Oh my word. I can't quite believe it's here and happening this year! Markus Zusak's new novel Bridge of Clay will be published October 9th. This is not a drill. Here is the announcement in Publisher's Weekly. I love that he says, "Every book we write means something to us, but sometimes it comes to mean everything." It's been 13 years, you guys. Thirteen years since The Book Thief . I've longed for this next book for so long, but I don't feel any resentment at all that it took how long it did. I trust the author implicitly. Zusak (like Megan Whalen Turner ) can take precisely how long he needs, and I (like Ronan) will be right here, waiting for him to tell me where to go. I am so looking forward to meeting the five Dunbar brothers and joining them in their story. How about you? Will you be buying your copy on release day? Or will you wait for the initial reviews to come out (or your library hold to come in) before diving in?