathan Franzen is garnering exemplary reviews and is off to a strong start and expected to continue through the holidays.

Thrillers dominate with The Confession, the first fall legal thriller from John Grisham; Dead or Alive, the first book from Tom Clancy since 2003; Cross Fire and Don't Blink from James Patterson; and Port Mortuary by Patricia Cornwell. In horror look for Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars and What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz.

A strong line-up of historical biographies by prominent authors will hit shelves including Decision Points by former President George W. Bush, Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow; and Extraordinary, Ordinary People by former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Also expected to do well is America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith & Flag by Governor Sarah Palin, the follow-up to her bestselling memoir Going Rogue.

For readers of history and current affairs we are looking forward to Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, her first work since Seabiscuit, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson and Obama's War by Bob Woodward.

Celebrity biographies and memoirs will range from nostalgic to current. Music will be a popular subject with memoirs from mega-recording artists including Life by Keith Richards; Late, Late at Night by Rick Springfield; Roses & Thorns by Bret Michaels; Me by Ricky Martin; Decoded by Jay-Z; and The Woman I Was Born to Be: My Story by Susan Boyle. Other popular titles will include Kardashian Konfidential by the Kardashian sisters; My Booky Wook 2 by Russell Brand; Love, Lust & Faking It by Jenny McCarthy; and Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There? by Whoopi Goldberg.

Cookbooks are always top sellers during the holiday season and this year brings a selection of favorite chefs including Rachel Ray, Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, Jessica Seinfeld, Nigella Lawson, Alton Brown, Jaime Oliver and Mark Bittmann.

Humor has new titles from bestselling authors including Jon Stewart, Nora Ephron, Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris. Bestselling mystery author Janet Evanovich is launching Wicked Appetite the first book in a new series based around the character Diesel from her "Stephanie Plum" series and Richard Castle will have Naked Heat, a second mystery in his series that's the basis for last year's successful television show. Graphic novels will see two new titles from bestselling authors Diana Gabaldon with Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel and Paulo Coelho with Alchemist: A Graphic Novel.

Romance will see growth in the paranormal arena with major titles from Christine Feehan with Dark Peril and Sherilyn Kenyon with No Mercy. Debbie Macomber will have a special holiday title, Call Me Mrs. Miracle.

Books about nature are lead by Great Migrations, the tie-in to this fall's new National Geographic TV series. Stephen Hawking's The Grand Design will appeal to science readers.

In religion we have new titles from Joel Osteen, Mike Huckabee, Richard Paul Ecans and Max Lucado.

For Teens, paranormal romance and fantasy and adventure continue to dominate the trends. Long-awaited sequels will hit shelves along with brand new books. In paranormal romance, look for Torment by Lauren Kate; Nightshade by Andrea Cremer; and Elixir by Hilary Duff. In fantasy and adventure some of the big titles include Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins; Witch and Wizard: Battle for Shadowland by James Patterson and Dara Naraghi; and Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. Action and adventure and diary-format fiction dominate the young readers subjects, along with the autobiography of one of the world's most popular teen stars. Hot titles for young readers include Into the Gauntlet (The 39 Clues Series #10) by Margaret Peterson Haddix; The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan; Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story by Justin Bieber; and The Ugly Truth (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series #5) by Jeff Kinney.

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