Books: New and noteworthy

Paste BN’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.

1. Books for Living by Will Schwalbe (Knopf, non-fiction, on sale Dec. 27)

What it’s about: The author of The End of Your Life Book Club returns with this collection of essays celebrating meaningful books, from Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin to A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. 

The buzz: It’s an Indie Next pick of independent booksellers. “Schwalbe’s voice leaps off the page,” says Miriam Landis of Island Books in Mercer Island, Wash.

2. The Bikini Body 28-Day Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Guide by Kayla Itsines (St. Martin’s Press, non-fiction, on sale Dec. 27)

What it’s about: 200 recipes and weekly menus to get that body into shape for bikini season (holiday fun is apparently over, folks).

The buzz: Itsines has gained legions of young female followers (including celebs) online with her high-intensity workouts.

3. Curtain of Death by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV (Putnam, fiction, on sale Dec. 27)

What it’s about: In the third installment in the Clandestine Operations series about the fledgling CIA, Soviet agents in 1946 Munich kidnap two WACs at knifepoint.

The buzz: The first two books in the series, Top Secret and The Assassination Option, were both Top 30 Paste BN best sellers.

4. Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel (Emily Bestler Books/Atria, fiction, on sale Dec. 27)

What it’s about: Debut novel about a young woman who gets a job in the admissions department at an elite Manhattan private school.

The buzz: “Quick-witted … excellent,” says Publishers Weekly.

5. If Our Bodies Could Talk by James Hamblin (Doubleday, non-fiction, on sale Dec. 27)

What it’s about: A physician answers pesky questions about health and more in this book subtitled A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body.

The buzz: “Charming, engrossing,” says Elle magazine.