The April Book Sense Picks & Notables Preview

Here is the full listing of the April "Book Sense Picks," with booksellers' comments. Independent booksellers in the Book Sense program are receiving their Picks fliers in the March Red Box.

This week, Book Sense also presents a preview of the April "Book Sense Notables." Bibliographic information for titles designated "Notables" is included on the April Picks flier.

Shelf-talkers and a downloadable flier of the April "Book Sense Notables" with jacket images, bibliographic information, and bookseller quotes will be available on BookWeb.org next week.

1. Gods in Alabama: A Novel, by Joshilyn Jackson (Warner, $19.95, 0446524190) "This novel and its central character -- Arlene Fleet -- grabbed me from the first sentence. I loved Arlene, who was funny yet dark, bargaining with God that she will not have sex, tell a lie, or return to her small hometown, just as long as God keeps anyone from finding the body she left buried in the kudzu. This is a mystery, a family drama, and great Southern fiction all in one fantastic debut." --Kym Havens, Hearts & Stars Bookshop, Canton, MA Also a Time Warner Audiobook (Unabridged CD, 1594830282)

Never Let Me Go: A Novel, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf, $24 1400043395) "One of the unfortunate graduates of a mysterious English boarding school, Kathy H., recalls her days with her fellow students and gradually reveals the horrific nature of their mutual destinies. This riveting novel is a deeply sad love story wrapped in a deftly delivered dystopian nightmare." --Joe Murphy, Olsson's Books & Records, Washington, DC Also a Random House Audio (Unabridged CD, 0739317989)

The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller, by Betsy Burton (Gibbs Smith, $24.95, 1586856871) "Be prepared to lose yourself in this lively and passionate memoir from bookstore owner Betsy Burton as she shares a wealth of wonderful stories from the independently owned The King's English Bookshop in Salt Lake City." --Joe Drabyak, Chester County Book & Music Company, West Chester, PA

Saturday: A Novel, by Ian McEwan (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, $26, 0385511809) "Chronicling a single day in the life of a British neurosurgeon, whose normally controlled existence is disrupted by events surrounding the coming war in Iraq, McEwan masterfully examines what it means to be a parent, child, friend, lover, and citizen of the world." --Richard Bennett, Shiretown Books, Woodstock, VT Also a Recorded Books Audio (Unabridged CD, 1419332872)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel, by Jonathan Safran Foer (Houghton, $24.95, 0618329706) "Foer's new novel -- somber, heartwarming, and laugh-out-loud funny -- follows nine-year-old Oskar Schell as he searches New York City to uncover explanations to questions left unanswered after his father's death in the attacks of 9/11." --Jamie Zaidi, Parkplace Books, Kirkland, WA Also a Recorded Books Audio (Unabridged CD, 1419328794)

The Ice Queen: A Novel, by Alice Hoffman (Little, Brown, $24.95, 0316058599) "A moving tale of a woman whose heart has been frozen by her belief that a single wish she made as a child came true with disastrous results. When she's struck by lightning, she begins to live and to love again. I couldn't put this book down!" --Jennifer Malinowski, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, MI Also a Time Warner Audio (Unabridged CD, 1594830657)

Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America, by Fergus M. Bordewich (Amistad, $27.95, 0060524308) "Weaving a fascinating cascade of tales detailing the Underground Railroad, this book shows the pervasiveness of the human spirit in dangerous times. All readers -- white and black -- will be uplifted and enlightened." --Bob Wells, Barrett Bookstore, Darien, CT

Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story, by Kurt Eichenwald (Broadway, $26, 0767911784) "This book makes the very complicated rise and fall of Enron into an easy-to-understand, compelling drama. The characters involved are just as interesting as the scandal itself. It's a highly readable, true adventure." --Mary Jane Barnwell, Island Bookstore, Mackinac Island, MI Also a Random House Audio (Abridged CD, 0739317695)

Dear Zoe: A Novel, by Philip Beard (Viking, $21.95, 0670034010) "Tess DeNunzio is a very normal 15-year-old who is stunned when her little sister, Zoe, dies after being struck by a car on September 11, 2001. To deal with the loss and the devastation, Tess writes to Zoe, to keep the memory of her alive and to try to make sense of what has happened. Beard captures the voice of this young girl perfectly." --Len Cowgill, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey, MI Also a Highbridge Audio (Unabridged CD, 1565119428)

Me & Emma, by Elizabeth Flock (Mira, $17.95, 0778320820) "The young narrator in this remarkable novel brought to mind Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird, with a voice containing all the tenderness, culpability, and innocence of little girls. How children learn to cope with tragedy is an amazing topic, and Elizabeth Flock made me fall in love with the young sisters, Carrie and Emma." --Leslie Hakala, Best of Times Bookstore, Red Wing, MN

Too Late to Die Young: Nearly True Tales From a Life, by Harriet McBryde Johnson (Holt, $23, 0805075941) "I can't say enough about this memoir of a lawyer and disability rights activist. She writes with humor and intelligence about her life as she sees it from her motorized wheelchair -- picketing the Jerry Lewis Telethon or attending a disability conference in Cuba. What an extraordinary -- and ordinary -- human being she is: smart, funny, and intensely alive." --Barb Wieser, Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, Minneapolis, MN

Misfortune: A Novel, by Wesley Stace (Little, Brown, $23.95, 0316830348) "Rose Loveall is a foundling, adopted by the richest man in 19th century England, who discovers that she is, in fact, a he. Rose's resulting struggle with gender and identity make this tender and funny antidote to the traditional coming-of-age story unique!" --Stesha Brandon, University Book Store, Seattle, WA

Small Island: A Novel, by Andrea Levy (Picador, $14 paper, 0312424671) "Levy deftly transports the reader to the 1940s through a story of love, war, race, and class, as told by two Jamaican immigrants and the couple they meet in London. Funny, angry, powerful, charming, and compelling are some of the words that came to mind while reading this book." --Mark Brumberg, National Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA

Cut and Run, by Ridley Pearson (Hyperion, $23.95, 0786867264) "Hope Stevens is a 'moving target' under the protection of the U.S. Marshal Service. Roland Larson is the guy who's fallen for her, the guy who has to find her as the Mob relentlessly pursues her. Written at a pitch so tightly wound you may snap before the final scenes." --Barbara Peters, The Poisoned Pen, Scottsdale, AZ Also a Brilliance Audio (Abridged CD, 1596008350)

Lost in the Forest, by Sue Miller (Knopf, $24.95, 1400042267) "A wonderfully complex book that is set in motion by the death of one family member and the subsequent 'Lolita-like' seduction of another. Miller's prose is elegant and direct; the setting, the Napa wine country, is deftly drawn; and the characters, one of whom owns a bookstore, move into your life like friends." --Lilla Weinberger, Readers' Books, Sonoma, CA Also a Random House Audio (Unabridged CD, 0739320238)

You Can't Get There From Here: A Year on the Fringes of a Shrinking World, by Gayle Forman (Rodale, $23.95, 1594860378) "Gayle Forman writes of young people in Kazakhstan reenacting scenes from the Lord of the Rings trilogy,Tanzanian rap stars, and more. Blending wonderful travel writing with insights on the effects of globalization, this is a great romp of a read with a social conscience." --Mitch Gaslin, Food for Thought Books, Amherst, MA

Bleedout, by Joan Brady (Touchstone, $24.95, 0743270088) "This thriller about a family corrupted by a violent death features complex characters and a good plot, but it's the writing that gets you as the story is told by the murdered and the 'murderee.' Great stuff!" -- Hester Jeswald, Sarasota News & Books, Sarasota, FL

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian: A Novel, by Marina Lewycka (Penguin Press, $24.95, 1594200440) "Two sisters work to protect their Ukrainian widower father, who is being pursued by a voluptuous, opportunistic, and much younger woman. This first novel is true-to-life, wise, and very funny." --Susan Lott, Maine Coast Book Shop, Inc., Damariscotta, ME

Towelhead: A Novel, by Alicia Erian (S&S, $22, 074324494X) "Jasira, a young Arab-American girl, has been sent to live with her Lebanese father in Texas. Set against the backdrop of the Gulf War, this is a very funny and, sometimes, painful novel, as Jasira struggles to understand what is happening to both her unpredictable body and her crazy family." --Luisa Smith, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

A Changed Man: A Novel, by Francine Prose (HarperCollins, $24.95, 0060196742) "A tattooed and sullen neo-Nazi named Vincent is understandably astonished when he is welcomed into a foundation led by a man who escaped the Holocaust and into the home of the foundation's fundraiser, the single mother of two teenage boys. Prose's hilarious novel will compel you to see the world and the people who inhabit it in new ways." --Betsy Burton, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT Also a HarperAudio (Unabridged CD, 006077651X)

Fiction

Boogaloo on Second Avenue: A Novel of Pastry, Guilt, and Music, by Mark Kurlansky (Ballantine, $24.95, 0345448189)

A Brief Lunacy, by Cynthia Thayer (Algonquin, $22.95, 1565124448)

Beautiful Inez, by Bart Schneider (Shaye Areheart Books, $24, 1400054427)

The Devil of Nanking, by Mo Hayder (Atlantic, $24, 0802117945)

The Hatbox Letters, by Beth Powning (St. Martin's, $24.95, 0312340222)

Milk, by Darcey Steinke (Bloomsbury, $17.95, 1582345295)

The Painted Kiss, by Elizabeth Hickey (Atria, $24, 0743492609)

Small Crimes in an Age of Abundance, by Matthew Kneale (Doubleday, $22, 0385514077)

The Third Translation, by Matt Bondurant (Hyperion, $22.95, 1401301819)

War by Candlelight: Stories, by Daniel Alarcon (HarperCollins, $23.95, 0060594780)

Nonfiction

A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, by Stacy Schiff (Holt, $30, 0805066330)

A Hundred & One Days, by Asne Seierstad (Basic, $22.95, 0465076009)

I Want My Dinner Now!: Simple Meals for Busy Cooks, by Renee Pottle (Hestia's Hearth Publishing and Design, $12.95, 0976013711)

Job Hopper: The Checkered Career of a Down-Market Dilettante, by Ayun Halliday (Seal Press, $14.95, 1580051308)

The Language of Baklava: A Memoir, by Diana Abu-Jaber (Pantheon, $23, 0375423044)

Mystery/Suspense

Eight of Swords, by David Skibbins (St. Martin's, $23.95, 0312339062)

Fatal Memories, by Vladimir Lange (Red Square Press, $23.95, 0976039818)

In the Company of Liars, by David Ellis (Putnam, $24.95, 0399152474)

Raw Nerves: A Cape Cod Comedic Thriller, by Saralee Perel (PublishAmerica, $16.95, 1413733549)

With No One As Witness, by Elizabeth George (HarperCollins, $26.95, 0060545607)