Take a break and check out these 21 new books.
Friendly reminder that it’s important to take breaks in your day. Go on. Take a walk. If you end up at your local library or the closest bookstore, well, that happens. If you find yourself walking out with a book (or two or nine), we’ve all been there!
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Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Woman of Light
(One World)
“Fajardo-Anstine’s compelling writing paints a convincing portrait of a city in flux, haunted by white violence, and portrays a complex female friendship, a vivid love story (or three), and a story of family and memory in the American West.”
–Booklist
Keith Gessen, Raising Raffi
(Viking)
“The early years of fatherhood recounted with humility … A warm, candid parenting memoir.”
–Kirkus
Sloan Crosley, Cult Classic
(MCD)
“Lola’s wit and savvy make her a genial narrator, but it’s her emotional honesty that makes her a strong one. Crosley’s writing is as funny as ever, with a great line or clever observation on nearly every page.”
–Los Angeles Times
Leila Mottley, Nightcrawling
(Knopf)
“As a writer, Mottley channels the natural prose of everyday life, the way people and cities breathe and spit and shiver. It is unflinching writing, the kind that soothes even as it strikes; the darkest, most denigrating passages are reliably followed by the light.”
–San Francisco Chronicle
Kirstin Chen, Counterfeit
(William Morrow)
“The story is further deepened by the author’s sharp, convincing details of the fashion industry and its shadow market, which lends this tale of fakes the tang of authenticity. Readers will be left guessing at the truth until the last page.”
–Publishers Weekly
Nishant Batsha, Mother Ocean Father Nation
(Ecco)
“The author does a good job connecting the dots between his characters’ stories and the negative consequences of colonialism.”
–Kirkus
Imogen Binnie, Nevada
(MCD x FSG)
“A beautiful and occasionally disturbing complication of the oh-so-American trope of the cross-country road trip . . . it’s long past time for the cis reader to form a bond with the brilliance of [Binnie’s] work.”
–Vogue
J.M. Miro, Ordinary Monsters
(Flatiron)
“Miro’s debut has a fascinating magical system … The vivid cinematic quality of the world and its magic will appeal to classic-fantasy lovers.”
–Booklist
Valérie Perrin, tr. Hildegarde Serle, Three
(Europa)
“Full of contentment and hope… Fans of Elizabeth Berg will enjoy this thoughtful take on the inner life of an unforgettable woman.”
–Booklist
Tom Perrotta, Tracy Flick Can’t Win
(Sribner)
“The heroine of Perrotta’s Election returns in this sharp and perfectly executed story of frustrated ambition…This is the rare sequel that lives up to the original.”
–Publishers Weekly
Ru Freeman, Sleeping Alone
(Graywolf)
“In Freeman’s delicate and vital debut collection (after the novel On Sal Mal Lane), characters examine their convictions and transform via relationships with others.”
–Publishers Weekly
Chris Offutt, Shifty’s Boys
(Grove Press)
“Another excellent Mick Hardin thriller set in rural eastern Kentucky … Come for the thriller, by all means; it delivers nicely. But stay for, and linger in, the marvelous incidentals and atmospherics.”
–Kirkus
Ryan O’Connell, Just by Looking at Him
(Atria)
“O’Connell navigates internalized homophobia and ableism in his hysterical debut novel.”
–Publishers Weekly
Paolo Cognetti, tr. Stanley Luczkiw, The Lovers
(Harpervia)
“Cognetti adds depth by making the natural world a character of its own and by setting up an intriguing mirror effect between the two couples. This atmospheric story offers plenty of surprises.”
–Publishers Weekly
Caleb Gayle, We Refuse to Forget
(Riverhead)
“Sharp character sketches, incisive history lessons, and Gayle’s autobiographical reflections as a Jamaican American transplant to Oklahoma make this a powerful portrait of how ‘white supremacy divides marginalized groups and pits them against each other.’”
–Publishers Weekly
Lars Horn, Voice of the Fish
(Graywolf)
“Shaped like a discursive, commonplace book, this is memoir as creative process … A promising literary debut.”
–Kirkus
Raquel Gutiérrez, Brown Neon
(Coffee House Press)
“How do we map the terrains of love, land, and art? In this debut essay collection, poet, critic, and educator Gutiérrez, who is based in Tucson, Arizona, engages these questions through stories of the borders that bind and those that break.”
–Kirkus
Jessica Silbey, Against Progress
(Stanford University Press)
“Against Progress is a satisfying, witty, and altogether magnificent provocation about the ethical limits of owning ideas.”
–Patricia J. Williams, Northeastern University
Séamus O’Reilly, Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?
(Little, Brown)
“Anyone with prior knowledge of O’Reilly’s work will not be surprised to learn that this is not a heavy or ponderous read. In fact, it may be one of the funniest books ever written about the death of a parent.”
–The Irish Times
James Burrows, Directed by James Burrows
(Ballantine)
“In this dazzling tell-all, director Burrows takes readers on a rollicking tour through the hardworking world of sitcoms.”
–Publishers Weekly
Fábio Zuker, tr. Ezra Fitz, The Life and Death of a Minke Whale in the Amazon
(Milkweed Editions)
“Thanks to Zuker’s essays, neglected voices from a remote part of the world receive much-needed attention … Recommended for anyone seeking to better understand the often overlooked world of Indigenous Amazonians.”
–Kirkus
