Patiently Awaiting

I wanted to share with you some of the forthcoming books that I am patiently (or not so patiently) awaiting the release of.

One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
Expected publication: 22 February 2011 by Hodder & Stoughton (UK)

This is the sixth book in the Thursday Next series. I still haven't read book five, First Among Sequels, but I have enjoyed the first four and will definitely be getting this too.

It is a time of unrest in the BookWorld. Only the diplomatic skills of ace literary detective Thursday Next can avert a devastating genre war. But a week before the peace talks, Thursday vanishes. Has she simply returned home to the RealWorld or is this something more sinister?

All is not yet lost. Living at the quiet end of speculative fiction is the written Thursday Next, eager to prove herself worth of her illustrious namesake.

The written Thursday is soon hot on the trail of her factual alter-ego, and quickly stumbles upon a plot so fiendish that it threatens the very BookWorld itself. (Amazon)

Gideon's Sword by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Expected publication: 22 February by Grand Central Publishing (US)

I have never read anything by either of these two authors, but this sounds like a good place to start. Actually, it had me at "trickster, prodigy, master thief".

Introducing Gideon Crew: trickster, prodigy, master thief.

At twelve, Gideon Crew witnessed his father, a world-class mathematician, accused of treason and gunned down. At twenty-four, summoned to his dying mother's bedside, Gideon learned the truth: His father was framed and deliberately slaughtered. With her last breath, she begged her son to avenge him.

Now, with a new purpose in his life, Gideon crafts a one-time mission of vengeance, aimed at the perpetrator of his father's destruction. His plan is meticulous, spectacular, and successful. But from the shadows, someone is watching. A very powerful someone, who is impressed by Gideon's special skills. Someone who has need of just such a renegade.

For Gideon, this operation may be only the beginning . . . (Amazon)

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith
Expected publication: 3 March 2011 by Little, Brown (UK)

I love the No. 1 Ladies' Detectove Agency series, and am always looking forward to a new book about Mma Ramotswe. This is the 12th in this lovely series.

The twelfth installment in the beloved, best-selling series is once again a beautiful blend of wit and wisdom, and a pro­foundly touching tale of the human heart.  Precious Ramotswe is haunted by a dream in which she is driving her dear old white van. Grace Makutsi dreams that her 97 percent on the Botswana Secre­tarial College exam was a mistake. When Mma Ra­motswe discovers that her van is actually still in use (and, of course, sets out to retrieve it), Mma Makutsi wonders whether her dream will turn out to be pro­phetic as well. They can only wait and see, but, in the meantime, one of Phuti Radiphuti’s apprentices has gotten a girl pregnant and, under pressure to marry her, has run away. Naturally, it is up to Precious and Grace to help the couple work things out. In other developments, Mma Ramotswe investigates a case of rural jealousy in which cattle are being poisoned. Add to the mix Violet Sephotho’s newly begun, already unstoppable run for the Botswana Parliament and the possibility that wedding bells may finally ring for Phuti Ra­diphuti and Grace Makutsi—whose love for each other is as great as their love for Botswana—and we have a charming and delightful tale in the inimitable style of Alexander McCall Smith. (Goodreads)

 

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
Expected publication: 10 May 2011 by Henry Holt & Co (US)

I have been a fan of Rob Lowe for many years, and I'm looking forward to reading his autobiography (and look at pretty pictures. Yes, I'm that shallow (but have you seen the man?).)

A wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye

A teen idol at fifteen, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood.

The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety.

Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable. (Goodreads)

What books are you patiently awaiting?