Despite Upcoming titles by big-name authors like Stephen King, Sue Grafton and Dean Koontz, audio retailers contacted by PW were unimpressed by the crop of audiobooks for the fall, calling it solid but unspectacular.
Ric Berg, v-p of operations for Talking Book World, summed up many retailers' opinions: "I haven't seen anything huge, and I'm always disappointed to have a season without Grisham. But there are some decent authors."
"Last year, we were still selling Grisham. This year, it's going to be hard to make numbers," said Suzanne Simkin, owner of Bookears in Atlanta. "People usually give audiobooks as Christmas gifts to men or to their grandmothers. But there are no big history books coming out, nothing to compete with Greatest Generation and The Century, and for grandma, no Jan Karon."
"My gut feeling is, there's not a lot," said Amy Bell, owner of Albert's Audiobooks in Agoura Hills, Calif. "Everybody likes to get a new Dean Koontz, and [David] Baldacci should be good, but it's a weak season. There should be more gift kind of books, and more for the men -- here's no Robin Cook, no Alan Folsom. And there are so many two-tapers. Nobody wants two-tapers anymore. I'm also disappointed that nothing is read by Will Patton. My customers still ask for him."
However, Jimmy Belson, owner of Jimmy B's Audiobooks in Redondo Beach, Calif., commented, "It should be a good season. There seem to be less 'legal eagle' type titles, and more focus on good literature."
The season's offerings do include bestselling authors who can be counted on for strong audio sales. Mystery/suspense titles are here in abundance, as are biographies. Also notable is the number of titles to be released simultaneously in abridged, unabridged and CD formats. Highlights to watch for:
Mystery/Suspense/Horror: Sue Grafton's latest alphabet mystery, "O" Is for Outlaw (Random), is "awesome," Berg said. Amy Bell agreed that a new Grafton book was "an automatic seller." Horrormeister Stephen King has a new short story collection, Hearts in Atlantis (S&S). Dean Koontz's latest is False Memory (BDD). Retailers are enthusiastic about Saving Faith by David Baldacci (Time Warner). Cat & Mouse author James Patterson returns with Pop G s the Weasel (Time Warner). Retailers are looking forward to Patricia Cornwell's newest offering, Black Notice (Putnam Berkley). Tony Zavaleta of Earful of Books, Austin, Tex., believes Cornwell's latest "will probably the hottest thing coming out in the late summer." Michael Crichton weighs in with Timeline (Random House). Sara Paretsky continues her popular V.I. Warshawski series with Hard Time (Dove Audio). Tom Clancy's Net Force series continues with Hidden Agendas (Simon & Schuster). Spenser series author Robert B. Parker introduces a new female detective in Family Honor (Dove).
General Fiction: The latest Oprah pick, Melinda Haynes's Mother of Pearl (Dove), is an almost guaranteed hot seller. Ernest Hemingway's previously unpublished True at First Light: A Fictional Memoir (Simon & Schuster), unabridged, is expected by Jimmy Belson "to be a big gift item and do very well." Danielle Steel's new novel is Irresistible Forces (BDD). "Sandra Brown has two titles, which is okay, because Brown is awesome," noted Ric Berg. Both are from BDD: The Alibi and In a Class by Itself. Isabel Allende, author of The House of Spirits, debuts on audio with the unabridged Daughter of Fortune (Harper). John Irving's The Cider House Rules (Harper) will be released unabridged to tie in with the Miramax film. Richard Paul Evans continues his Locket series with The Looking Glass. The Phantom of Manhattan is Frederick Forsyth's sequel to Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera, performed by a full cast. Nicholas Sparks follows up The Notebook and Message in a Bottle with A Walk to Remember (Time Warner). Previously uncollected short stories by Kurt Vonnegut are presented in Bagombo Snuff Box (Highbridge). Michael Shaara follows Killer Angels with his posthumously published For Love of the Game (HighBridge). Scott Lasser's Battle Creek (Publishing Mills) is read by Ethan Hawke. Raymond Benson's The World Is Not Enough (Brilliance) ties in to the upcoming James Bond movie.
Biography: Retailers and listeners alike eagerly await 'Tis, the sequel to Frank McCourt's hugely successful Angela's Ashes (both Simon & Schuster). Ric Berg predicted 'Tis "will be the biggest thing in the fall, aside from King." Another Irish autobiography, Nuala O'Faolain's Are You Somebody?The Accidental Memoir of a Dublin Woman (Audio Renaissance) has garnered stellar reviews. Tom Wolfe: A Writer in Full (Publishing Mills) is a 90-minute lecture in the Voices from the Smithsonian series. "I predict that we'll see a resurgence in sales of Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy, read by JFK Jr. [Harper], which has been out for years," Jimmy Belson told PW. Other bios: Bob Zmuda's Andy Kaufman Revealed (Time Warner), Janet Lowe's Michael Jordan Speaks (Soundelux) and Gail Sheehy's Hillary's Choice (BDD).
Inspirational/Self-Help: Iyanla Vanzant offers Until Today! Daily Devotions for Spiritual Growth and Peace of Mind (Simon & Schuster). "She always sells well," said Jimmy Belson. "Another one that's even better is J Torre's Ground Rules for Winners [S&S]. I Refuse to Raise a Brat by Marilu Henner [Harper] will also be very good." Salle Merrill Redfield's Creating a Life of Joy gift book and CD (Time Warner) is likely to do well at Christmastime. Suzanne Simkin believes "the new Tim LeHay book, Assassins, in his Left Behind series from Tyndale, will be massive."
Nonfiction:The American President (Harper) by Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., Philip B. Kunhardt III and Peter W. Kunhardt ties into a 10-hour PBS series. "Terrible Hours by Peter Maas [Harper], about a real-life WWII rescue, is excellent," reported Jimmy Belson. Two popular abridged audios, Richard Carlson's Don't Sweat the Small Stuff (Simon & Schuster) and Simon Winchester's The Professor and the Madman (Harper), will be released in unabridged form.
