A- list authors to fill shelves
Dan Brown will deliver a new thriller, and even Robert Langdon himself — aka Tom Hanks — is dipping his toe into fiction with a collection of short stories. More big names, including Alice Waters, John le Carré, Amy Tan and Matthew Weiner, will soon hit b
1 A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré ( Viking, fiction, on sale Sept. 5)
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Peter Guillam, now retired from the British Secret Service, is summoned to London to answer questions from a new generation with little patience for Cold War tactics.
COOL FACTOR: This is the first le Carré thriller in more than 25 years to feature spymaster George Smiley.
2 Coming to My Senses
by Alice Waters ( Clarkson Potter, non- fiction, on sale Sept. 5)
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: A memoir by the chef who opened Chez Panisse, the influential Berkeley, Calif., restaurant, when she was 27 in 1971.
COOL FACTOR: Waters, at the forefront of the local/ organic food movement, has seen her influence extend all the way to Michelle Obama’s White House garden.
3 The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye
by David Lagercrantz ( Knopf, fiction, on sale Sept. 12) The Girl WHAT IT’S ABOUT: With the Dragon Tattoo mega- series continues as imprisoned hacker Lisbeth Salander teams with journalist Mikael Blomkvist to uncover the truth about her childhood. This is the COOL FACTOR: second Millennium sequel written by Lagercrantz; the first, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, was a No. 1 USA TODAY best seller.
4 Sleeping Beauties
by Stephen King and Owen King ( Scribner, fiction, on sale Sept. 26) WHAT IT’S ABOUT: A mysterious sleep disorder that can cause women to become violent disrupts an Appalachian town. COOL FACTOR: This is the first time Stephen King has co- written a book with his son ( also an author), a project he calls a “thrill.”
5 Origin
by Dan Brown ( Doubleday, fiction, on sale Oct. 3)
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The action moves to Spain as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is caught up in intrigue surrounding a former student’s high- tech discovery. COOL FACTOR: Brown’s series featuring Langdon unraveling cryptic clues and running for his life includes the blockbusters The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol.
6 Grant
by Ron Chernow ( Penguin Press, nonfiction, on sale Oct. 10)
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The Pulitzer Prizewinning author of biographies including Alexander Hamilton ( the inspiration for the Broadway smash musical Hamilton) and Washington now focuses on Ulysses S. Grant at a time when our nation is relitigating the Civil War.
COOL FACTOR: Is Lin- Manuel Miranda busy sharpening his Grant vs. Lee rhymes? We can only hope.
7 Uncommon Type: Some Stories
by Tom Hanks ( Knopf, fiction, on sale Oct. 17)
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Seventeen short stories by the Oscar- winning actor, each involving a different typewriter in some way. COOL FACTOR: This marks Hanks’ debut as an author. We think he’s our type, judging by the retro subject.
8 Where the Past Begins
by Amy Tan ( Ecco, non- fiction, on sale Oct. 17)
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: In this “writer’s memoir,” the popular author of novels about Chinese immigrants reveals memories of her traumatic childhood. COOL FACTOR: Tan sheds light on the creative impulse behind best sellers such as The Joy Luck Club.
9 Heather, the Totality
by Matthew Weiner ( Little, Brown, fiction, on sale Nov. 7)
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The teenage daughter of a well- off Manhattan couple is in the sights of a sociopathic stalker.
COOL FACTOR: The creator of Mad Men says his debut novel was born the day he saw a construction worker give a “terrifying” look to a beautiful schoolgirl on the Upper East Side.
10Artemis
by Andy Weir ( Crown, fiction, on sale Nov. 14)
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: In this sci- fi adventure set on the moon, Jasmine “Jazz” Bashara is a smuggler pulled into a conspiracy for control of the city of Artemis. COOL FACTOR: Weir’s best seller The Martian was the basis for the hit Ridley Scott film starring Matt Damon, and Artemis has been snapped up for the movies by 20th Century Fox and New Regency.