BookExpo America Roundup Part 1: Nonfiction and Science Fiction
So many galleys. (Photo by RJ Mickelson)
This past weekend was BookExpo America, a massive convention held at the Javits Center where tons of book publishers from across the globe come together to meet, show off their new titles and sell their titles to book stores.
I was there for amNewYork, and picked up many, many bags worth of books and galleys of upcoming releases. While there is no conceivable way to read these fast enough for reviews, I can judge them by their covers. Here is part one of a run down of what I found that interested me and I think will interest amNY readers. Come back tomorrow for part 2, which will include fiction, thrillers and more if I have time.
Josh Dorfman shows off his book, "The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget" at the Abrams booth at Book Expo on Saturday. (Photo by Scott A. Rosenberg)
Nonfiction
Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America’s Pastime by Mark Frost – Frost, the author of “The Greatest Game Ever Played” looks at game six of the 1975 world series, a game delayed three days due to rain. With characters such as Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski and Sparky Anderson, Frost’s new baseball looks to be required reading for sports fans. (Hardcover, Hyperion Books, $26.99, October)
The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget: Save Money. Save Time. Save the Planet. By Josh Dorfman – New York City author Dorfman, who has a new show on Sundance Channel starting in June, tells you how to make your life green without spending tons of green, which is good for you and the planet. Who can’t use that? (Paperback, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $14.95, Available now)
The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs – Jacobs, author of “The Year of Living Biblically” and “The Know-It-All,” returns with a collection of stories about going undercover as a beautiful woman, outsourcing everything to India, living like George Washington, his attempt to be a unitasker and other hilarious-sounding endeavors. “Diaries” appears to be another funny tome from the Esquire editor. (Hardcover, Simon & Schuster, $25, September)
Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood by Michael Lewis – Lewis wrote “Moneyball,” so he can do no wrong in the eyes of this reporter and longtime Oakland A’s fan. His latest looks at the difference between the concept of fatherhood and the actual execution, based on his personal experience. Lewis is able to take business and sports issues and make them accessible and riveting reads – one can only assume he’ll be able to do the same with parenting. (Hardcover, W.W. Norton, $23.95, Available now)
Science fiction
The Killing Ground by Graham McNeill – Set in the world of the role playing game Warhammer 40,000, McNeill’s latest - he’s written quite a few books in this world – looks to be an action packed sci-fi thriller. After reading the first few pages, it seems to be accessible and compelling to people not familiar with Warhammer 40,000 (such as me), and will likely really appeal to the hard core fans. (Hardcover, Black Library, $19.99, Available now)
Forty-Eight X – The Lemuria Project by Barry Pollack – Just take a look at the cover of Pollack’s “Forty-Eight X” and you’ll want to read it. The gritty and weather cover has a special Book Expo sticker on the cover, with a big red warning sign on the cover. The plot deals with a military experiment –creating the ultimate warrior - gone arwy. This looks to be a classic sci-fi thriller page-turner. (Hardcover, Medallion Press, $24.95, December)
The Affinity Bridge: A Newbury & Hobbes Investigation by George Mann – This book has been out in the U.K. for a little bit and is making its American debut in a few months. It’s a steam punk mystery set in Victorian London. With airships and automaton pilots and I’m, quite frankly, giddy to read this. I refer to a pull quote on the back cover from author Chris Roberson: “An enormous pile of awesome.” And there is already another volume, “The Osirus Ritual” available in England, so there’s more where this came from. (Hardcover, Tor, $24.95, July)
Leviathon by Scott Westerfeld with illustrations by Keith Thompson – This is a teen book, but I’m sticking it in the sci-fi section because it fits nicely with the previous book. Westerfeld turns out a steam punk novel set on the eve of World War I that seems to pit man vs. machines, with some beautiful illustrations from Thompson. Much like the previous book, I'm excited to read this. (Hardcover, Simon Pulse, $19.99, October)
