What better month to snuggle up with a good book than February? And what better book to snuggle with than an anticipated debut!
Below are a dozen exceptional books that will publish in February, all by first time authors, including four novels, two story collections, four nonfiction works and two books for younger readers.
These books are selected from our February Preview issue, that profiles almost 90 notable books publishing next month,
Enjoy!
Davina, BookBrowse editor
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Novel, 400 pages
Publishers February 1
Reagan Arthur
Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart - he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone - but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.... Full description & reviews
A Good American by Alex George
Novel, 400 pages
Publishes February 7
Amy Einhorn Books
It is 1904. When Frederick and Jette must flee her disapproving mother, where better to go than America, the land of the new? Originally set to board a boat to New York, at the last minute, they take one destined for New Orleans instead ("What's the difference? They're both new"), and later find themselves, more by chance than by design, in the small town of Beatrice, Missouri. Not speaking a word of English, they embark on their new life together... Full description and reviews, including 21 reviews by BookBrowse members
Red Plenty by Francis Spufford
Novel, 448 pages
Publishes February 14,
Graywolf Press
Red Plenty is history, it's fiction, it's as ambitious as Sputnik, as uncompromising as an Aeroflot flight attendant, and as different from what you were expecting as a glass of Soviet champagne.... Full description & reviews
The picture book market is in the doldrums. Publishers report that sales are flat and disappointed booksellers must box up the brightly colored, lavishly illustrated volumes - unopened, unread, and most dispiriting of all, unloved - and send them back to the warehouses from whence they came.
And as if this news weren't bad enough, one of the chief reasons cited for the downturn is even more discouraging. It seems that parents - the ones who actually plunk down the money for these books - are a major factor in the picture book's current decline. Parents have started urging first graders and even kindergarteners to leave picture books behind and move on to more text-heavy chapter books. Why? Because with the pressures of increasingly rigorous standardized testing looming on the horizon, parents are eager - some might even say desperate - for their children to get a leg up on the academic ladder. And so, the pretty pictures and lilting rhythms get pushed aside for words, words and more words.
Now don't get me wrong. I love words. In fact, I have made a life's work out of writing them, both for children and adults. But as both reader and writer, I find the elevation of the chapter book at the expense of the poor, maligned picture book an alarming trend. And I pity the children whose benighted parents are so quick to jump on this educational bandwagon.
I'm not a big fan of "self help" books, steering away from tomes that threaten to give me step by step improvement instructions. Instead I prefer to learn from other people's narratives (that is to say, other people's mistakes) - which is just what one can do from No Cheating, No Dying.
The English language is a wonderful thing. For a whistle stop tour through it's 1500 year (or thereabouts) history, sit back and enjoy The History of English in 10 Minutes produced by Britain's Open University:
The Booker Prize shortlist has been announced with the usual mix of criticism and praise from various quarters. Indeed, the controversy over each year's list is as much a tradition as the Prize itself. For example, Ron Sharp, arts correspondent for The Independent criticized the omission of Alan Hollinghurst's The Stranger's Child from the shortlist; while Boyd Tonkin, literary editor for the Independent opines that:
"the process seems to have lost much of its focus. It now delivers a curiously mixed bag of worthwhile novels. So what? No longer does the Man Booker seem to want to test the year's output against the highest standards of literary ambition and artistry...many accomplished authors who failed to make the long-list will be wondering what the Booker is precisely for these days."
Over the last few years we've discovered many exceptional books through BookBrowse's "First Impressions" program, including these three Fall debut novels which our members are particularly enthusiastic about:
Erin Morgenstern's first novel, The Night Circus, took our reviewers by storm. Set in a fantastical circus at the turn of the 20th century it offers a feast for the senses and the heart.
Ilyse enthuses,
"I absolutely adored this book, an enchanting, magical fairy tale. From the beginning you are transported to another time and place, and you will not want to leave. This is a story about love, destiny and magic and it is so beautifully written that I had to force myself to slow down and enjoy the writing instead of rushing ahead so that more of the story was revealed. All of the characters are wonderfully written, including the character of the circus itself. This is a story that you will not soon forget. An absolute pleasure to read."
Doubleday will publish The Night Circus on September 13.
It's rare that a book trailer catches my eye, but this one for Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick's follow up to The Adventures of Hugo Cabret, is great as it gives both a sense of the uniqueness of the book and the author behind it...
A few weeks ago I asked our Facebook followers to share the name of their favorite poem. As you'll see below, the responses were both enthusiastic and eclectic!
Do you see any of your favorites here? Whether that's a yes or no, do take a moment to click on the comments option at the bottom and tell us about your favorite or favorites!
Phyllis SB got in first, within a few seconds of me posting, with her recommendation of "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert Service, which was seconded by Dana VB.
They're often short enough to accompany your morning coffee, and light enough to carry around in your pocket. They can be funny, powerful, sad, wistful, sexy, angry, or silly. With to-the-quick immediacy and just a handful of words, a poem can strike a place in the reader that most tomes could only aspire to. The first step to reading poetry is finding a poem you love, and I think collections are the best place to start, mostly because you increase your odds with so many poets between the covers.
The following are my favorite collections because they're curated with personality and passion, not obligation to the canon. So wrestle poetry away from the grasp of your stuffy high-school English teacher, forget all the rules, and add a poem to your daily news.
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey 
A Good American by Alex George 
Red Plenty by Francis Spufford 
