Reading Ahead, March 2013, part 3

Here's to hoping everyone's finished digging out after the blizzard.  Be safe out there, as visibility around corners coming out of side streets is still iffy in a lot of places, and things ice up fast after dark!  We're back to business here at the library, and we're looking forward to spring!  I'll be back next week with some warm-weather reads to tide you over til we thaw out, but in the meantime, here's the wrap-up of new fiction titles being published next month! 

The Arrangement, by Mary Balogh

Leaving Everything Most Loved, by Jacqueline Winspear

Family Pictures, by Jane Green

The Burgess Boys, by Elizabeth Strout

Benediction, by Kent Haruf

The Accursed, by Joyce Carol Oates

Double Feature, by Owen King

The Gate Thief, by Orson Scott Card

Anything striking your fancy?  There are several that I'm looking forward to, the first being The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout.  Strout's been a favorite of mine since her first novel, Amy and Isabelle, and  this latest looks like it will not disappoint.  An accident in their youth that kills their father sends Burgess brothers Jim and Bob running from their Maine hometown for the big city as soon as their able, until the sibling left behind, their sister, calls them home to deal with a new family tragedy.  It sounds like what Elizabeth Strout does best, and I can't wait.

Also on my list is Kent Haruf's Benediction, Haruf being another author who won me over with an earlier novel, Plainsong.  Benediction is set in Holt, Colorado (where both Plainsong and its follow-up, Eventide, were set) and follows a new set of characters, a family in crisis taking comfort where they can even as crucial members remain absent, and the community of friends and neighbors that aids every way they can.  This novel promises to be full of compassion and humanity, and if anyone is equal to the task, it's Kent Haruf.

Finally, I've been looking forward to Owen King's debut novel (after publishing a number of short stories) with a certain degree of eagerness.  King, of course, is the youngest son of Stephen King, and while he is not writing in the horror genre, it should be interesting to see how close to the tree this apple falls.  Interestingly enough, the story is one of a son growing up in the shadow of his father, and his experiences trying to make it in the family business (film) on his own.  Surely one to watch.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you, and of course, happy reading!