September Titles

I am going to start off this week talking about 2 nonfiction titles. I am not a big nonfiction reader but these two titles have caught my interest.

On September 25, Terry Pratchett, the creator of Discworld, is coming out with a collection of nonfiction essays, A Slip of the Keyboard. This is a man who has stepped out from the shadows in support of some causes to include Alzheimer's research and animal rights. He writes with passion for causes, humor, and humanity about things as varied as mushrooms, banana daiquiris and the writing life. I might have to read this one.

The next nonfiction is written by Tavis Smiley. I heard him speak and was entranced - no surprise as he speaks on television and NPR, but he is very approachable in person. His title, Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year, comes out on September 9th. I had not realized how discouraging that last year must have been for him. He was brushed aside by President Johnson and was being challenged by the press, African American militants and members of the middle class. I believe it will be eye opening.

Robert Jackson Bennett may not be a name you are familiar with but then again, maybe you are. He has won an Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award and a Philip K Dick citation. On September 9th, he has City of Stairs coming which is both high fantasy and suspense. Once a conquering city, Bulikov has become a colonial outpost. The powers that be send Shara Divani to take up a modest post but in actuality, she is a spy sent to investigate the murder of a historian.

Christina Dodd is probably best known for her romance but on September 9th, she definitely is taking a step to suspense with Virtue Falls. Elizabeth Banner has grown up believing that her father murdered her mother when she was only 4. When she comes home to Virtue Falls as an adult, she does some investigating and decides her father was innocent and that her mother was the victim of a serial killer who is still at large.

How I didn't put this on the big name list for September, I don't know but Philippa Gregory has the final entry in the "Cousins' War" series coming on September 9th. The King's Curse has Margaret Pole becoming lady-in-waiting to Katherine of Aragon as she marries her dead husband's brother, Henry VIII. A really popular series with those who read historical fiction.

Deborah Crombie gives us To Dwell in Darkness on September 23rd. This is the latest in the Duncan Kincaid-Gemma James series for those who enjoy mysteries with a British touch. Duncan investigates a lethal bombing at St. Pancras Station.

Lastly, for this time, Julie Lawson Timmer has a debut novel, Five Days Left coming on September 9th. It is a novel about love and loss and has attracted all sorts of raves. Mara, a lawyer, is losing her battle with a fatal disease and plans to say good-bye quickly. Scott, a middle school teacher, has been raising an 8 year old boy whose mother was in prison. The mother is being released and Scott is dreading saying good-bye. Both Mara and Scott have five days left with their loved ones. This one sounds like it might make me cry so I don't know. However one reviewer said that it was "profoundly affecting, memorable and insightful". She also said it made a big impression on her and that she wasn't going to be able to get it out of her head for a really long time. Almost makes me want to try it. How about you?