The past year gave us some damn good reads. Now, it’s time to look ahead at what the new year has in store for our reading pleasure. While many more titles will be announced, here are the confirmed books we’re most excited about. You’ll probably find one or two on this list when we update it.
When: the Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
Daniel H. Pink
January 9th
What with all the talk of life hacks, this book might be coming out at the perfect time. It teaches you the raw science of timing and how to use it to your advantage, which comes in handy in almost every single situation possible. The book goes through the timing of things like school breaks, hospital visits, taking a new job, getting married, starting a business, and organize your everyday schedule. It’s big picture stuff as much as it is minutia, so you’re bound to find something in here that will help you. $17
An American Marriage
Tayari Jones
February 6th
As sad as it is, wrongful imprisonment and long term incarceration are a very real part of American life. When we hear about it, mostly what we hear about are the statistics of who gets locked up, for what, and how often. What we rarely hear about is the effect incarceration has on the inmate’s loved ones. An American Marriage deals with exactly that though, following a woman whose husband has been wrongfully imprisoned, how she copes, then how the couple reacts to the husband’s sudden release. It’s a close look at a situation far too many people have to deal with and An American Marriage should help those who are lucky enough that prison hasn’t affected them and their families directly. $18
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark
Michelle McNamara
February 27th
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark promises to be a perfect example of why the true crime genre exists. We suffer through a dozen poorly made podcasts because there’s the off chance that they might end up half as good as McNamara’s book. Early reviews talk about how she weaves enviable journalism with an engaging narrative style, transporting the reader to the attacks of the Golden State Killer. It’s the culmination of a lifetime of reporting and research, made all the more poignant by her tragic death. $19
Look Alive Out There
Sloane Crosley
April 3rd
Reading about other people’s misadventures and mistakes always makes us feel better about our own, in a commiserative way. That’s one of the reasons we like Sloane Crosley. She writes about pretty much everything in her life, good and bad, with a witty, intelligent voice, showing us that humor can be found in almost every situation. Look Alive Out There is supposed to cover some bigger topics too, so expect the essays to be even more heartfelt than they usually are. $25
Varina
Charles Frazier
April 3rd
Maybe it’s a failing on our part, but we never knew Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, had a wife. Now, we’re not proclaiming her innocence or anything, but you have to feel bad for the lady. All she did was get married, and then her husband goes off and becomes the figurehead for the most overtly racist conflict in American history. At least she had the presence of mind to distance herself from the guy. Or, at least, she does in this book. We might have some Civil War research to do here. $20
Macbeth
Jo Nesbo
April 10th
The names might come off a little weird in a modern setting, but updated Shakespearean dramas are always a safe bet when it comes to solid storytelling. In this one, Macbeth becomes a cop thriller, with all the characters you know from Shakespeare’s original, but in uniform and trying to deal with a drug ring. There’s no groundbreaking literature here, but if you’re looking for a story with pure entertainment value, you could do a lot worse. $18
God Save Texas
Lawrence Wright
April 17th
Divorce God Save Texas from the inevitable Trump analysis and you’ll be left with an excellent literary exploration of one of the weirdest, most contradictory states in the nation. There are voracious conservative and liberal communities in the state. The fossil fuel industry is huge, yet amazing work is being done for renewable energy. It’s thought of as a WASP stronghold in the union, yet boasts some of the highest rates of diversity ever seen. An earnest attempt to understand how a state like Texas can exist has a lot to teach us. $18
West
Carys Davies
April 24th
There’s still a bit of romanticism left around the American Frontier, especially if someone’s crafting a story around the isolation felt on the edge of the explored territories. So when someone writes a book about a guy going off on a journey to investigate giant animal bones in the frontier, we’re on board. Especially if that book also includes the guy’s young daughter improvising her way through homesteading. Plus, who knows, maybe those bones will end up being something in the end. $22
A Thousand Beginnings and Endings
Various
June 26th
Almost all of us grew up on European fairy tales, specifically all the stuff written by the Brothers Grimm. But East and South Asian stories don’t get a lot of play over here. A Thousand Beginnings and Endings aims to change that. In the book, fifteen authors have rewritten and reimagined Asian stories, both to update and to bring more attention to a rich mythology. We don’t recognize many of the authors’ names, but maybe that’s a bonus discovery here. If we like someone’s reimagined fairy tale, we can go looking for their larger body of work too. $18
Calypso
David Sedaris
Having a book of David Sedaris essays on this list shouldn’t come as a surprise. He consistently writes some of the funniest, most honest essays we’ve ever read, so we’re always up for another collection. We know almost nothing about this one, beyond the title and that he published a short story by the same name a few years ago. Whether or not that’s related, we have no idea. We saw a tentative release date of May 29th, but even that could change. Just expect something from Sedaris this year.
