USA TODAY International Edition
‘ The Resisters,’ ‘ The Regrets’ and a Hollywood ‘ Goodbye’
In search of something good to read? USA TODAY’s Barbara VanDenburgh scopes out the shelves for this week’s hottest new book releases.
1. “The Resisters” by Gish Jen ( Knopf, fiction, on sale Feb. 4)
What it’s about: This sly work of dystopian fiction is set in the near future. The United States is now AutoAmerica, and citizens are divided into the Netted and the Surplus: those who rule, and those who consume. But the life of one Surplus with a golden arm takes a turn when the government resurrects baseball.
The buzz: “Beautifully crafted and slyly unsettling,” says a starred review in Kirkus Reviews.
2. “The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood” by Sam Wasson ( Flatiron, nonfiction, on sale Feb. 4)
What it’s about: “Chinatown” ( 1974) was a watershed moment in a colorful era of American filmmaking. Wasson looks past the myth to tell the true story of its making and its principal players, including Jack Nicholson, Roman Polanski and Robert Evans.
The buzz: Kirkus Reviews calls the book “good reading for any American cinema buff.”
3.“The Regrets” by Amy Bonnaffons ( Little, Brown and Company, fiction, on sale Feb. 4)
What it’s about: Rachel finds herself drawn to an attractive young man she’s noticed for weeks sitting at her Brooklyn bus stop. Their chemistry is undeniable. He’s handsome, witty, mysterious – and also dead. Steamy ghost sex? You’ve got our attention.
The buzz: “This sexy, witty novel about life, death, and love’s power will enchant readers,” says a starred review in Publishers Weekly.
4. “The Authenticity Project” by Clare Pooley ( Pamela Dorman Books, fiction, on sale Feb. 4)
What it’s about: In this charming British novel, a confessional notebook left in a cafe starts to make the rounds, and perfect strangers begin divulging their innermost truths to one another – with surprising, tender results.
The buzz: A eeeE review for USA TODAY calls the book “an enjoyable read that is cozy – or as its British characters would have it, cosy – in the best sense of the word.”
5. “Crooked River” by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child ( Grand Central Publishing, fiction, on sale Feb. 4)
What it’s about: The latest installment in the Pendergast series finds the FBI special agent in the quiet resort town of Sanibel Island, Florida, where dozens of identical shoes have washed up on a beach – each with a severed human foot inside.
The buzz: “After a string of so- so entries in this bestselling series, Preston and Child have returned to the quality storytelling they’re known for,” says Publishers Weekly.