
Overbooked specializes in providing timely information about fiction (all genres) and readable nonfiction. Overbooked has been online since 1994. Overbooked is a work in progress . . .

Featured Titles
Page Modified:
May 1, 2008
New titles - selected on the basis of good reviews.
Nonfiction, fiction and mystery titles are included on these lists. Books
for kids and teens (fiction and nonfiction) are also frequently listed.
September 2007
- Brother, I'm Dying

Author: Danticat, Edwidge
Publisher: Knopf $ 23.95 ISBN: 9781400041152 Date: 2007
Booklist
LJ
PW
From the best-selling author of The Dew Breaker comes a major work of nonfiction: a powerfully moving family story that centers around the men closest to her heart--her father, Mira, and his older brother, Joseph.
Updated 7.11.07
- The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War
Author: Halberstam, David
Publisher: Hyperion $ 35 ISBN: 9781401300524 Date: 2007
Kirkus
Booklist
Halberstam uses his unrivaled research and formidable journalistic skills to shed light on another dark corner in history: the Korean War. He provides a masterful narrative of the political decisions and miscalculation on both sides, culminating with the massive entry of Chinese forces near the Yalu, which catches Douglas MacArthurs forces by surprise.
Updated 7.11.07
- Who Named the Knife: A Book of Murder and Memory

Author: Spalding, Linda
Publisher: Pantheon $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780375424762 Date: 2007
PW
Like the work of John Ruskin, Spalding's writing brilliantly combines autobiography with the examination of a sensational murder case, and, in doing so, offers readers profound insights into the vagaries of the human heart.
Updated 6.4.07
- Garden Spells

Author: Allen, Sarah Addison
Publisher: Bantam $ 20 ISBN: 9780553805482 Date: 2007
Booklist
LJ
Debut author Allen delivers an enchanting novel that casts a spell called sisterhood on a small town and on every reader who encounters it.
Updated 8.7.07
- Away

Author: Bloom, Amy
Publisher: Random $ 23.95 ISBN: 9781400063567 Date: 2007
Kirkus
PW
In this brilliant new novel, which is at once heartbreaking, romantic, and completely unforgettable, Bloom pens the epic and intimate story of young Lillian Leyb, who after her family is destroyed in a Russian pogrom comes to America alone, determined to make her way in a new land.
Updated 6.27.07
- An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England

Author: Clarke, Brock
Publisher: Algonquin $ 24.95 ISBN: 9781565125513 Date: 2007
Kirkus
PW
This is a sad, funny, absurd, and incredibly moving novel. Its comic mournfulness, its rigorous, breakneck narrative, delight. . . . Clarke [has] given us a wonderful book about life, literature, and the anxieties of their influence.
Updated 5.11.07
- The Brief Wonderous LIfe of Oscar Wao

Author: Diaz, Junot
Publisher: Riverhead $ 24.95 ISBN: 9781594489587 Date: 2007
Kirkus
Booklist
The long-awaited--and thrillingly satisfying, genuinely original--first novel from the unmistakable voice behind the story collection Drown.
Updated 7.11.07
- Engleby

Author: Faulks, Sebastian
Publisher: Doubleday $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780385524056 Date: 2007
PW
Bestselling British author Faulks reinvents the unreliable narrator with his singular, haunting creation Mike Engleby, who leads the reader down an unclear and often darkly humorous path where one is never completely comfortable or confident about what is true.
Updated 7.16.07
- Driven

Author: Kenin, Eve
Publisher: Shomi $ 6.99 ISBN: 9780505527097 Date: 2007
PW
Raina Bowen is in the race for her life, battling rival truckers, ice pirates, and a deadly maniac with a very personal vendetta. And the gorgeous guy whos hijacked her co-pilot's seat isn't helping by seducing her with every glance.
Updated 8.7.07
- The Whale Road

Author: Low, Robert
Publisher: Thomas Dunne $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780312361945 Date: 2007
LJ
A band of brothers, committed only to each other, rides the waves, fighting for the highest bidder, treading the whale road in search of legendary relics.
Robert Low has written a stunning epic, a remarkable debut novel. Not only a compelling narrative, The Whale Road also brings a new Viking landscape stretching from Scotland through the Baltic and on to Istanbul. - Publisher Marketing
Updated 8.7.07
- Baltimore: Or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire

Author: Mignola, Mike and Christopher Golden
Publisher: Spectra $ 25 ISBN: 9780553804713 Date: 2007
Booklist
Reminiscent of the illustrated tales of old, here is a lyrical, atmospheric novel of the paranormal--and a chilling allegory for the nature of war. When Lord Henry Baltimore awakens the wrath of a vampire on the hellish battlefields of World War I, the world is forever changed.
Updated 8.20.07
- Heartsick

Author: Cain, Chelsea
Publisher: Minotaur $ 23.95 ISBN: 9780312368463 Date: 2007
Booklist
PW
LJ
Cain's novel is completely entrancing and totally original--what a read. Between the humanity of Portland cop Archie Sheridan and the chilling and twisted design of his beautiful nemesis, Gretchen Lowell, Heartsick is utterly unforgettable.
Updated 8.20.07
- Agnes and the Hitman

Author: Crusie, Jennifer and Bob Mayer
Publisher: St Martins $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780312363048 Date: 2007
Booklist
LJ
Take one food writer named Cranky Agnes, add a hitman named Shane, mix them together with a Southern mob wedding and a missing necklace, and the result is a sexy, hilarious adventure from the bestselling author team of Crusie and Mayer.
Updated 8.1.07
- Snitch Jacket

Author: Goffard, Christopher
Publisher: Overlook $ 24.95 ISBN: 9781585679546 Date: 2007
PW
Combining elements of classic noir, dark comedy, and a misfits memoir reminiscent of Notes from the Underground, Goffard brings life to the darker side of West Coast counter-culture, in a literary crime novel that will delight readers.
Updated 8.20.07
- The Shotgun Rule

Author: Huston, Charlie
Publisher: Ballantine $ 21.95 ISBN: 9780345481351 Date: 2007
PW
The first stand-alone thriller by critically acclaimed author Charlie Huston, The Shotgun Rule is a raw tale of four teenage friends who go looking for a little trouble– and find it. - Publisher Marketing
Updated 8.1.07
- Tree of Smoke

Author: Johnson, Denis
Publisher: FSG $ 27.50 ISBN: 9780374279127 Date: 2007
PW
Booklist
LJ
This book chronicles the story of Skip Sands--spy-in-training, whos engaged in psychological operations against the Vietcong--and the disasters that befall him thanks to his famous uncle, a war hero known in intelligence circles simply as the Colonel.
Updated 8.20.07
- False Fortune: Pinnacle Peaks

Author: Phelan, Twist
Publisher: Poisoned Pen $ 24.95 ISBN: 9781590583630 Date: 2007
Business attorney Hannah Dain is in such deep water not even her trusty kayak can keep her afloat. A trip to an abandoned uranium mine with her sister Shelby turns into a daring lake rescue. Then Hannah is appointed lead counsel in Shelby's pollution case on behalf of the local Indian tribe against the Fedsa case that some people will do anything to keep out of the courtroom. When things seem as if they cant get any stranger, a recently discovered family member shows up on Hannahs doorstep.
Updated 8.20.07
- The Reincarnationist

Author: Rose, M.J.
Publisher: Mira $ 24.95 ISBN: 9780778324201 Date: 2007
LJ
PW
A bomb erupts in Rome and photojournalist Josh Ryder's world will never be the same. As he recovers, his mind is invaded by emotionally intense and vivid memories--but they are not "his" memories.
Updated 7.9.07
Age and grade designations are approximate, parental judgement should be used.
- The Land of Silver Apples

Author: Farmer, Nancy
Publisher: Atheneum $ 18.99 ISBN:
9781416907350 Date: 2007
Kirkus
SLJ
In this long-awaited sequel to The Sea of Trolls, National Book Award winner and Newbery Honor author Farmer continues the story of Jack, a bard-in-training in 790 A.D. Britain. When he learns that his sister Lucy has been stolen by the Lady of the Lake, Jack must brave his worst nightmares.
Ages: 10+
Updated 7.31.2007
- The Entertainer and the Dybubuk

Author: Fleishchman, Sid
Publisher: Greenwillow $ 16.99 ISBN:
9780061344459 Date: 2007
Kirkus
SLJ
The Newbery Medal-winning author of The Whipping Boy tells a moving and distinguished story set in post-World War II Europe about an American soldier possessed by the spirit of a dybbuk, who sets out to find the Nazi officer who murdered his family.
Ages: 9-13
Updated 7.31.2007
- Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Author: Willems, Mo
Publisher: Hyperion $ 16.99 ISBN: 9781423102991
Date: 2007
Kirkus
PW
SLJ
This stunning follow-up to the Caldecott Honor-winning Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale begins as Trixie excitedly takes her one-of-a-kind Knuffle Bunny to school to show her friends. However, an awful surprise awaits her.
Ages: 4-8
Updated 7.31.2007
Overbooked is a volunteer project undertaken by Ann Chambers Theis: Collection Management Administrator, Chesterfield County (VA) Public Library. 9501 Lori Rd. or P.O. Box 297, Chesterfield, VA, 23832. Phone: 804.748.1760.
Overbooked is not an official Chesterfield County Public Library service. Overbooked.org is a nonprofit web site hosted by CVCO - Central Virginia's Community Online. Overbooked.com is a nonprofit web site in experimental mode. Overbooked does not endorse any commercial providers (or their products and services) linked to from this web site.
Please join the conversation(s) at
Overbookers - a rather quiet social space for the chronically overbooked.
Join the Overbooked List - A quiet list for readers to share recent reads, keep up to date with details about new books, discuss favorite authors/titles, etc.
Comments, suggestions, corrections: Ann Chambers Theis (AKA Ann/ACT):
ann_overbooked@earthlink.net
or
ann@overbooked.com
I really appreciate all the e-mail I receive from avid readers and writers and regret that I am not able to respond to all correspondents. Special thanks to those folks who regularly help keep me on track - you know who you are....