January 7, 2011

Most anticipated books of 2011

by Melville House

2010 is ancient history and book lovers (who undoubtedly read everything good in 2010… and previous years) are looking forward to the literary year to come. The Millions has posted a fantastic list of their most anticipated books of 2011, Flavorwire has a slideshow of their top 10 of 2011, The Daily Beast has also weighed in, as has The Guardian. The Complete Review has posted a list of the lists with editorial commentary–and has pointedly excluded linking to The Guardian‘s list for its inclusion of James Frey.

Easily the most mentioned title among the lot is David Foster Wallace‘s posthumous The Pale King. I hope to be pleasantly surprised on this front, but I feel we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment with that title. Decades of anticipation over Nabokov’s lost manuscript led to the whimper that was The Original of Laura, and I can’t help but feel that a similar fate awaits The Pale King. If it was truly a great, finished book, I think Wallace, despite his deep depression, would have realized it and had it published. On the other hand, we have the posthumous work of Franz Kafka… and so with that in mind, I suppose it is our duty to anticipate and hope.

Anyhow, let’s open up the conversation. Which titles on these lists strike your fancy? Which ones don’t deserve the advance praise? (A memoir by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz? No thanks!) And finally, most importantly, which books are being left out on these lists? We’d especially like independent publishers and readers to spotlight the 2011 indies that are absent from these lists. It’s only six days into the new year, and already it’s easy to feel that some great books are being pushed aside by the powerhouse titles.

Looking forward to your recommendations. And to the year of reading ahead.

4 Comments

John Self at 4:46 am on January 7, 2011

I share your scepticism over The Pale King, but I hope to pleasantly surprised. I’m not quite sure what you mean by saying that if it was that good, he would have had it published. It was uncompleted at the time of his death. Are you saying he should have manned up and not taken his own life? In any event, my understanding is that this is different order of unfinished work altogether from The Original of Laura, which was merely a series of notecards.

My own anticipations this year are few. I have so many books in my TBR piles that I am actively resisting thinking about new ones. Of course there are exceptions, and to end on a brown-nosing note, Melville’s Neversink Library launch should prove to be one of the highlights of 2011.
John Self at 4:46 am on January 7, 2011

I share your scepticism over The Pale King, but I hope to pleasantly surprised. I’m not quite sure what you mean by saying that if it was that good, he would have had it published. It was uncompleted at the time of his death. Are you saying he should have manned up and not taken his own life? In any event, my understanding is that this is different order of unfinished work altogether from The Original of Laura, which was merely a series of notecards.

My own anticipations this year are few. I have so many books in my TBR piles that I am actively resisting thinking about new ones. Of course there are exceptions, and to end on a brown-nosing note, Melville’s Neversink Library launch should prove to be one of the highlights of 2011.
Nathan Ihara at 4:12 pm on January 7, 2011

Hi John,

Thanks so much for writing in and for the shout-out to our new Neversink series. We’re pretty damn excited about it ourselves! And yes, I quite agree that the thought of looking forward to more (always more!) new books when so many from the past go unread is a bit daunting.

Just to clarify, I certainly wasn’t asking anything of poor Mr. Wallace. I’m just saying that his novel most likely was left behind in an unfinished or inadequate form–as he was probably all-too-well aware. There’s some chance he died with a brilliant manuscript on his desk, but I fear the odds are slim. The efforts to cobble it together and present it as a finished work is probably more a product of our collective desire than the quality of the work itself. Of course, I hope to be proven wrong…

As to the post topic, I’d like to say that the novel Spurious by Lars Iyer (yes, also one of our books, but I say this in absolute good faith) will find a gleeful and devoted following. The tale of two drunken, ranting, bumbling intellectuals won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But for those with a love of nihilistic philosophy and absurdist comedy… it’s an absolute fucking joy.
Nathan Ihara at 4:12 pm on January 7, 2011

Hi John,

Thanks so much for writing in and for the shout-out to our new Neversink series. We’re pretty damn excited about it ourselves! And yes, I quite agree that the thought of looking forward to more (always more!) new books when so many from the past go unread is a bit daunting.

Just to clarify, I certainly wasn’t asking anything of poor Mr. Wallace. I’m just saying that his novel most likely was left behind in an unfinished or inadequate form–as he was probably all-too-well aware. There’s some chance he died with a brilliant manuscript on his desk, but I fear the odds are slim. The efforts to cobble it together and present it as a finished work is probably more a product of our collective desire than the quality of the work itself. Of course, I hope to be proven wrong…

As to the post topic, I’d like to say that the novel Spurious by Lars Iyer (yes, also one of our books, but I say this in absolute good faith) will find a gleeful and devoted following. The tale of two drunken, ranting, bumbling intellectuals won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But for those with a love of nihilistic philosophy and absurdist comedy… it’s an absolute fucking joy.