Over the next two weeks, we’ll also be traveling to the worlds featured within the books. Join us as we visit new destinations—including New Mexico, the Australian coast, and even Mars—by clicking a new pinpoint on the map each day.
What would a summer vacation be without a trip down to the beautiful beaches of Florida? Well, for John Lutz’s classic investigator Fred Carver, life isn’t your typical day at the beach While the rough-and-tumble Carver is recuperating from a gunshot wound at his beachfront bungalow, he’s persuaded to search for a man who mysteriously disappeared in the middle of breakfast. The missing man, Willie Davis, is also the lover of gorgeous real-estate maven Edwina Talbot, and Carver finds himself tempted by more than just this deepening mystery. Full of the sun, sand, and steam you’d expect from Florida Noir, you’ll need to apply sunscreen just to read Tropical Heat. —Jason
CLOSE“There is an internal landscape, a geography of the soul; we search for its outlines all our lives.” —Josephine Hart, Damage
The opening line of Damage indicates that the journey it depicts is a deeply internal one. Readers will spend the majority of the novel in the bedroom and the obsessive mind of the narrator, whose posh lifestyle—a country home, a weekend getaway in Paris—appears not lavish but deeply constraining. Externally, the London and Paris of Hart’s blockbuster novel are cities of dark corners, back alleys, and shadowy experiences. This is no tour of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace; in Damage you discover “hidden enclaves in London of creamy houses, rich with discretion.” Enter them, and be forever changed. —Laura
CLOSEIf you like the New York City of Sex and the City and The Devil Wears Prada, you’ll love Rafael Yglesias’s Hot Properties, which takes you just a step further into the seedier side of elite Manhattan. An insider’s look at the glamorous, dog-eat-dog world of publishing in the Big Apple, Hot Properties travels into the most exclusive realms of Manhattan as Yglesias offers a biting satire of the beacon that is New York’s media landscape. Step into a penthouse overlooking Central Park, and while away the summer—that is, if you survive the cutthroat competition it takes to get there. —Laura
CLOSEWWII veteran and first-class novelist James Jones was no stranger to violence. Perhaps that’s why A Touch of Danger, his foray into hard-boiled detective fiction, is so convincing. Set amid the breathtaking ruins and sultry climes of Greece, the novel tells the story of Frank “Lobo” Davies, an unshakeable private eye who never learned how to turn down a job. In the novel, Jones pulls out all the stops. Blackmail, decadent aristocrats, cheating spouses, drug trafficking, and gun-toting thugs—it’s all here. But even when writing a potboiler, Jones, best known for the classic war novels From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line, animates his tale with a profound sense of moral outrage and concern with the human condition. Read it for the twist and turns, but be prepared for much more. —Justin
CLOSESpend twenty-four hours in Scotland with a philosophy student and a charismatic shaman. Golf in the Kingdom is the best-selling piece of fiction ever written about the game of golf, but ask anyone who’s read it and they will tell you that it’s about much more than golf.
Your journey begins with a round of golf in one of Scotland’s most revered courses and advances into a wild night of philosophical questions, whiskey, and wandering. If you like a little philosophy in your fiction, or if you’ve ever wondered about your relationship with nature, you’ll want to download this instantly. —Lauren
CLOSEBill Guttentag, the author of Boulevard, is an Academy Award–winning documentary filmmaker—and, boy, you sure can tell it from his visual, visceral scenes of hope and despair amid the neon lights of Los Angeles. Readers, be warned: your trip to Los Angeles through Boulevard will not be a light or superficial affair. In this literary crime novel, you’ll descend down into the city’s seedier streets to join Casey, a teenage runaway, and her street family as they navigate an unforgettable torrent of actresses, pimps, addicts, freaks, cops, and the destitute and the lonely. As one review said, “like Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Boulevard begins with a murder”—and it’s all the more real through Bill Guttentag’s cinematic eye. —Lauren
CLOSE“The forces of globalization will further aid terrorism.” —Mitchell B. Reiss, Negotiating with Evil
Reiss’ timely insight proves to be especially true in Sri Lanka, one of the areas he explores in his quest to unveil the various methods countries have used to confront terrorist movements. Probing into the violent history of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an armed movement responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Sri Lankans as well of over 50,000 Muslims and Sinhalese, Reiss transports you to a country tortured by selfish political leaders. A country plagued by periodic tropical cyclones, Sri Lanka boasts an unsettled climate, which, like the country’s political landscape, can be both destructive and creative. You will be truly shocked by what you see. —Amelia
CLOSE“Flying is a skill of course, like riding a bicycle, one that can be learned by anyone of modest intelligence and physical gifts who has the ability to take instruction. But when truly mastered and the aircraft becomes a part of you, an extension of your physical abilities, then flying is an art.” —Stephen Coonts, The Cannibal Queen
Join New York Times bestselling author Stephen Coonts as he travels the forty-eight contiguous states in his restored 1942 Boeing-Stearman open-cockpit plane—giving new meaning to the word “thriller.” Beginning in his hometown of Boulder, Colorado—which he describes as “a place hippies moved to after the 1960s were over”—Coonts and his teenage son first set out for Orlando, Florida, one of many stops that Coonts will make in his three month journey across America’s countryside. —Libby
CLOSEIn an unforgettable novel spanning the second half of the last century, Mary Glickman tells the story of a Southern Jewish family during the turbulent Civil Rights era and beyond. Home in the Morning represents Boston and Mississippi during different time periods with candor, sensitivity, and a sense of humor—no lapsing into stereotypes here.
As a New Englander-turned-Southerner herself, Glickman has a special affinity for capturing the nuances of both worlds. So, whether it’s a summertime family barbecue in Mississippi “under the grandest shade tree of them all, [where] Mickey Moe himself manned a bar sweating pitchers of ice tea and lemonade for the women and children, plus bottles of beer set in tubs of ice and quarts of hard liquor lined up for the men,” or a stuffy dinner in the home of a wealthy Boston family “served in the formal dining room: oak paneled, heavy mahogany table and chairs, the latter cushioned with red velvet, a huge breakfront also of mahogany hosting a silver service fit for royalty, flocked salmon wallpaper and gilt mirrors, crystal chandelier,” Glickman gets it right. Home in the Morning explores a world you’ll want to read about with a glass of cold lemonade—or fine wine, depending on which characters you identify with more—by your side. —Laura
CLOSEIt’s only fitting that the author of the novel Alien would write a book about the world’s most dangerous predators. But it’s more than that—science fiction legend Alan Dean Foster is not just writing about teenage mutant killer otters or deadly tangarana ants, he’s sharing his real life experiences with them. In Predators I Have Known, you’ll travel to some of the world’s most exotic locations to meet its most ferocious predators. My favorite is miles off the Australian coast. Just you, the temperate, quiet waters, and a swarm of circling great white sharks. —Lauren
CLOSE“A haze had settled in the Columbia River Gorge. The smoke came down the river and bulged a deeper gray between the mountains. When the sun went down, the sky lit up like Jesus was coming back.” —Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story
Donald Miller has a knack for observing his life and surroundings. Here, he highlights Oregon’s natural beauty and the arresting sky of the Pacific Northwest. After one successful book, a series of failed attempts, and a serious case of writer’s block, Miller allows a couple of movie producers into his world so that they can create a film loosely based on his life. However, Miller must come to terms with his aimless existence when the producers realize that his story is too directionless for the screen. Happily tagging along on Miller’s quest to take on Oregon and all the rest, readers will experience the author’s metamorphosis as he decides to live his life—not just write about it. —Amelia
CLOSEMalachy McCourt has said that “Joseph Caldwell’s place in Irish-American literature is secure.” Once you read this delightful novel—the first in a trilogy—about an American writer living in Western Ireland, you’ll quickly see why.
When Aaron McCloud travels to Ireland to escape his love life, or lack thereof, in New York City, he makes an unlikely companion—a lost pig. But the lovelorn writer’s world is soon turned upside down after his new four-legged friend uncovers the remains of a human skeleton in his aunt’s backyard. Part mystery, part farce, The Pig Did It is Caldwell’s charming paean to Irish manners and mayhem. —Justin
CLOSEFrom the auto industry to Motown, Detroit is part of the backbone of America—and who better to be your guide through the city of soul and steel than Loren Estleman’s legendary P.I. Amos Walker?
While neck deep in the murder of an old Vietnam buddy, Walker is approached by Ben Morningstar, who needs help finding a young girl who has suddenly disappeared. Oh, and did we mention Morningstar happens to be a mob boss? In Motor City Blue, Walker strips back the paint and steel takes you into a part of Detroit that is definitely not on any tourist map. —Jason
CLOSELike Dostoyevsky infused with Thomas Cole (the American painter known for his landscapes), Bradford Morrow’s Trinity Fields allegorizes American guilt over atomic warfare through a raptured exploration of New Mexico and Laos.
William “Brice” McCarthy, a son of one of the scientists working on the Manhattan Project, receives an enigmatic letter from his childhood best friend, William “Kip” Calder, asking Brice to meet him at a spot where, as children, they first made an important step toward maturation. Brice takes this to mean a Native American religious location in Chimayo, New Mexico. As Brice details his travel from Manhattan back to Los Alamos and the town where he grew up, he incorporates flashbacks of the first twenty-five years of his life, wherein we learn that Kip and Brice, in separate ways, have both struggled to deal with the guilt of enabling and endorsing the creation and use of the atomic bomb in one of the most striking landscapes in the world. —Zach
CLOSEIf you spoke to hundreds of women across the nation about their marriages, what do you think they would they say? Travel the U.S. with former magazine editor Dalma Heyn as she talks to a computer consultant in California, a psychologist in the Midwest, and a group of ten in New Jersey—among hundreds more—about their marriages. When very bold, damaging patterns emerge, Heyn pleads that we must revolutionize marriage in order to save it. Read Marriage Shock to learn how. —Lauren
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You’ve been to Los Angeles, Sri Lanka, and the Australian coast, now it’s time to go to Mars! Martian Summer is the nonfiction account of one guy’s summer spent exploring Mars from the control room of a NASA planetary mission. Join him as he discovers and reveals secrets on the planet’s north pole—like water ice and Mars time—and interacts with some of the very best physicists, geologists, and rocket scientists in the world. (Don’t worry if you don’t know the lingo—your guide learns it with you.) If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to go into space, you won’t want to miss this. —Lauren
CLOSEPublished in 1951 when William Styron was just 26-years-old, Lie Down in Darkness puts a striking new twist on the traditional Southern novel. Styron’s debut tells the story of Peyton Loftis, the product of a miserable marriage between a failed lawyer and a cruel matriarch. Thrust into a provincial world awash in small-town gossip and familial dysfunction, with no earthly escape in sight, Peyton eventually orchestrates her own death. As Styron reconstructs her tragic life he brilliantly combines the gothic elements of Flannery O’Connor with the brooding lyricism of William Faulkner—and the results are simply stunning. —Justin
CLOSETake a trip to Memphis, the birthplace of Rock lsquo;n’ roll—and the inspiration for the hit Broadway show, Million Dollar Quartet—in Colin Escott’s definitive history of Sun Studios. Hang out in honkytonks with Elvis, go on the road with Roy Orbison, jump onstage with Jerry Lee Lewis, and, most importantly, join the fellows in the studio as Sam Phillips records the stars that started it all. This summer, music lovers will relish in joining Escott as he heads to Tennessee for a wild time. —Laura
CLOSE“Our old home was in the countryside just south of Nashville . . . In the fall, I would often drive up into the Smokies and watch as the leaves began their graceful turn from green to the spectacular reds, oranges, and golds of autumn. It was a breathtaking sight.” —Sheila Walsh, God Has a Dream For Your Life
While Walsh takes a moment to recall a beloved memory of her home in Tennessee, she encourages the reader to reclaim a dream that has been buried or to trade in an old dream for a new one. The author will attest that life is not perfect, but it is filled with choices. And when you are staring at a landscape as beautiful as the one Walsh describes above, it is important to recognize that God has a beautiful dream for you. The ability to dream comes with a freedom of spirit; be free to roam the rolling hills of Tennessee, and then continue on to wherever your heart may lead you. —Amelia
CLOSE“ ‘Remember me,’ Anne said, smiling. ‘I will remember you. But most of all, both of us must remember that life itself is a privilege, but to live life to its fullest—well, that is a choice!’ ” – Andy Andrews, The Traveler’s Gift
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Thursday, October 28, 1943. Andrews’ protagonist, forty-six year-old David is thrust from his present existence—that of a failed Fortune 500 executive working a minimum wage job—back to the Annex, where Anne Frank penned her now canonical diary. However, David’s journey does not stop with Anne; he is transported into six more moments of historical significance and encounters some of the wisest people who have ever lived. By joining David on his journey, the reader, too, receives seven secrets of success. Today, choose to be happy, Anne urges. You will not be disappointed. —Amelia
CLOSE“On the side of a country road, the hour was late, and I was lost . . . To my right was a farmhouse. In the farmhouse was a family . . . Norman Rockwell would have placed them on a canvas. The mom was spooning out food, and the dad was telling a story, and the kids were laughing, and it was all I could do to keep from ringing the doorbell and asking for a place at the table. I felt so far from home.”– Max Lucado, Traveling Light
Senior minister at the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, TX, Max Lucado uses the 23rd psalm to guide his reader in releasing some of her weighty burdens. Using members of his San Antonio congregation as central figures in his teaching parables, Lucado highlights that God will tend to anyone and everyone. His divine love is so great that it will receive all the worries, hopelessness, and guilt that the reader bears. Whether you’re in San Antonio, Sydney, or Sicily, Lucado invites you to open up to God and thus lighten your spiritual load. —Amelia
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Ruth was made for New York. It has been said that where youth sees discovery, age sees coincidence, and perhaps the retrospect of years makes Ruth’s arrival in Manhattan in 1920 seem only a fortuitous juxtaposition of man and place in time. Nonetheless, Ruth in that place at that time was discovery. And adventure. And excitement. And all the concomitant titillations. One of his famous nicknames, the Bambino, came about because New York’s polyglot immigrants, and their children, found themselves strangely excited by Ruth and baseball. Many of those riding the subways and elevated trains and streetcars up to the thin northern neck of Manhattan where the Polo Grounds was, or who talked about Ruth on street corners and in the neighborhood stores, were Italian. The rhythm and alliteration and connotative impact of the Italian word for babe, bambino, made the nickname a natural. In time, headlines would say simply,“BAM HITS ONE.”
Ruth did not come to New York as a Yankee until the day the club left for Jacksonville and spring training. He had dawdled in California, occasionally sounding off about getting more money from the deal, and sidestepped New York on the way back. In Boston he tried to wangle a percentage of the sale price from Frazee. He smoked cigars in a show window to promote the cigar factory, even smoking three cigars at the same time. He basked in the sad adulation of Red Sox fans at a testimonial dinner given in his honor at the Hotel Brunswick by the David J. Walsh Collegiate Club.
Finally, on February 28, he took a train for New York to join the rest of the Yankee contingent at Pennsylvania Station, where the team was to catch the 6:20 sleeper to Florida. He did not appear in the station until ten past six, but when he did a mob of fans crowded around him trying to touch him or shake hands. Autograph hounds happily were still a rarity in those days. Ruth, hulking over the people around him, beamed, shook hands, exchanged greetings and obviously enjoyed the stir he was creating. He was wearing a heavy leather coat and was clinging to a new set of golf clubs he had bought in California.
“One of the adventures I always thought would be cool was to take a funky old airplane and fly it all over the United States,” says New York Times bestselling novelist Stephen Coonts. “I just went out and did it.” In The Cannibal Queen: An Aerial Odyssey Across America Coonts chronicles the summer he spent flying a 50-year-old wood-and-canvas open-cockpit biplane over the lower 48. It turned out to be the experience of a lifetime. In this video watch exclusive footage of Coonts flying his vintage plane and discussing his “arresting” (Kirkus Reviews) work of nonfiction.