January 2010 sneak peek

Now that we’ve listed some our favorites of 2009, let’s look ahead to 2010. We’re already getting tons of January books — here are a few recent arrivals that are on our radar.

Roses was a big buzz book at BEA and is a four-generation family saga that has been compared to The Thornbirds. Juicy!

Tracy Chevalier was one of the writers who kicked off the latest wave of historical fiction. Her new novel, Remarkable Creatures (Viking) is about two female fossil-hunters in Lyme Regis, England, in the 19th century. Isn’t the jacket gorgeous? The UK edition (which went on sale earlier this week) uses the same elements in a different way.

Chevalier talks about her inspiration for the book here.

Then there’s the return of Elizabeth Kostova with The Swan Thieves (Little, Brown), which we blogged about earlier this summer.

I was intrigued by the fanciful cover of Ali Shaw’s The Girl with the Glass Feet (Holt). Shaw said his debut—the story of a girl who visits an island where strange things are happening and subsequently finds herself slowly turning into glass—was inspired by the European fairy tale tradition.

And Mo Hayder has Skin (Grove), a sequel to Ritual, coming out in January. Though so far none of her recent books have topped the creepiness of The Devil of Nanking in my mind, fans of literary horror will have something to keep them up at night.

And of course, there’s the new Joshua Ferris—The Unnamed.

Any January releases you’re looking forward to?