Louise Erdich, Han Kang, David Streitfeld, and more: 20 new books out today!

Officially: it is spring. Does that mean we can finally put our winter coats and scarves away? Time will tell. Until then, until we know for sure the snow has gone for good, let’s just count our blessings and look towards the bounty of books coming out today. Louise Erdich delivers a new collection of stories that has had prepubs raving, Han Kang’s speeches have been collected in Hogarth’s Light and Thread, and a definitive biography of Larry McMurtry all grace our shelves today. Dive into the rest of the list below, and happy reading!

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Louise Erdich, Python’s Kiss
(Harper)

“A staggering sense of empathy infuses the stories. With its range of voices and styles, this puts Erdrich’s powers on full display.”
–Publishers Weekly

Han Kang, trans. by Maya West, e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris, Light and Thread
(Hogarth)

“From Nobel Prize winner Han Kang comes her first work of nonfiction published in English—a singular collection of writings including her inspiring Nobel Lecture.”
–From the publisher

David Streitfeld, Western Star: The Life and Legends of Larry McMurtry
(Mariner)

“Bring[s] us as close as we are ever likely to get to a man whose range and depth of achievement has few parallels in American letters.”
–Benjamin Moser

Rebecca Lehmann, The Beheading Game
(Crown)

“Magic, romance, revenge, and an utterly irresistible heroine—this book is an instant classic.”
–Lev Grossman

David George Haskell, How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries
(Viking)

“Through deep research and lyrical prose, Haskell triumphantly recasts the role of flowers as foundational to humanity.”
–Publishers Weekly

Jake Skeets, Horses: Poems
(Milkweed)

“Navajo Nation Poet Laureate Jake Skeets’s highly anticipated second collection patiently tracks the impacts of climate change on the land and its myriad inhabitants.”
–From the publisher

Rhae Lynn Barnes, Darkology: Blackface and the American Way of Entertainment
(Liveright)

“This groundbreaking history of blackface in the United States uncovers not only the formation of the racist art form but its hold on culture and politics … Meticulously researched.”
–Library Journal

Cecile Pin, Celestial Lights
(Henry Holt)

“A thoughtful and beautifully compelling exploration of human ambition.”
–Alice Winn

Veronica Buckley, Seven Sisters: Captives and Rebels in Revolutionary Europe’s First Family
(Viking)

“A richly detailed history of eventful lives.”
–Kirkus

Simukai Chigudu, Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire
(Crown)

“A raw and moving memoir—a complicated, engrossing, and, ultimately, brilliant portrait of a family navigating the minefields of the postcolonial world.”
–Jonny Steinberg

Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Almost Life
(Summit Books)

“Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s winning prose and insights capture the legacy of a consequential affair.”
–TIME

Manny Fidel, Colored People Time: A Case for (Casual) Rebellion
(One World)

“A celebration of tardiness through funny, revealing, and deeply thoughtful essays on the nature of time and collective memory.”
–From the publisher

David Ariosto, Open Space: From Earth to Eternity—the Global Race to Explore and Conquer the Cosmos
(Knopf)

“Ariosto’s account of these intersections of space science, business, and global politics is deeply reported and well written.”
–Kirkus

Maggie Smith, A Suit or a Suitcase: Poems
(Washington Square Press)

“A really confident, satisfying collection of poems. Not a word or idea is out of place.”
–Roxane Gay

Jacob Siegel, The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control
(Henry Holt)

“If there is a single book you must read on the role of information in politics, this is it.”
–John Gray

Morgan Day, The Oldest Bitch Alive
(Astra)

“Day’s genius unfurls across each page, microcosm by microcosm, discovering immense depth in the gut of this small dog.”
–Henry Hoke

Andrew McCarthy, Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Examination of Male Friendship Across America
(Grand Central)

“An important book about friendship, and loyalty, and men telling each other the truth most of all.”
–Mike Lupica

Pamela Steele, In the Fields of Fatherless Children
(Counterpoint)

“Vivid, atmospheric storytelling, steeped in regional traditions.”
–Kirkus

Eka Kurniawan, trans. by Annie Tucker, The Dog Meows, the Cat Barks
(New Directions)

“Kurniawan flips effortlessly from first to third person, creating a fun and textured style, which blends a clear-eyed perspective with moments of visceral emotion. This brims with humor and heart.”
–Publishers Weekly

Thomas Dekeyser, Techno-Negative: A Long History of Refusing the Machine
(University of Minnesota Press)

“This is a brilliant and brave book that brings to the fore the brute refusal that haunts the history of technology.”
–Sarah Sharma