Book news!

Two of BookMates' favorite authors, David Mitchell and Melina Marchetta, have new books coming out!

1) David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet has actually just arrived on shelves and there are only 55 people ahead of me in the library queue. So I should have it in hand by the end of the summer, right? Read faster Seattle!

Mitchell never writes the same book twice - each new novel seems to spring from an entirely different genre. This one looks like another leap - a historical novel set in 19th Century Japan. I'm excited because my favorite of his books, Black Swan Green, was also a more traditional narrative structure. The simplicity of form allowed the strength of his writing to shine and I'm hoping his new work will be similar in that regard. But I've also been avoiding reading much about this one, so who knows? Zombies could arrive on page 19 - and with Mitchell in control, I'd probably learn to like it.

2) I've just realized that Melina Marchetta's The Piper's Son is out in Australia now, but not the U.S until next year (I think. I hope. It can't really take longer than a year to publish it in the U.S. right?). I can't wait this one because it's looks to be a sequel of sorts to Saving Francesca, my second favorite of her books (after Jellicoe Road, clearly). Marchetta's most recent book, Finnikin of the Rock, was a bit of a disappointment. I made it through to the end, but have zero desire to pick it up again, so her return to contemporary Australia from Fantasyland is a welcome one.

So those are my currently most anticipated books. Are there any other books coming out this summer that we should add to our To Be Read piles? Mine is currently looking somewhat manageable and that makes me nervous!