Top Ten 2016 Debut Novels I’m Anticipating & Tuesday Intro (Sweetland)

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday
 is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that asks bloggers to create Top Ten lists on a variety of bookish topics. This week’s topic is Top 10 2016 Debut Novels I’m Looking Forward To. I remember this topic came up last year and I wondered how anyone could compile this list in December for the following year. Well, thanks to Shannon’s post on paying attention to imprints, I’m prepared this time around! I sought out the 2016 catalogs for imprints I had success with this year and ended up with a long list of 2016 books to keep my eye on…including plenty of debuts!

Top Ten 2016 Debut Novels I’m Anticipating

Top Ten 2016 Debuts I'm Anticipating

January
The Longest Night by Andria Williams (January 12, Random House)
Based on a true story of the only fatal nuclear accident to occur in America, The Longest Night is a deeply moving novel that explores the intricate makeup of a marriage, the shifting nature of trust, and the ways we try to protect the ones we love.
February
Wreck and Order by Hannah Tennant-Moore (February 9, Hogarth)
Decisively aimless, self-destructive, and impulsively in and out of love, Elsie is a young woman who feels stuck. When her initial attempts to improve her life go awry, Elsie decides that a dramatic change is the only solution. Whole-hearted, fiercely honest and inexorably human, Wreck and Order is a stirring debut that, in mirroring one young woman’s dizzying quest for answers, illuminates the important questions that drive us all.
March
Work Like Any Other by Virginia Reeves (March 1, Scribner)
In this astonishingly accomplished, morally complicated, “exceptional and starkly beautiful debut” (Kevin Powers, National Book Award–nominated author of The Yellow Birds), a prideful electrician in 1920s rural Alabama struggles to overcome past sins and find peace after being sent to prison for manslaughter.
 
High Dive by Jonathan Lee (March 8, Knopf)
Taking us inside one of the twentieth century’s most ambitious assassination attempts (on Margaret Thatcher) – ‘making history personal’, as one character puts it – Lee’s novel moves between the luxurious hospitality of a British tourist town and the troubled city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the height of the armed struggle between the Irish Republican Army and those loyal to the UK government.
 
Hold Still by Lynn Steger Strong (March 28, Liveright)
In two separate timelines—before and after the catastrophe—Maya and Ellie must try to repair their fractured relationship and find a way to transcend not only their differences but also their more troubling similarities. Heralding the arrival of a profoundly moving new talent, Hold Still explores the depths and limits of a mother’s love.
April
The Regional Office is Under Attack! by Manual Gonzalez (April 12, Riverhead Books)
In a world beset by amassing forces of darkness, one organization—the Regional Office—and its coterie of super-powered female assassins protects the globe from annihilation. Weaving in a brilliantly conceived mythology, fantastical magical powers, teenage crushes, and kinetic fight scenes, The Regional Office Is Under Attack! is a seismically entertaining debut novel about revenge and allegiance and love.
May
A Fine Imitation by Amber Brock (May 3, Crown)
Set in the glamorous 1920s, A Fine Imitation is an intoxicating debut that sweeps readers into a privileged Manhattan socialite’s restless life and the affair with a mysterious painter that upends her world, flashing back to her years at Vassar and the friendship that brought her to the brink of ruin.
 
Nitro Mountain by Lee Clay Johnson (May 17, Knopf)
Set in a bitterly benighted, mine-polluted corner of Virginia, Nitro Mountain follows a group of people bound together by alcohol, small-time crime, and music. An astonishing, even shocking debut–darker than a bad night in hell–that is written with both humor and heart by “a writer with abundant and scary gifts and consummate skill.”
 
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (May 24, Knopf)
A lush, raw, thrilling novel of the senses about a year in the life of a uniquely beguiling young woman, set in the wild, alluring world of a famous downtown New York restaurant. – Amazon
August
A Wife of Noble Character by Yvonne Georgina Puig (August 2, Henry Holt)
A juicy, sprawling comedy of manners about a group of thirty-somethings stumbling into adulthood among Houston’s high-powered, oil money elite.
 
*All blurbs are from Goodreads unless otherwise indicated.

Tuesday Intro

First Chapter First Paragraph
Every Tuesday, fellow blogger Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where bloggers share the first paragraph of the book they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon.

Sweetland, Michael Crummey

 

Plot Summary from Amazon (adapted for length)

The epic tale of an endangered Newfoundland community and the struggles of one man determined to resist its extinction.

The scarcely populated town of Sweetland clings to the shore of a remote Canadian island. Its slow decline has finally reached a head, with the mainland government offering each islander a generous resettlement package— the only stipulation being that everyone must leave. Fierce and enigmatic Moses Sweetland, whose ancestors founded the island, is determined to refuse. As one by one his neighbors relent, he recalls the town’s rugged history and its eccentric cast of characters.

Here’s the first paragraph of Chapter 1:

He saw the government man walking up from the water. The tan pants, the tweed jacket and tie. The same fellow who came out for the last town meeting, or one exactly like him – there seem to be an endless supply on hand at the Confederation Building in St. John’s. The briefcase looking for all the world like something that was in his hand when he left his mother’s womb. Sweetland turned away from the window, as if he could hide from the man by not looking his way. Glimpsed a flash of him as he went to the front door of the house, heard the knock.

Would you keep reading?

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41 Comments

  1. Diane wrote:

    This one sits on my shelf unread, and from this intro, I need to get to it soon. Hope it’s a good read Sarah

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I’m about 25% through now and it’s slowly creeping under my skin…in a great way!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  2. Beth F wrote:

    How have I never heard of Sweetland before? Sounds like my kind of book. I have some of your debuts on my list too.

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      It’s Canadian…but I think I first heard about it on River City Reading earlier this year? Then again on Book Riot podcast.

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  3. Don’t think I could even come up with ten 2016 debuts, but these all look good.
    Sweetland is on my wish list, so I’d keep reading – enjoy!

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Ha – I felt that way last year when this topic came up…but I decided to get on it this year!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  4. Carrie wrote:

    great list of debuts – i need to look into these! 🙂 My TTT

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  5. These lists are where I get my ideas for what’s coming out next year – and what looks good 🙂 The Regional Office is Under Attack is now on my reading list! Your summary makes it sound so awesome.

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I know, right?! These “books I’m anticipating” lists are some of my favorite posts!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  6. Most of those books are new to me but they all sound good!

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  7. I feel absolutely not ready to start thinking about 2016 books yet. Work Like Any Other sounds pretty good. I hope you like Sweetland; I’ve read nothing but positive reviews.

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I wondered if I was ready for this as I was writing this post! My brain is still trying to figure out what 2015 books I need to get to before the end of the year!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  8. Kym wrote:

    Looks interesting, and yes I think I would keep reading. I’m on the lookout for books set in Canada too, so I’ll keep this title in mind.

    Here’s my Intro for the week: http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/2015/12/teaser-tuesdaysfirst-chapter-first.html

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I’m really loving the setting…a tiny island with water-centric culture.

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  9. It’s fun looking at the new books coming out next year! So many tempting choices . . . I see we have one in common: The Longest Night. It does sound good, doesn’t it? High Dive and Hold Still in particular caught my attention from your list.

    Sweetland sounds awesome. How have I not heard of it before? Are you enjoying it?

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I really am enjoying Sweetland…I’m about 25% through and it’s slowly creeping under my skin. I’ve heard a couple mentions of The Longest Night today, so hopefully it will live up!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  10. I love this intro, Sarah, especially the part about the briefcase having been with him since his mother’s womb – ha! That’s so great! I would definitely keep reading this one. Looks like, once again, we have a few picks in common for next year: The Longest Night, Wreck and Order, Work Like Any Other and High Dive are all on my list; guess we’ll see how they pan out! Love getting excited about new books!

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I loved that part too! There’s some really great writing in this one. And yay that we have some of the same picks…and not all that surprising, ha!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  11. This is a new book to me, but already I feel so sad for Sweetland, as he tries to avoid leaving his home and his land.

    Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I have heard this book is sad, but that doesn’t bother me too much!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  12. Martha G wrote:

    Re Top Ten: I just found out that I won Wreck and Order on LibraryThing. I’m really looking forward to reading it.

    Re Sweetland: I read this last December. By all means READ ON! (I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads)

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Yay! I’m glad to hear that. I’m really enjoying it..it’s slowly creeping under my skin. And congrats on winning Wreck and Order – that’s fun!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  13. Naomi wrote:

    It’s all very well to plan to #ReadMyOWnDamnBooks until all these new release book lists start coming out! Groan… 🙂
    I really hope you’re enjoying Sweetland!

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      HA – yes, right?! I find it really hard to resist all the shiny, new things. Book FOMO?

      I am enjoying Sweetland…about 25% through and it’s slowly creeping under my skin. Some really beautiful writing in there and I like the whole grumpy old men vibe going on with Sweetland, Loveless, Duke, etc.

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
      • Naomi wrote:

        I loved Moses Sweetland!

        Posted 12.2.15 Reply
        • admin wrote:

          Yep…loving him 🙂

          Posted 12.3.15 Reply
  14. Sweetland sounds like a fascinating story. I love tales set in small towns.
    My Tuesday post features the Rawhide ‘n Roses anthology.

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  15. Vicki wrote:

    I think I’d keep reading, it sounds interesting.

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  16. Wow, Wreck and Order sounds incredibly good. As do the rest of these. Love seeing someone else equally excited for Nitro Mountain. 🙂 Fantastic list!

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Yay! I’ve had great luck with grit lit type books this year….hoping that continues into 2016!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  17. Nitro Mountain made my list as well, and I can’t wait to see if it lives up to my expectations. There’re a few new ones on your list that have me adding them to my wishlist, too. Wreck and Order being a big one.

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  18. I love your Top Ten list! Tell me more about how you were able to track down more debut titles! I had such a hard time with this one, and I’m still not even sure I’m going to type up a post for what I did find. I love your books so much more than the ones I found!

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      This is the first year I’ve done this, but I tracked the imprints for my 2015 books and reviewed the 2016 catalogs for the imprints that were most successful for me this year. Shannon at River City Reading inspired me to do this with this post: http://rivercityreading.com/2015/06/just-my-style-finding-the-perfect-imprint.html

      I found the catalogs either by googling or searching on Edelweiss. The only drawback to all this is I now have way too long a list of 2016 books I’m interested in!

      Posted 12.1.15 Reply
  19. I didn’t make a list this week, but I keep track of upcoming books through tags on Edelweiss and many of these are on my list! Keeping rack of imprints totally helps 🙂

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I’m hoping it bodes well for 2015! I’m definitely noticing some imprints are coming out on top more often for me. Thank you again for your post!

      Posted 12.3.15 Reply
  20. Nise' wrote:

    I love debut novels. I’ve got Sweetland and need to get to the book.

    Posted 12.1.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      Me too – they’ve been so great the past few years!

      Posted 12.3.15 Reply
  21. Andi wrote:

    I’m SO bad at keeping on top of new releases so I’m glad you’ve given me a “watch for them” list!

    Posted 12.3.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      I’ve been horrible in the past, but am trying to do better this year…with some helpful tips from Shannon!

      Posted 12.3.15 Reply
  22. Oooohhhh…. Nitro Mountain needs to make my list I think!

    Posted 12.29.15 Reply
    • admin wrote:

      That one caught my eye immediately…I think because of Bull Mountain!

      Posted 12.29.15 Reply

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