So you've read your Christmas books and you're wondering what's coming up next year? I'm glad you asked! Here are some of the biggies:
"The Monk of Mokha," by Dave Eggers. (Jan. 30.) The true story of a Yemeni immigrant to the United States who returns to his country to start a coffee business just as civil war breaks out.
"I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes With Death," by Maggie O'Farrell. (Feb. 6.) The author of "Instructions for a Heat Wave" turns to memoir in this account of 17 true near-death experiences.
"Feel Free," by Zadie Smith. (Feb. 6.) In this collection of essays, Smith takes a bright, smart look at popular culture, politics and literature.
"White Houses," by Amy Bloom. (Feb. 13.) The author of "Lucky Us" gives a fictionalized account of the love affair between Lorena Hickock and Eleanor Roosevelt.
"Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories," by Kelly Barnhill. (Feb. 20.) The Minneapolis writer and winner of last year's Newbery Award turns her attention to speculative short stories for grown-ups.
"More Than True: The Wisdom of Fairy Tales," by Robert Bly. (March 27.) Minnesota's most venerable poet looks at six fairy tales and examines how they relate to the modern world.
"The Female Persuasion," by Meg Wolitzer. (April 3). A college student meets a legendary feminist-journalist (think Gloria Steinem), and the encounter changes her life.
"Wade in the Water," by Tracy K. Smith. (April 3.) Smith — winner of the Pulitzer Prize, and U.S. poet laureate — examines what it means to be a citizen and a poet today.
"The Art of the Wasted Day," by Patricia Hampl. (April 17.) Twin Cities memoirist Hampl's new work makes a case for slowing down and getting lost in thought.
"God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State," by Lawrence Wright. (April 17.) Wright takes his prodigious investigative skills to Texas and writes about its contradictions and controversies.
"You Think It, I'll Say It," by Curtis Sittenfeld. (April 24.) In her first collection of stories, the author of "American Wife" writes with her trademark wit about relationships, love, class and gender.
"Warlight," by Michael Ondaatje. (May 8.) This new novel, by the author of "The English Patient," tells of the lives of a brother and sister in London after World War II.
"Tin Man," by Sarah Winman. (May 15.) Shortlisted for the Costa Prize in the United Kingdom, this is the story of friendship, love and the road not taken.
"Florida," by Lauren Groff. (June 5.) A collection of stories set in Florida by the author of the bestselling "Fates and Furies."
"The Shakespeare Requirement," by Julie Schumacher. (Aug. 14.) Jason Fitger, hapless hero of Schumacher's Thurber Prize-winning novel, "Dear Committee Members," is back. He's now chairman of the English Department, and his attempts to get an elderly Shakespearean to retire backfire stupendously.
"Clock Dance," by Anne Tyler. (Sept. 25.) A woman who has been measuring her life by decades makes an impulsive decision to move to Baltimore to help a stranger and her daughter.
Sequel to "Raymie Nightingale," by Kate DiCamillo. (October.) No title yet, no precise publication date, but a first for DiCamillo: a sequel!
If none of these strikes your fancy (and how could that be?), there will be more. Thousands more. We will keep you alerted to as many as we possibly can.
Laurie Hertzel is the Star Tribune senior editor for books. On Twitter: @StribBooks. On Facebook: facebook.com/startribunebooks.
