Author Wally Lamb has long been a favorite author of mine. Back when I was waiting tables and trying to become a writer myself — before Oprah picked him — I found out that he was giving a reading in Rhode Island. I drove in my jalopy all the way there just to hear him read, and I’ve loved him ever since.
This book is about a man, Caelum Quirk, and his wife, Maureen, a teacher at Columbine High who hides in a cabinet in the school library on the day of the shootings. She survives the tragedy but cannot get over the trauma. They move to Connecticut in hopes of helping Maureen recover, but while there, Caelum embarks on his own journey. He discovers forgotten memorabilia and tries to reconstruct the lives of his ancestors. The thing that makes Wally’s writing so special is his unique voice. The reader develops a very intimate relationship with his characters that keeps you turning the pages. This book is not out for another few weeks but it can be pre-ordered now."; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"The Given Day\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/Lehane.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "188", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"The Given Day\"
Dennis Lehane is known as a mystery writer, so it is impressive that he took a risk and tried something totally different. He set out to write a historical novel and succeeded wildly. \"The Given Day\" is a smart, sophisticated and multi-layered novel about two families — one black, one white — and their lives following the end of the First World War. Lehane peppers the pages with famous figures from that time, like Babe Ruth, Calvin Coolidge, and Eugene O’Neill. When you get to those parts, it’s like a celebrity sighting."; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"Lulu in Marrakech\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/Lulu.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "273", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"Lulu in Marrakech\"
Author Diane Johnson tells the story of Lulu Sawyer, a secret agent for the American CIA who finds herself in Marrakech pretending to rekindle her romance with worldly Englishman Ian Drumm. In reality, she’s tracing the flow of money from wealthy donors to radical Islamic groups. Along the way, she tries to adjust to life in Marrakech and quickly realizes that the polite expatriate community isn’t just full of double standards, but double agents as well. "; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"Testimony\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/Shreve.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "273", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"Testimony\"
Anita Shreve is the author of many books, including \"Body Surfing,\" and \"The Pilot’s Wife,\" which was a selection of Oprah’s Book Club. She has built a massive following over the years, and her fans are sure to eat up this juicy tale centered on a prestigious New England boarding school. Here’s the set-up: When the headmaster comes into the possession of a tape that could ruin his school, things start to fall apart. I can’t say too much about the tape, but it’s pretty scandalous. The book gives us the author’s trademark attention to detail and at times, is written with the pace of a thriller."; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"Time of my Life\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/WinnScotch.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "273", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"Time of my Life\"
We’ve all had those moments in our lives when we wonder what things would be like if we’d chosen a different path. The main character in Allison Winn Scotch's book has that “what if?” question fluttering around her brain on a regular basis. Even though she’s married to a great guy and has a beautiful apartment and a lovely child, she can’t help thinking about the choices she made in her past. She gets the chance to do things differently when she wakes up one morning in her old apartment, right in the middle of the life she used to live seven years before — a life with her very attractive, but very unreliable boyfriend. This is a fun read. "; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"American Wife\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/Curtis.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "273", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"American Wife\"
Curtis Sittenfeld has always been fascinated by Laura Bush, so she set out to write a book about what the first lady’s life is like. Even though it’s fiction, you can tell the writer has really done her research because you feel like you’re reading about Laura Bush's private life. This is a fascinating read."; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"One Fifth Avenue\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/Candace.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "273", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"One Fifth Avenue\"
In New York, where space is hard to come by, there's a great deal of apartment envy. When a New York society woman dies and the fate of her gorgeous and rambling apartment is undecided, everyone in the building begins to obsess about it. Candace Bushnell's book is a light and funny, the perfect book for anyone who wants a fun distraction."; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"Hurry Down Sunshine\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/Greenberg.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "273", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"Hurry Down Sunshine\"
Michael Greenberg's book has one of the best first lines on the list. It reads: “On July 5, 1996, my daughter was struck mad.\" This is a vivid and harrowing account of a father’s struggle with his daughter’s mental illness. It is heartbreaking and hard to put down. Anyone who has dealt with a loved one's struggle with mental illnesses will find comfort in the pages of this memoir."; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life. His Own.\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/Carr.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "273", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life. His Own.\"
In this age of phony memoirs where writers make up the details of their lives to sell books, I really appreciate the work of David Carr. When he set out to tell the story of his drug addiction, he didn’t just rely on memory. He used his skills as an investigative reporter and tracked down more than 50 people from his past who were involved with his addiction. In addition to interviewing those people, he also dug up medical files, police reports, legal documents, journals, and published stories from his darker days. The result is a truly gripping memoir."; tdy_books_searles_fall[i++] = new Array("","\"Smart Girls Like Me\"","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Books/TodayBooksFICTION/2008/10-Oct/081018_Today_Books_SearlesFallPicks/Like.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "273", "182", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); tdy_books_searles_fall[i-1].body = "\"Smart Girls Like Me\"
I figured we should put a paperback on the list, since people are much more budget-conscious right now. Diane Vadino tells she story of a twenty-something girl working as an assistant at a fashion website in the late nineties. It’s a lot of fun! "; // END editorial data