32 new eBooks and audiobooks coming out January 12 - 18
Welcome back to New & Hot Reads, where we talk about some of the most anticipated books coming out now
If the past year has taught us anything, one lesson might be that with enough will and patience and access to the right tools, even when we can’t get to a classroom we still can learn together. Take, for example, the MFA class on the Russian short story that award-winning novelist George Saunders has been teaching to budding writers at Syracuse University for decades. Peeking into Saunders’ mind is always a treat (he did receive the MacArthur “genius” Grant, after all) and in A Swim in a Pond in the Rain he shares his theories about how stories work, what makes readers pay attention, and what stops readers from going on. The book consists of seven lectures on seven Russian stories, including the works of masters such as Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, and though it comes from a class for writers honing their craft, it’s fascinating reading for anyone who delights in getting lost in a good story. (Fans of the multicast audiobook recording of Saunders’ novel Lincoln in the Bardo may want to check out the audiobook for A Swim in a Pond in the Rain too.)
In Detransition, Baby author Torrey Peters dives headlong into relationship issues around gender roles and family planning, but in a transgender context that adds layers of complication. It’s a novel about two trans women, happily coupled, whose relationship falls apart when one of the women elects to detransition; Amy becomes Ames, but finds that life as a man would be easier, and losing his relationship with Reese is one of the hardest thing he’s experienced. There’s a lot to unpack in this book, and it’s likely to be the source of some controversy. In any case, Peters is a skilled writer whose characters' hopes and fears ring true. Readers looking for an emotionally complex story that deals with themes of family and self-acceptance should check it out.
Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give was a huge book that brought the Black Lives Matter movement into the mainstream with the story of teenager Starr Carter, her school, her Garden Heights neighbourhood, and her family. In Concrete Rose Thomas takes us into the backstory of Starr’s father, Maverick Carter, in the days when he was dealing drugs with the King Lords, trying to live up to his father’s legacy. Mav has some big decisions to make -- go straight and fulfill his potential, or double down on his commitment to the gang. Knowing that Mav’s going to be alright hardly diminishes the tension of his having to find a way out from under the obligations of gang life towards a future for himself and his young family.
More books coming out January 12 - 18
💭 Big Ideas
- A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders
- The New Great Depression: Winners and Losers in a Post-Pandemic World by James Rickards
- The Listening Path: The Creative Art of Attention (A 6-Week Artist's Way Program) by Julia Cameron
- The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet by Michael E. Mann
- The FBI Way: Inside the Bureau's Code of Excellence by Frank Figliuzzi
🗣 True Stories
- Aftershocks: A Memoir by Nadia Owusu
- Walking with Ghosts: A Memoir by Gabriel Byrne
- Broken Open: A Mother's Journey to Survive Her Children's Addiction and Mental Illness by Maureen Towns
- Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Andrea Pitzer
- You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories about Racism by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar
💘 Romance
- Shielding Riley by Susan Stoker
- Spark by Chelle Bliss
- Repeat Offender by Lani Lynn Vale
- Ryland’s Reach by Dale Mayer
- Roommate by Sarina Bowen
- The Forever Girl by Jill Shalvis
🗡️ Thrillers, Action, and Crime fiction
- Lost Boys by Faye Kellerman
- The Scorpion's Tail by Lincoln Child
- The Breaker by Nick Petrie
- The Darkness Within by Graeme Hampton
- Dear Miss Kopp by Amy Stewart
🖊️ Literary Fiction
- Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
- Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson
- Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
- Summerwater by Sarah Moss
- Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida
✨ Fantastical tales of Other Worlds and Other Times
- Echo Rift by G. S. Jennsen
- Into the Light by David Weber
- The Effort by Claire Holroyde
- Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews
- Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
- Dirty Deeds by R.J. Blain
Check out even more new eBooks & audiobooks here