August 23

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Random House

All the book clubs will put this on their reading calendars.

A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.

The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it's been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.

Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what's been missing in her life, and when she's forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it's worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.

August 30

The Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. Penguin

World Without End was a global phenomenon, a work of grand historical sweep, beloved by millions of readers and acclaimed by critics. Now, Ken Follett takes readers on a new journey in Fall of Giants. This magnificent new historical epic, and the first novel in The Century Trilogy, traces the fortunes of five interrelated families-one American, one English, one Welsh, one Russian, and one German-as they are buffeted by the extraordinary events of World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the women's suffrage movement.

September 1

Revenge by Sharon Osbourne. Hachette

A debut novel by the classy and dramatic America's Got Talent judge, Sharon Osbourne.

Amber and Chelsea Stone are sisters who share the same dream - huge, global fame. As children they were close, but success has pulled them apart. Both have the looks, the talent, and the star quality - but only one has the ruthless ambition to make it to the very top. And she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Two sisters. One dream. Winner takes all.

A Single Shot by Matthew Jones. Hachette

After the loss of his family farm, John Moon is a desperate man. A master hunter, his ability to poach game in-season or out is the only thing that stands between him and the soup kitchen line. Until Moon trespasses on the wrong land, hears a rustle in the brush, and fires a single fateful shot. Following the bloody trail, he comes upon a shocking scene: an illegal, deep woods campground filled with drugs, bundles of cash and the body of a dead young woman, killed by Moon's stray bullet.

Faced with an ultimate dilemma, Moon has to make a choice: does he take the money and ignore his responsibility for the girl's death? Or confess? But before he has a chance to decide, Moon finds himself on the run, pursued by those who think the money is theirs. Men who don't care about right and wrong and who want only one thing from John Moon: his body, face down in a ditch.

September 5

That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum. MacMillan

America has a huge problem. It faces four major challenges, on which its future depends, and it is failing to meet them. InThat Used to Be Us, Thomas L. Friedman, one of our most influential columnists, and Michael Mandelbaum, one of our leading foreign policy thinkers, analyze those challenges-globalization, the revolution in information technology, the nation's chronic deficits, and its pattern of energy consumption-and spell out what we need to do now to rediscover America and rise to this moment.

September 6 

The Man in the Moon: Guardians of Childhood by  William Joyce. Simon and Schuster

Up there in the sky. Don't you see him? No, not the moon. The Man in the Moon.
He wasn't always a man. Nor was he always on the moon.
He was once a child. Like you.
Until a battle, a shooting star, and a lost balloon sent him on a quest.
Meet the very first guardian of childhood. MiM, the Man

in the Moon.

A very creative re-imagining of some of our childhood protectors, heros and loves. Look for future books which include the E. Aster Bunnymund, Nicholas St. North

September 7

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. Hachette

At Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, baseball star Henry Skrimshander seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended.

Henry's fight against self-doubt threatens to ruin his future. College president Guert Affenlight, a longtime bachelor, has fallen unexpectedly and helplessly in love. Owen Dunne, Henry's gay roommate and teammate, becomes caught up in a dangerous affair. Mike Schwartz, the Harpooners' team captain and Henry's best friend, realizes he has guided Henry's career at the expense of his own. And Pella Affenlight, Guert's daughter, returns to Westish after escaping an ill-fated marriage, determined to start a new life.

As the season counts down to its climactic final game, these five are forced to confront their deepest hopes, anxieties, and secrets. In the process they forge new bonds, and help one another find their true paths. Written with boundless intelligence and filled with the tenderness of youth, The Art of Fielding is an expansive, warmhearted novel about ambition and its limits, about family and friendship and love, and about commitment--to oneself and to others.

September 13

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Random House

This is going to be the biggest book of the year.

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway-a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love-a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

All Together Singing in the Kitchen: Creative Ways to Make and Listen to Music as a Family by Nerissa Nields. Random House

Music is not only fun, but it can be the all-purpose, go-to tool for any family--it can soothe a crying baby, engage an active toddler, entertain during long car rides, and help everyone get through daily chores. From playtime to bedtime, making music a larger part of your family's life can be hugely rewarding and lead to a lifetime of family memories.

You don't need to know a thing about music to get something out of this book. If you're new to singing or playing an instrument, this book offers tips and guidelines to get you started. By the same token, you might be a classical violinist or a teacher of elementary school music; this book provides songs, games, and ideas to inspire every family.

Here Comes Trouble by Michael Moore. Hachette

This book is Moore's most personal to date -- and will be irresistible to fans and foes alike. A sort of anti-memoir, Moore breaks the autobiographical mode while he hilariously presents 20 far-ranging, irreverent vignettes from his own life.

This book is a wild, revealing, take-no-prisoners ride through the early life of Michael Moore. Alternately funny, eye-opening, and moving, this is a book Michael Moore has been writing -- and living -- for a very long time.