Spring Ahead

Life After Death by Sister Souljah is the #4 book in the country. “Souljah’s mystical, uneven sequel to [1999’s] The Coldest Winter Ever,” our review said, “picks up with Winter Santiaga leaving prison after 15 years, having taken the fall for a hustler boyfriend’s drug dealing.” When her post-incarceration life is cut short, the story follows Winter into the underworld, or the Last Stop Before the Drop. “Souljah’s saga is conceptually imaginative,” the review continued, concluding that “the author’s diehard fans will appreciate this.” And there are plenty of them: since BookScan records began in 2004, her five previous books have sold more than a million print copies.

In Clubland

Book clubs are booming, whether influencer driven, old-media blessed, or some combination of the two. Their picks don’t always line up with publishers’ release schedules, but for March, several selections, all new titles, have landed on our latest hardcover fiction list.

#5 Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro: Good Morning America Book Club

#10 We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker: Barnes & Noble Book Club

#13 The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen: L.A. Times Book Club

#15 Infinite Country by Patricia Engel: Reese’s Book Club

#18 What’s Mine and Yours by Naima Coster: Read with Jenna

Bettering Homes and Gardens

One year after the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, a trio of books that speak to lockdown pastimes debut on our lists.

Organizing: The Home Edit Workbook by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin (#2 trade paper). This is the third Home Edit branded book from the entrepreneurs behind the organizational company of the same name; the first two titles have together sold 463K print copies.

Gardening: The First-Time Gardener by Jessica Sowards (#3 trade paper). Jessica Sowards, who lives with her husband and six children on a small farm in Arkansas, writes about “Family. Faith. Food.” at her Roots and Refuge Farm blog and has 426K YouTube subscribers.

Baking: All-Purpose Baker’s Companion by King Arthur Baking Company (#16 hardcover nonfiction). 20 new recipes, 50 revised recipes, and suggestions for incorporating gluten-free flour update this baker’s bible, which was the 2004 James Beard Foundation Cookbook of the Year.

NEW & NOTABLE

PROFESSIONAL TROUBLEMAKER
Luvvie Ajayi Jones
#3 Hardcover Nonfiction
Rants & Randomness podcast host Jones follows 2016’s I’m Judging You with a “witty, insightful guide,” our review said, that “explores how to fight fear in order to speak up for oneself.”

HUNT, GATHER, PARENT
Michaeleen Doucleff
#19 Hardcover Nonfiction
“Doucleff, a correspondent for NPR’s Science Desk, debuts with a lively account of traveling with her three-year-old daughter Rosy” to research parenting techniques around the planet, our review said, compiling principles for a universal approach: “togetherness, encouragement, autonomy, and minimal interference.”