In this week’s picks, Michelle Alexander and Deborah Scroggins each examine one of America’s great moral quandaries (that’s the justice system and the war on terror, respectively), Michael Kranish and Scott Helman examine one of America’s great political quandaries (that’s Mitt Romney), and debut novelist Jason Heller poses a quandary for America: are you ready for the second administration of William Howard Taft? Aside from politics, there’s some much-anticipated new fiction in three delicious flavors: historicals from Bernard Cornwell and Dewey Lambdin, mysteries from Nevada Barr and Carol O’Connell, and nouveau literary from Eli Gotlieb and Ben Marcus. Your comic relief bonus pick comes from the always-reliable Stephen Fry. And for you younger Tip Sheeters, there’s Nick Lake’s challenging novel of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the latest work from Jon Klassen (author-illustrator of everyone’s favorite 2011 picture book, I Want My Hat Back), and a few more.
Adult
January 16
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander (New Press, $27.95; ISBN 978-1-59558-103-7)
January 17
Wanted Women: Faith, Lies, and the War on Terror: The Lives of Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Aafia Siddiqui by Deborah Scroggins (Harper, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-06-089897-7)
Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell (Harper, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-06-196965-2)
The Real Romney by Michael Kranish and Scott Helman (HarperCollins, $27.99; ISBN 978-0062123275). Review forthcoming.
The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus (Knopf, $25.95; ISBN 978-0-307-37937-5)
The Rope by Nevada Barr (Minotaur, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-312-61457-7). 150,000 copies.
The Face Thief by Eli Gottlieb (Morrow, $24.99; ISBN 978-0-06-173505-9). 50,000 copies.
The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell (Putnam, $25.95; ISBN 978-0-399-15774-5).
Taft 2012 by Jason Heller (Quirk, Random dist., $14.95; ISBN 978-1-59474-550-8).
Reefs and Shoals by Dewey Lambdin (St. Martin’s/Dunne, $25.99; ISBN 978-0-312-59571-5)
January 19
The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiograpy by Stephen Fry (Overlook, $27.95: ISBN 978-1-59020-714-7)
Kids & Young Adult
January 17
In Darkness by Nick Lake (Bloomsbury, $17.99; ISBN 978-1-59990-743-7).
Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen (HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-06-195338-5).
Tempest by Julie Cross (St. Martin’s Griffin/Dunne, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-3125-6889-4)
Fracture by Megan Miranda (Walker, $17.99; ISBN 978-0-8027-2309-3)
January 19
Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard (Viking, $16.99; ISBN 978-0-670-01390-6).
