16 new books to look for this week.
Just when you thought your TBR pile couldn’t get any bigger, this week brings us new titles from Rebecca Solnit and Elizabeth Strout, as well as a celebration of Black cinema, a look behind-the-scenes of The Godfather, and a survival guide from Jane Goodall.
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Rebecca Solnit, Orwell’s Roses
(Viking)
“The book provides a captivating account of Orwell as gardener, lover, parent, and endlessly curious thinker … And, movingly, she takes the time to find the traces of Orwell the gardener and lover of beauty in his political novels.”
–Harper’s
Elizabeth Strout, Oh William!
(Random House)
“Strout’s prose, unshowy, sparing of metaphor but vivid with both necessary and contingent detail, matches her democracy of subject and theme, and seems agile enough to describe any human situation.”
–The New York Review of Books
Douglas Abrams and Jane Goodall, The Book of Hope
(Celadon)
“Her infectious optimism and stirring call to action make this necessary reading for those concerned about the planet’s future.”
–Publishers Weekly
Shukri Mabkhout, tr. Miled Faiza and Karen McNeil, The Italian
(Europa Editions)
“Sprawling and memorable, this is one well-written story.”
–Publishers Weekly
Shangyang Fang, Burying the Mountain
(Copper Canyon Press)
“The poems in Burying the Mountain are characterized by a wild ekphrastic stream of consciousness, with Shangyang Fang narrating under the influence of classical music, opera, and Baroque and avant-garde painting, while reinventing myths and fairy tales.”
–Poetry Foundation
Mark Seal, Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli
(Gallery)
“A lively film biography that amply shows how great films aren’t necessarily born great, but they can grow great.”
–Kirkus
Nikki Sixx, The First 21
(Hachette)
“Fans will relish this passionate look at the man behind the hair.”
–Publishers Weekly
Anthony Horowitz, A Line to Kill
(Harper)
“The most conventional of Horowitz’s mysteries to date still reads like a golden-age whodunit on steroids.”
–Kirkus
Tamara Shopsin, LaserWriter II
(MCD)
“Shopsin, who is also an illustrator, graphic designer, and memoirist, is an acutely observant writer …  Shopsin’s narration is sharp and incisive, snarky yet kind.”
–BOMB
Wil Haygood, Colorization
(Knopf)
“A well-researched history of frustrations, defiance, and bold dreams—good for movie buffs and civil rights historians alike.”
–Kirkus
Mark McGurl, Everything and Less
(Verso)
“By turns provocative and tedious, literary critic McGurl’s sweeping literary history examines the relationships between writing, reading, publishing, and Amazon.”
–Publishers Weekly
Tiphanie Yanique, Monster in the Middle
(Riverhead)
“Look to your roots, Yanique urges us, and maybe you’ll see the outline of your future … A rich and honest examination of family histories, cultural disconnection, and the way people fall in love.”
–Kirkus
Khadija Abdalla Bajaber, The House of Rust
(Graywolf)
“Every sentence of this novel could be a verse. There are stories within stories here, bursting with truth and wisdom, honoring the rich oral traditions of the Hadrami.”
–The New York Times Book Review
Violaine Huisman, tr. Leslie Camhi, The Book of Mother
(Scribner)
“Excellent … Huisman’s storytelling ability is immense: Violaine unfurls the wide-ranging narrative like a raconteur at a party, and develops a kaleidoscopic portrait of Catherine.”
–Publishers Weekly
Asali Solomon, The Days of Afrekete
(FSG)
“Solomon brings wit and incisive commentary to this pristine take on two characters’ fascinating and painful lives.”
–Publishers Weekly
Mallory O’Meara, Girly Drinks
(Hanover Square Press)
“Feminist and very funny … O’Meara deftly blends in equal measures of social history, gossip, and solid research, and adds enjoyable footnotes.”
–Booklist
