Whether you read on a tablet, Kindle, or still prefer the smell of a freshly cracked paperback, finding your next book is never easy. You could never read all the new releases each week, so we’re here to help. These are a handful of the new titles we think deserve a space on your eReader or your nightstand.
Tuesday Nights in 1980
Molly Prentiss
We’re suckers for a good cover. While we won’t judge a book by it, it will make us pick up said book and give it a look. Such was the case with Molly Prentiss’s Tuesday Nights in 1980, a book which is as vibrant as its ’80s Zumba pants-colored cover. The story is as much about New York City in the early 1980s as it is about the characters who inhabit it. The grittiness of the art scene at that time takes centerstage. Link
What’s It Like in Space?: Stories from Astronauts Who’ve Been There
Ariel Waldman
The closest we’ve come to experiencing space was seeing Gravity in 3D. Apparently, space isn’t just filled with horrifyingly fast debris and free-floating George Clooneys. How do we know? We read What’s It Like in Space, a new book filled with all kinds of surprising info from astronauts who have been up there. From how to aim a sneeze to what is “moon face,” you’ll get the feeling you took a trip on the last space mission. Link
Your Song Changed My Life
Bob Boilen
Is there an unforgettable song that changed your life? Bob Boilen, the host of NPR’s All Songs Considered, posed that question to some of the most famous musicians of our time. In Your Song Changed My Life, you can read the answers and accompanying stories from the likes of Jimmy Page, Dave Grohl, Trey Anastasio, and many, many more. Link
How to Drive: Real World Instruction and Advice from Hollywood’s Top Driver
Ben Collins
Your driving instructor was probably also your gym teacher or science class assistant. That’s fine for some basics, but as a grown man, how about some driving tips from someone a bit more knowledgeable? Ben Collins, a former stunt driver for shows like Top Gear and movies in the Bond franchise, has gone ahead and penned a book full of useful tips and tricks for those behind the wheel. You’ll be safer while driving, and you’ll have more fun in the process. Link
The Association of Small Bombs
Karan Mahajan
The Association of Small Bombs starts with a terrorist attack, and it doesn’t get any lighter from there. It unfolds into a story about life, death, and all the little things in between. In just 288 pages, Mahajan will pull open your mind and crush down on your heart. It’s bold, unrelenting, and one of the finest novels of 2016. Link
Lust & Wonder: A Memoir
Augusten Burroughs
If you’ve read Running with Scissors, Dry, or A Wolf at the Table, you’re well aware of Augusten Burroughs brilliance. If you want more of his unique humor and brutal honesty, there’s no better place to look than Lust & Wonder, a new memoir Burroughs just penned. Here he continues where his other autobiographical works left off, as he tells tales of failed relationships and the neuroses that come with them. As always, Burroughs puts it all on the page. Link
The Sport of Kings
C. E. Morgan
Anyone who’s watched a horse on the third leg of a potential Triple Crown knows the intensity a race can produce. The Sport of Kings is a new novel about a family looking to breed the next super horse, the next Secretariat, who will win them fame and (more) wealth. But this tale of classic Southern money becomes far more complicated after a young black man comes to work with the family of horse racing fanatics. It’s a powerful, very American novel we highly recommend reading. Link
Kill ‘Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul
James McBride
Yes, James Brown was born with a ton of talent. He was destined to be an entertainer. But Brown was also made. His music was crafted with a lifetime of living behind it. In Kill ‘Em and Leave, James McBride goes in search of the real James Brown, the man who lived a rough-and-tumble life in a small country town before his name was in lights. Even if you aren’t a huge James Brown fan, this book is about how a hard, event-filled life can drive someone to succeed. Link
Trespassing Across America: One Man’s Epic, Never-Done-Before (and Sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland
Ken Ilgunas
If we met Ken Ilgunas back in 2012 and he told us his idea to walk the entire stretch of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, we would have said two things: “Wow!” then, after thinking about it for a few seconds, “Why?” Now, a couple of years later, Ilgunas has completed his 1,700-mile journey, mostly through private property, and he has a tale to tell. Trespassing Across America is about the people and places that make up the stretch of land from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast of Texas and how the then proposed plan would have affected them. It’s an adventure tale with plenty of enviromental questions to think about. Link
Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two
Jim Koch
The landscape of American beer looked a lot different in the early ’80s. Before there were double IPAs and barrel-aged stouts flowing from taps at breweries seemingly on every block, there was one brewery going toe-to-toe with the big dogs. Jim Koch took The Boston Beer Company from scrappy little startup to respected powerhouse over the course of his career, and whether you reach for a Sam Adams or not when you want a beer, you have to respect the man. How did it all happen? How can you steal a little of Koch’s business smarts? Read Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two. Link
