Wishin’ and Hopin’ A Christmas Story, by Wally Lamb (Harper, $19.99, 9780061941009) "Wally Lamb’s Wishin’ and Hopin’ is a sure winner for laughter and fun this holiday season." —Margaret Osondu, Osondu Booksellers, Waynesville, NC

A Good Fall Stories, by Ha Jin (Pantheon, $24.95, 9780307378682) "Ha Jin never fails to amaze. His newest work, a collection of short stories, focuses on individuals who struggle to reconcile their cultural identities with their new and disparate surroundings. A Good Fall is at times tragic, at others humorous, yet persistently enchanting." —Bridget Allison, Phoenix Books, Essex, VT

Bright-Sided How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, by Barbara Ehrenreich (Metropolitan Books, $23, 9780805087499) "Barbara Ehrenreich strikes a blow against the tyranny of the relentlessly cheerful! From cancer patients to corporations, the lemon-into-lemonade philosophy is being used as a weapon to place the blame for troubles on the victim. Bright-Sided is an erudite examination of the negative side of positive thinking."—Lisa Wright, Oblong Books & Music, Rhinebeck, NY

Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, by Gary Vaynerchuk (HarperStudio, $19.99, 9780061914171) "Refreshingly free of BS jargon (that would stand for Business School, of course!) Crush It! explains exactly why your business should engage in the world of social media, and it tells you how to do it. Vaynerchuk built a $60 million wine business largely using free Internet tools, and his book will convince you that you can too." —Rich Rennicks, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe, Asheville, NC

The Gift A Novel, by Cecelia Ahern (Harper, $19.99, 9780061706264) "Every holiday season, people watch It’s a Wonderful Life, and now readers will add The Gift by Cecelia Ahern to their seasonal calendar. It is sure to become an annual ritual and a holiday classic with a message—that time is the greatest gift you can give." —Karin Beyer, Saturn Booksellers, Gaylord, MI

Wherever I Lie Is Your Bed Two Lines World Writing in Translation, by Margaret Jull Costa and Marily Hacker(Center for the Art of Translation, $14.95 paper, 9781931883160) "Wherever I Lie Is Your Bed is a beautiful anthology of world literature in translation. Every translation in this volume is a gem, every piece its own little bit of light on a culture and a language." —Cathy Langer, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO

Dracula The Un-Dead The Sequel to the Original Classic, by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt (Dutton, $26.95, 9780525951292) "This sequel, based on Bram Stoker’s handwritten notes, will make you rethink all you thought you knew about Dracula."—Kristy Cate, Kristy’s Bookshelf, Morganton, NC

The Dreaded Feast Writers on Enduring the Holidays, by Michele Clarke and Taylor Plimpton (eds.) (Abrams, $15.95, 9780810982659) "Those of us who approach the holidays with more trepidation than glee finally have a holiday book to call our own! Humor writers both classic and contemporary weigh in on the dark side of the holidays." —Carol Schneck, Schuler Books & Music, Okemos, MI

Double Take A Memoir, by Kevin Michael Connolly (HarperStudio, $19.99, 9780061791536) "Kevin Connolly was born without legs, but raised to believe he is no different from anyone else. He graduated with a degree in photography and now travels all over the world on a skateboard taking pictures of peoples’ reactions to him. Connolly is a great writer, and Double Take is entertaining, funny, and enthusiastic." —Mary Jane DiSanti, Country Bookshelf, Bozeman, MT

La’s Orchestra Saves the World A Novel, by Alexander McCall Smith (Pantheon, $23.95, 9780307378385) "As WWII begins, Lavender Stone learns that her husband has run off with another woman. Seeking refuge in the countryside, she moves into her father-in-law’s house in Suffolk, where, among other things, she starts an orchestra—and discovers a friendship that proves to be the most important thing to her in a world turned upside down."—Anne Holman, The King’s English, Salt Lake City, UT

Lying With the Dead A Novel, by Michael Mewshaw (Other Press, $14.95 paper, 9781590513187) "Told alternately from the points of view of three adult children whose emotional scars are worse than the physical ones they received from beatings their mother administered, Lying With the Dead will get to you. Far from being sad, however, it’s often funny, and it draws you in, making you fond of the three misfits and wonder if the truth can ever be discerned through the controlling mother’s lies."—Nancy Fontaine, The Yankee Bookshop, Woodstock, VT

My Bread The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method, by Jim Lahey, with Rick Flaste (Norton, $29.95, 9780393066302) "It is easy for me to recommend My Bread because I have been using Jim Lahey’s recipe for no-knead bread ever since the flawlessly simple and versatile recipe was published in the New York Times. This is the bread book to end all bread books."—Janina Larenas, Logos Books & Records, Santa Cruz, CA

Pops A Life of Louis Armstrong, by Terry Teachout (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $30, 9780151010899) "Terry Teachout has written an amazing biography of New Orleans’ native son Louis Armstrong. Drawing on newly available primary sources, he weaves together a biography that is both illuminating and inspirational. Highly recommended!"—James Wilson, Octavia Books, New Orleans, LA

Too Much Happiness Stories, by Alice Munro (Knopf, $25.95, 9780307269768) "A new work by Alice Munro is always cause for celebration, and this collection of stories is no exception. These stories are like smooth, fast rivers on the surface, hiding a deep turbulence. Each cool and intelligent voice lures me deep into the tale, but never fails to deal a swift jerk and embed a hook deep and permanent."—Karen M. Frank, Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, VT

Wolf Hall A Novel, by Hilary Mantel (Holt, $27, 9780805080681) "In Wolf Hall, Mantel offers a new view of the reign of Henry VIII: from inside the head of Thomas Cromwell. Mantel exposes Cromwell’s thoughts as he frets over his family, his friends, even his enemies. A brilliant novel that encapsulates the Tudor era in the lushest of evocative prose."—Kathy Ashton, The King’s English, Salt Lake City, UT

The Tyranny of E-mail The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox, by John Freeman (Scribner, $25, 9781416576730) "The Tyranny of E-mail is a riveting read and a clarion call to pay attention to the downsides of our increasing addiction to e-mail, and the subsequent loss of social connection and empathy. This is a tipping-point book for sure, as Freeman calls for a slow communication movement."—Sheryl Cotleur, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

The Wolf at Twilight An Indian Elder’s Journey Through a Land of Ghosts and Shadows, by Kent Nerburn (New World Library, $14.95 paper, 9781577315780) "The Wolf at Twilight continues the story begun in Neither Wolf Nor Dog. If you have read Nerburn’s earlier works, you’ll want to read this beautifully told book. If you’re not familiar with Nerburn’s writing, this book will be a good place to start."—Sally Wizik Wills, Sister Wolf Books, Park Rapids, MN

The Darkness by Jason Pinter (Mira, $7.99 paper, 9780778326717) "Jason Pinter’s The Darkness is a fast-moving mystery featuring Henry Parker, a young reporter who keeps finding himself in dangerous situations and dark places. Pinter is an exciting young writer, and his Parker character is growing and developing with each book."—Terry Lucas, Open Book, West Hampton Beach, NY

The Red Velvet Turnshoe A Mystery, by Cassandra Clark (Minotaur, $24.99, 9780312537364) "It is the year 1383. Hildegard, a widow who has taken holy vows to preserve her independence, is asked by her abbess to undertake a mission to bring the Cross of Constantine to England. When a dead body is found en route and an innocent lad is accused of murder, Hildegard sets out to clear the boy’s name and save him from the gallows."—Jennie Turner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH

Fiction

Nonfiction