Amazon's Sara Nelson shares her favorite fall books
Readers are in for a literary treat this fall, says Sara Nelson, editorial director of books and Kindle for Amazon.com.
鈥淪eptember and October are always a bumper crop of books,鈥� says Nelson. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of anticipated books from well-known writers like Zadie Smith and Junot Diaz, and it鈥檚 also a time for debuts from new writers. [We鈥檝e seen] serious literary titles but also strong 鈥榗ommercial鈥� picks.鈥�
Each month Amazon鈥檚 editorial team meets to select its list of the 10 books it believes are the best of the month, a process Nelson describes as 鈥渁 bunch of people in a room all screaming about what we liked and didn鈥檛 like.鈥� When you have as many good books come out as in September, says Nelson, the argument is particularly passionate.
One book everyone was passionate about, she says, is 鈥淭he Signal and The Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail 鈥� But Some Don鈥檛,鈥� by Nate Silver, author of the New York Times鈥檚 popular FiveThirtyEight .
鈥淚t鈥檚 a book about science and forecasting everything from baseball, to weather to politics,鈥� says Nelson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a brilliant book, surprisingly easy to read, and it makes science accessible鈥� It stands out in a lot of ways.鈥�
Another standout was Christopher Hitchens鈥� 鈥淢ortality,鈥� the late author鈥檚 vivid account of his battle with esophageal cancer and the last months of his life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very intense,鈥� says Nelson, 鈥測ou feel like you鈥檙e right there with him鈥He writes] with such wit and with great humanity鈥or a book about dying of cancer, it鈥檚 surprisingly not depressing.鈥�
鈥淭he Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo,鈥� by Tom Reiss, was one book that surprised Nelson. Part history, part biography, and part swashbuckling adventure saga, 鈥淭he Black Count鈥� tells the story of the little-known Gen. Alexandre Dumas, father of the better-known novelist Alexandre Dumas. Dumas was the mixed-race son of a count and a West Indies slave who would become one of Napoleon鈥檚 greatest generals and become the inspiration for many of his son鈥檚 books, including 鈥淭he Count of Monte Cristo鈥� and 鈥淭he Three Musketeers.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 partly a history of France, but the book is way more than that,鈥� says Nelson. 鈥淵ou learn a lot in it, it鈥檚 interesting and unusual.鈥�
Another surprise, says Nelson, was 鈥淗ow Music Works,鈥� by David Byrne, a book that explores the physics, business, technology, and cultural history of music, from African villages to Wagnerian opera houses.
鈥淭his is a very brainy book, but not so 'musicologist' that the average person who likes music couldn鈥檛 understand it,鈥� says Nelson. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l learn something, but it鈥檚 not homework.鈥�
Another book that鈥檚 definitely not homework is 鈥淪utton,鈥� by J.R. Moehringer, a book that much of Nelson鈥檚 team fell in love with, based on the life of America鈥檚 most successful bank robber, Willie Sutton. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a novel that reads like nonfiction 鈥� that reads like a novel,鈥� says Nelson, laughing. Moehringer captures Sutton鈥檚 rhythm perfectly, she says, making 鈥淪utton鈥� a 鈥渇ascinating... walking tour of his life.鈥�
One trend Nelson says she is seeing in publishing this fall is a slight pivot toward nonfiction, especially politically-oriented books and books about war.
One such book is 鈥�500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars,鈥� by Kurt Eichenwald, a gripping chronicle that recounts the first 500 days after 9/11. At 640 pages, it鈥檚 a far-reaching account that spans events from the White House to Guantanamo Bay to al-Qaeda training camps to torture chambers in Egypt and Syria, including 鈥渘ever-before-reported details about warrantless wiretapping, the anthrax attacks鈥� and more, according to Amazon.com.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing a wave of literature about the wars,鈥� says Nelson, including 鈥淵ellow Birds: A Novel,鈥� by Kevin Powers. Nelson calls it a 鈥減oetic novel about two soldiers during the war.鈥�
鈥淵ou can tell he was a poet, each word is carefully chosen, and the book is not about the politics of war, it鈥檚 about two guys, about their relationship.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 attempt to be this giant book about war,鈥� adds Nelson. 鈥淭his is not that. It鈥檚 more in the vein of 'The Things They Carried,' or 'Dispatches.'鈥�
Nelson says she expects Zadie Smith鈥檚 鈥淣W: A Novel,鈥� about class and identity in multicultural, working-class Northwest London, to continue getting rave reviews, all well-deserved.
Another book with a strong sense of place and culture is 鈥淭his is How You Lose Her,鈥� by Junot Diaz, a collection of nine stories about love.
She鈥檚 also keeping her eyes on 鈥淢y Heart Is an Idiot: Essays,鈥� by Davy Rothbart.
鈥溾�橫y Heart Is an Idiot鈥� is a book I didn鈥檛 think I would necessarily get,鈥� says Nelson. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a young man and this is an essay collection about his messed-up romantic life. I took it home, thought, 鈥榃ell, everyone else likes this, so let me take a look.鈥� I was laughing out loud.鈥�
A final fall treat on the 鈥淏est of Month鈥� list is 鈥淓very Day,鈥� by David Levithan, a tale about 鈥楢,鈥� who wakes up in a different person鈥檚 body and a different person鈥檚 life every day. 鈥淒on鈥檛 you wish you could do that?鈥� says Nelson. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a brilliant conceit.鈥�
Amazon's September "best of" recommendations come together to create "a really hard-won list," says Nelson. "It鈥檚 a very busy, big time of year [in publishing], a great time of year for readers.鈥�
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
