What To Read

It’s spring! Awaken your inner reader to the best new releases that are sprouting up over the next few months. Here's a diverse selection of 15 notable books to add to your reading list including: the first novel in more than a decade from Abraham Verghese, a meta romcom from Curtis Sittenfeld, Tom Hanks’ first novel, a French bestselling memoir and a royals history to tide you over until the next season of The Crown. Preorders are terribly important for writers these days, so place your orders before publication date.

FICTION

1. The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor

The latest novel from Booker Prize finalist and literary world darling Brandon Taylor follows an intertwined group of friends in Iowa City on the edge of big life changes. Like many publications, Harper's Bazaar put the book (out May 23) on its "most anticipated" list for the year, saying:

"A beautiful, detailed writer, Taylor excels at penning his own expansive, contemporary versions of Victorian novels; exploring character and state-of-the-nation questions with impressive prose. The Late Americans is one of his most exciting creations yet, a saga starring a circle of friends and lovers whose lives are reaching a dangerous reckoning."

2. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

It's been a decade since this polymathic physician and writer (with an MFA from the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop) came out with his bestselling Cutting for Stone. Readers who have already started wading into The Covenant of Water (out May 2) are raving about this story of three generations of a family seeking the answers to a strange secret.

"It's a tale of love, faith, and medicine, and it's so absorbing you'll forget you're reading a book that's over 700 pages long." — Town & Country

3. Trackers by Charles Frazier

Novelist Charles Frazier is most well-known to readers for his smash success debut Cold Mountain, which won the National Book Award in 1997. His latest, Trackers (April 11), is set out West during the Great Depression, and follows a painter's unexpected adventure after his stroke of luck getting a New Deal assignment to create a mural for the local post office.

"Frazier is in top form for his fifth novel, which traverses America in its portrait of contrasting Depression-era lives. The locales feel period-authentic, and the writing hums with spectacular word-images... The Old West still lingers in this propulsive tale of individualistic characters striving to beat the odds.” — Booklist

4. Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Romcom fans rejoice! This is a romance story that is actually set in the world of comedy. From a teenager with a prep school scholarship to a fictionalized Hillary Clinton, the women in Sittenfeld's novels are brought to life by her keen observations and addictive plots. The TV comedy writer protagonist in her seventh novel, Romantic Comedy (out April 3), is no exception, and Sittenfeld fans will be hooked by her romantic travails.

"I adored Romantic Comedy by @csittenfeld - so much fun and wonderfully romantic. I couldn’t put it down. Curtis Sittenfeld’s books are the ones I tend to re-read the most, they feel like old friends.  — Literary agent Catherine Cho via Twitter

5. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

This book, out May 2, follows women gladiators participating in a profit-driven entertainment program in America's privatized prisons. A seemingly wacky premise, sure, but as the fighters compete for their freedom, you'll wonder if Chain-Gang All-Stars hits a little too close to home.

Chain Gang All Stars is a brilliant and cutting send-off of reality television, football, and mass incarceration. — CrimeReads

6. The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks writes novels? Apparently! Following his short story collection published in 2017, his second book (out May 9) is a historical novel spanning post-World War II America to the present day.

With a cast of characters including a WWII hero, an "extremely difficult male" actor and bonus comic books created by Hanks and illustrated by R. Sikoryak, this promises to be a starry, nostalgic novel debut which harkens back to the heyday of Hollywood. — Alison Stine on Salon.com

7. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

In a sharp take on white privilege and the lack of diversity in publishing, Yellowface — by Hugo Nebula and Locus award nominee R.F. Kuang — follows the rise of a literary star who has appropriated the work and identity of her Asian friend. This dark, satirical thriller comes out May 16.

No spoilers, but it’s fair to say this one starts with a proverbial bang. Following closely on the heels of Babel, one of 2022’s biggest and most acclaimed hits, Kuang’s latest is a dark and strangely funny novel about identity, art, and cultural appropriation set in a covetous, money hungry, and blood-thirsty literary world (so it’s just like our own). In the provocative tradition of  White Ivy and The Other Black Girl, this genre-bending novel is guaranteed to start conversations. — Oprah Daily

8. Tomás Nevinson by Javier Marías

In this espionage thriller from perennial Nobel Prize candidate Javier Marías, who died in 2022, an ex-spy follows three women suspects in terrorist bombings in Spain. The book, out in English on May 23, is a follow-up to Marías' acclaimed novel Berta Isla.

Seductively conversational and glinting with slantwise humour... the torrent of reflection sweeps away the thought that even a closely printed novel of more than 600 pages might start taking care of itself when the writer gets into this kind of groove. And as the tale at last reaches its action-packed denouement, there’s something inescapably poignant about all these drawn-out deferrals, the never-ending clauses and caveats. Keep them coming, you think, knowing there’s no more left. — Anthony Cummins in The Guardian

MEMOIRS

9. The Postcard by Anne Berest

This French bestseller is a fictionalized memoir that takes a captivating look into a family's past and secrets. The Postcard, in its English-language debut out May 16, follows the author's family after the arrival of a cryptic postcard that includes the names of four ancestors who were victims of the Holocaust. The narrator begins a suspenseful quest to find out who sent it and why.

Controversy in the French literary world swirled around The Postcard when it was panned in a review by a juror of the prestigious Goncourt Prize, who was also a romantic partner to another finalist for the prize. The book has since won the first annual U.S. Goncourt Prize Selection last year.

"With bracing prose, smoothly translated by Kover, Berest takes an unflinching look at antisemitism past and present... The more Anne learns of her family, the more powerful her story of reclaiming her ancestry becomes. This is brilliant." — Publishers Weekly

10. A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung

After her widely acclaimed memoir about being a Korean American transracial adoptee, Nicole Chung opens up with another deeply personal story about the loss of her adopted parents and the economic hardships they endured. This second memoir is among the few 2023 book releases that appears on nearly every publication's list of anticipated titles. A Living Remedy is out April 4.

"Her prose is understated, unflinching, and flat-out fierce (in the best way)... It’s about navigating loss, grief, family, and distance during the coronavirus pandemic. I can’t wait for it to reach the wider world." — John Hendrickson in The Atlantic

NONFICTION

11. On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking's Final Theory by Thomas Hertog

This book (out April 11) combines the memoir of renowned cosmologist Thomas Hertog with the case for a radical theory about the origin of the universe. Hertog, a close collaborator of Stephen Hawking, walks the reader through some mind-boggling possibilities about our possible beginnings (and the existence of the multiverse), including a provocative statement about Hawking's final theory.

"The origin of the universe, a feeling of cleverness, a possible fresh answer to the ancient metaphysical problem of our insignificance, and a new game – not bad for £20." — Alexander Masters in The Spectator 

12. When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach by Ashlee Vance

From the author of a best-selling biography on Elon Musk, this book (out May 9) is a chronicle of the private space race happening in the small rocket launch industry. As a business and tech columnist, Vance has a front-row seat to the intergalactic land grab of four private companies vying to be the first to make Earth's lower orbit open for business.

"I can highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in space, especially if you want to know how space startups work behind the public promises and marketing. The book provides real insight into these companies and the people who toil in them." — Eric Berger in ArsTechnica

13. Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Comedian and TV writer Samantha Irby's new essay collection (out May 16) gives fans a glimpse into the hilarious inner monologue about her own life and observations on society at large. For a laugh, and for a reality check on the what's behind the glamorous life of a Hollywood and pop culture figure, look no further than Irby's musings and confessions.

"The wildly hilarious Irby has written a new collection of essays about Hollywood, QVC, bathroom etiquette, and Carrie Bradshaw. Jia Tolentino calls Irby’s writing “stay-up-all-night, miss-your-subway-stop, spit-out-your-beverage funny, as irresistible as a snack tray..." — R.O. Kwon in Electric Literature

14. Tasting History: Explore the Past Through 4,000 Years of Recipes by Max Miller

What began as a COVID-19 lockdown passion project about historical recipes soon turned its creator Max Miller into a viral YouTube sensation. Now, foodies everywhere along with his millions of followers can own the latest iteration of Miller's project: this beautifully illustrated history of food around the world and through millennia. We recommend the 16th-century pumpkin torte and the red beet stew from 1740 BC.

"Like Julie & Julia with a little Indiana Jones (or maybe National Treasure), Miller good-naturedly and with obvious passion shares not only his experiments (some more successful than others) but also his research... With gourmet photography and thoughtful period artwork, the book (and videos) are the perfect way to make history come alive, in your imagination and on your palate." — Shana Nys Dambrot in LA Weekly

15. George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy by Sally Bedell Smith

Royals-obsessed readers already know that there's a new history book coming April 4 from one of the world's expert commentators on the British royal family. Bestselling biographer Sally Bedell Smith was granted special access to the royal archives for this inside view on the lives and marriage of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II.

“The touching love story of the parents of Elizabeth II. … Smith, the bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen and Prince Charles, leaves no jewel unturned as she recounts the lives of an improbable couple who would do so much to steer their country through the turbulent period of the abdication crisis and World War II.” — Kirkus Reviews