• The Hub

    News, Notes, Talk

    18 new books to kick your November reading into gear.

    Katie Yee

    November 1, 2022, 4:44am

    We’re starting the month off strong, with new books from Katherine Dunn, N.K. Jemisin, Franny Choi, Dorthe Nors, and more. Not to mention the celebrity book component: Bono, Bob Dylan, and Matthew Perry (whose memoir we might be looking forward to, but whose stance on Keanu Reeves we simply cannot condone).

    *

    Katherine Dunn, Toad

    Katherine Dunn, Toad
    (MCD)

    “A gentle, funny, heartbreaking indictment of the naïve excesses of the 1960s and the testament of a woman who survived them.”
    –Kirkus

    N.K. Jemisin, The World We Make

    N.K. Jemisin, The World We Make
    (Orbit)

    “This riveting and powerful urban fantasy duology is masterfully written.”
    –Buzzfeed

    Ken Burns, Our America: A Photographic History

    Ken Burns, Our America
    (Knopf)

    “Burns’s distinctive photographic history, replete with illuminating backstories for every image, encompasses America’s multitudinous beauty and dynamism as well as its tragic failures to realize its ideals.”
    –Booklist

    Franny Choi, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On

    Franny Choi, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On
    (Ecco)

    “Franny’s full-length collection is so special, so thoughtful, and so exciting to read … An exquisite collection.”
    –Book Riot

    Joy Harjo, Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light: Fifty Poems for Fifty Years

    Joy Harjo, Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light
    (W. W. Norton)

    “[Harjo’s] poetry is light and elixir, the very best prescription for us in wounded times.”
    –The Millions

    Blair Braverman, Small Game

    Blair Braverman, Small Game
    (Ecco)

    “Propulsive and twisty, Small Game is a gripping thrill ride about human nature at its best and its worst.”
    –Esquire

    Percival Everett, Dr. No

    Percival Everett, Dr. No
    (Graywolf Press)

    “A good place to begin finding out why Everett has such a devoted cult.”
    –Kirkus

    Jerry Saltz, Art Is Life: Icons and Iconoclasts, Visionaries and Vigilantes, and Flashes of Hope in the Night

    Jerry Saltz, Art Is Life
    (Riverhead)

    “There’s no one quite like Saltz … He’s the best art critic working today.”
    –Shelf Awareness

    Dorthe Nors, tr. Caroline Waight, A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast

    Dorthe Nors, A Line in the World
    (Graywolf Press)

    “An intricate reckoning with a world that, despite our best attempts to tame it, remains elemental and wild.”
    –Kirkus

    Claire Keegan, Foster

    Claire Keegan, Foster
    (Grove Press)

    “A thing of finely honed beauty and cumulative power, a story that deals in suggestion, exactitude and telling detail.”
    –The Observer

    Matthew Perry, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir

    Matthew Perry, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing
    (Flatiron)

    “Perry opens a window into the mind of an addict, a place in which the struggle to get sober is a civil war and many battles are lost to relapse … candid.”
    –Los Angeles Times

    i want to die but i want to eat tteokbokki

    Baek Sehee, tr. Anton Hur, I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki
    (Bloomsbury)

    “Honest and authentic throughout … A sincere attempt at self-discovery that will resonate with young people who suffer from similar forms of depression and anxiety.”
    –Library Journal

    Dionne Irving, The Islands
    (Catapult)

    “An expansive collection of stories chronicling the Jamaican diaspora … Irving is at her best in odd, harsh moments.”
    –Kirkus

    malcolm gaskill_the ruin of all witches

    Malcolm Gaskill, The Ruin of All Witches
    (Knopf)

    “A brilliant, unforgettable portrait of a small, beleaguered community in New England.”
    –The Times

    Graeme Macrae Burnet, Case Study

    Graeme McRae Burnet, Case Study
    (Biblioasis)

    “If Burnet’s aim in writing Case Study was to force us up against the contradictions of our conflicted selves, he has surely succeeded. This is a novel that is entertaining and mindfully engrossing in equal measure.”
    –The Guardian

    bono_surrender

    Bono, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story
    (Knopf)

    “He writes wittily about meeting future band mates (and wife) in school in Dublin … Chatty and self-regarding but pleasantly free of outright narcissism. A no-brainer for U2’s legions of fans.”
    –Kirkus

    my first popsicle

    Zosia Mamet, My First Popsicle
    (Penguin)

    “In this nourishing collection, Girls star and Glamour columnist Mamet gathers food stories and recipes from an A-list cast of actors, comedians, musicians, and other celebrities … delectable.”
    –Publishers Weekly

    Bob Dylan, The Philosophy of Modern Song

    Bob Dylan, The Philosophy of Modern Song
    (Simon & Schuster)

    “It’s part music-appreciation class, part podcast-style rant, and as unpredictable, cranky and largely engrossing as the man himself.”
    –The Rolling Stone

  • Become a Lit Hub Supporting Member: Because Books Matter

    For the past decade, Literary Hub has brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall. But our future relies on you. In return for a donation, you’ll get an ad-free reading experience, exclusive editors’ picks, book giveaways, and our coveted Joan Didion Lit Hub tote bag. Most importantly, you’ll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving on the internet.

    x