17 new books to find at your local bookstore.
Welcome back from the long weekend, friends! It can be hard to get back into the swing of things, but at least there are a lot of new books here to greet you.
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David Sedaris, Happy-Go-Lucky
(Little, Brown)
“Unrest, plague, and death give rise to mordant comedy in this intimate collection from Sedaris … Much of the book has a dark edge, as it recounts the decline and death of his 98-year-old father … As always, Sedaris has a knack for finding where the blithe and innocent intersect with the tawdry and lurid.”
–Publishers Weekly
Erin Swan, Walk the Vanished Earth
(Viking)
“Swan has fashioned a deeply original story that reflects on America’s founding myths, the climate damage wrought by all of us, and the many unknowns of the century ahead.”
–Chicago Review of Books
Peter C. Baker, Planes
(Knopf)
“This affecting debut examines the impact of rendition and torture in two different cultures … A thoughtful look at the small-scale fallout of an international issue.”
–Kirkus
Juno Dawson, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven
(Penguin Books)
“Though at first the story feels run-of-the-mill and seems to lack the emotional intensity that characterizes Dawson’s work for teens, a gradually building layer of political commentary ultimately reveals a complex metaphor for the U.K.’s sociopolitical climate and mainstream transphobia.”
–Publishers Weekly
Lydia Conklin, Rainbow Rainbow
(Catapult)
“In each story, a rainbow appears. We might read this as a motif underscoring the full range of human sexualities and genders—and, if it’s not too corny, we might see it as a symbol of hope. Conklin introduces themself as a writer to watch with these open-eyed, tenderhearted, well-crafted stories.”
–Kirkus
Maria Adelmann, How to Be Eaten
(Little, Brown)
“Adelmann’s funny and poignant debut novel (after the collection Girls of a Certain Age) invokes classic and modern fairy tales to portray a group of traumatized women.”
–Publishers Weekly
Leesa Cross-Smith, Half-Blown Rose
(Grand Central)
“Cross-Smith sensitively explores the many permutations of romantic and platonic love and the idea that, especially in Paris, one’s love may not be limited to a single other person. Charming and lively.”
–Kirkus
Jonas Jonasson, Sweet Sweet Revenge LTD
(Harpervia)
“A revenge scheme goes hilariously awry in this zany if glib farce from Jonasson … Jonasson manages to keep the reader invested in the revenge campaign … a page turner.”
–Publishers Weekly
Jean Hanff Korelitz, The Latecomer
(Celadon)
“It’s a marvelous story full of plot twists, intricacies, and depth in events that the reader will not see coming. Perfect for fans of character-based novels such as those by Sally Rooney or Lauren Groff.”
–Library Journal
Nina Lacour, Yerba Buena
(Flatiron)
“A Carol for our times, Yerba Buena is a sweetly sweeping love story about two women trying to find themselves in the middle of Los Angeles.”
–Harper’s Bazaar
Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller, Bad Gays: A Homosexual History
(Verso)
“Bad Gays is an account of historical privileges and marginalizations, as well as a theory of queerness for the future.”
–Foreword Reviews
Tabitha Carvan, This is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch
(G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
“A surprise midlife obsession with British actor Benedict Cumberbatch provides the occasion for musings on passion, aging, and identity in this spirited debut … The result is a weird-in-the-best-way account of self-discovery that brims with humor and insight.”
–Publishers Weekly
Bill McKibben, The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon
(Henry Holt)
“A clarifying discussion of why racism is systemic in American society and what remedies can be pursued … Adept at factual storytelling and connecting the dots, earnest, caring, and funny, McKibben dovetails personal reckonings with an astute elucidation of our social justice and environmental crises.“
–Booklist
James Kirchick, Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington
(Henry Holt)
“…the book offers countless illuminating stories that have been grossly underserved in past political histories … an important addition to American history.”
–Kirkus
John Shattuck, Sushma Raman, and Mathias Risse, Holding Together
(New Press)
“…the authors make salient connections between the past and the present and issue a cogent call for Americans to unite over their shared belief in the importance of individual rights. This is a lucid primer on many of today’s most pressing political and social issues.”
–Publishers Weekly
David Hackett Fischer, African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals
(Simon & Schuster)
“A tour de force of fascinating, multilayered research that adds significantly to the literature on the early republic.”
–Kirkus
Sarah Ruhl, Love Poems in Quarantine
(Copper Canyon Press)
“In these fleet, homey, frank, and funny lyrics, most of them haiku or tanka, Ruhl seeks deep lessons in the everyday, from folding laundry to making a meal to the turn of the seasons.”
–Booklist
