What To Read

Notable releases for November include a follow-up murder mystery sequel to the smash hit The Maid, a sapphic debut that actor Chloë Sevigny called “hypnotic, sexy, and incisive,” the perfect holiday gift for anyone obsessed with the Royals, plus a moving historical novel set in the Warsaw Ghetto that landed on Sarah Jessica Parker’s TBR list.

Notable Releases for the Week of November 27, 2023

FICTION

The Mystery Guest: A Maid Novel by Nita Prose

There’s another bloody mess to clean up when a famous mystery author is murdered at maid Molly Gray’s hotel, in the follow-up to the smash hit The Maid (there’s a splashy Florence Pugh picture in the works). Harper's Bazaar called this standalone caper “fun, tightly written, and reminiscent of Agatha Christie's whodunnits. A charming thriller with heart and wit.”

Alice Sadie Celine by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

The bestselling author of Red Riding Hood makes her adult debut with a story about a UC Berkeley professor swept up in an affair with her daughter’s best friend, which actor Chloë Sevigny called “hypnotic, sexy, and incisive.”

We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein

Named a Best Book of 2023 by Kirkus Reviews, which called it a “delicate, warm account of a brutal, cold time, grounded in humanity, small details, and unwavering clarity,” and featured on Sarah Jessica Parker’s TBR list, this historical fiction novel vividly recounts the little known story of the Warsaw Ghetto residents who documented the lives of their imprisoned neighbors during WWII.

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

The latest from the Zibby Books imprint is an Aussie romcom about a grieving single parent who finds herself stranded for a momentous weekend with her boss in a “heartbreaking story with a blend of warmth and humour that is difficult to nail. Just be warned, you will laugh out loud and you will cry," according to The Daily Telegraph.

The Watchmaker's Hand by Jeffery Deaver

The latest installment in the bestselling Lincoln Rhyme series finds forensic criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and detective Amelia Sachs desperate to stop a murderous madman raining death and destruction on a panic-stricken New York City. It’s another guaranteed nailbiter from The Bone Collector author that Publisher’s Weekly hailed as the “most clever plotter on the planet.” 

NONFICTION

Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival by Omid Scobie

This is the perfect holiday gift for fans - or detractors - of the British crown! The veteran royal family correspondent behind Finding Freedom is back with another explosive peek into the monarchy that’s full of torching critiques and juicy insights into Buckingham Palace as the royal family fights to retain relevance and legitimacy without the queen in a new global age. 

Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars by Kliph Nesteroff

A noted comedy historian explores two centuries of censorship in American entertainment that NPR’s named one of the year’s best books and called  a “meticulously researched book [that] chronicles the many battles that have been waged on that front in the culture wars since the birth of show business.”

The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos by Mark Chiusano

This wild-but-true biography of the country’s sketchiest congressman by the Newsday journalist who’s been doggedly covering the conservative charlatan since he took his first steps in politics. It’s an explosive portrait full of revealing backstories from his campaign and improbable victory, Santos’ emergence on the national stage, and the federal charges that threaten to put him behind bars.

Activating the Common Good: Reclaiming Control of Our Collective Well-Being by Peter Block

An activist’s manifesto that pushes back on America’s competition-focused social model and instead argues for the collective, common good. 

The Abraham Lincoln Book of Quotes: A Collection of Speeches, Quotations, Essays and Advice from the Sixteenth President of the United States by Travis Hellstrom

The collected wisdom of one of America’s most revered presidents, broken down in handy sections by theme. 

Notable Releases for the Week of November 13, 2023

FICTION

Her Side of the Story: From the Author of Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes

Featured in Tertulia’s First Dibs Picks of the most exciting upcoming titles selected by top book editors! This newly translated edition of the cult Italian-Cuban feminist’s work, originally written in 1949, tells the story of a young woman reflecting on her life in Rome around WWII, and features an afterword by Elena Ferrante.

So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan

Three exquisite short stories that ruminate on relationships from one of Ireland's brightest literary stars and author of the Booker Prize-shortlisted Small Things Like These. “A mini-masterpiece,” raved The Irish Times. 

The Book of Ayn by Lexi Freiman

This hilarious satire follows a shunned millennial writer who’s been radicalized by Ayn Rand on an odyssey from New York to Los Angeles to Lesbos as she searches for artistic and spiritual fulfillment through Rand’s me-first ideology. "Uncomfortably funny and sure to cause a stir," remarked Vulture. 

 The New Naturals by Gabriel Bump

A young Black woman grieving the loss of her newborn tries to build a utopian commune at an unlikely location in this tragicomic headspinner that “reads like Ann Patchett shot through Percival Everett," according to the Chicago Tribune. 

The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow

The acclaimed tech writer’s latest cli-fi novel is set in a near future filled with environmental progress but divided along generational and political lines. Publishers Weekly praised the book for “imagining how acting both locally and globally in the face of environmental catastrophe can make a difference,” adding that fans of the classic Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York 2140 “will want to check this out.”

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner

Finally released in the US, this "playful, moving, and wholly remarkable" coming-of-age fable by an acclaimed English fantasy writer was praised by The Guardian and shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize.

Day by Michael Cunningham

The latest from the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hours is a pandemic novel that proves "Cunningham remains a writer of extreme poise, with a penetrating intellect and a winsome sense of humor. His sentences make you want to bask, to take a nap in their sun," according to Star Tribune.

The Professor by Lauren Nossett

In the gripping follow up to The Resemblance, former homicide cop Marlitt Kaplan is asked to investigate a college student’s suicide as rumors of an illicit affair with a faculty member make things even messier. “Come for the entertaining, well-crafted mystery, stay for the thoughtful critique of academia,” remarked Kirkus.

The Helsinki Affair by Anna Pitoniak

People Magazine hailed another “delicious female spy novel” from the author of Our American Friend. This time around “the CIA up-and-comer Amanda and her mentor Kath untangle a global conspiracy involving Russian oligarchs and--gulp--Amanda's own father, an agency lifer himself."

The Little Liar by Mitch Albom

The mega bestselling author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven returns with a heartbreaking story of a little Greek boy tricked by a Nazi soldier into committing a devastating act of betrayal. “Truth and deception clash in this tale of the Holocaust… Albom’s passion shows through on every page,” declared Kirkus.

Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry

A dark, mind bending thriller about three women who inexplicably find themselves trapped in other people’s lives. “Can this please be turned into a Black Mirror episode?,” pleaded CrimeReads.

A Very Inconvenient Scandal by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Publishers Weekly promises that fans of the The Deep End of the Ocean author will “lap up” this gripping Cape Cod family drama about a daughter reckoning with her father's shocking decisions. "The characters and relationships are all smartly drawn, and the narrative is shot through with plenty of humor and scandal.”

NONFICTION

Eyeliner by Zahra Hankir

A Lebanese-British journalist’s fascinating history of the iconic cosmetic. Exploring the likes of Nefertiti and Japanese Geishas to New York drag queens and artists like Amy Winehouse, through today’s Gen Z TikTok era, “moving through millenniums and across civilizations, Hankir gives the makeup its eye-opening due," praised The New York Times.

The Bill Gates Problem: Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire by Tim Schwab

This investigation into the Bill Gates Foundation reveals how the former Microsoft CEO wields philanthropic power similar to corporate power: in a top-down management style that shuts out diverging perspectives. This is a revealing look into how Gates's wealth has been used to amass control over public policy, markets, and international diplomacy. The author goes so far as to argue that, in some cases, he is actually hurting the very people that the foundation is meant to serve.

Art Monsters by Lauren Elkin

Frieze found that the Flâneuse author’s new meditation on the female body in art-making goes “beyond biography, she looks towards the ways that women – some queer, racialised or disabled – have found to make art that tells the stories of their lives.” 

Why Flying Is Miserable: And How to Fix It by Ganesh Sitaraman

Here’s one that’s perfect for the exasperated frequent flier on your holiday list. A Vanderbilt law professor and member of the FAA's Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee unveils how deregulation got us to the present state of airline industry woes, and deftly outlines the steps we can take to fix them. 

Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose Its Harmful Secrets by Jeff Horwitz

An expanded version of The Facebook Files series, originally published in the WSJ, author Jeff Horowitz reports on the inner chaos at Facebook in the wake of the 2016 election. He follows a group of Facebook employees grappling with difficult questions about the role their company played in the rise of online extremism. After thwarted efforts to fix the platform, some of these employees decided they needed to speak out on the damage that Facebook had done.

The World in a Wineglass: The Insider's Guide to Artisanal, Sustainable, Extraordinary Wines to Drink Now by Ray Isle

Skip the boring, corporate, mass-produced stuff and jump into the exciting world of independent winemakers with Food & Wine’s executive editor. This global guide features hundreds of lesser known winemaking operations from the southern reaches of Chile to Burgundy and beyond. 

UFO: The Inside Story of the Us Government's Search for Alien Life Here--And Out There by Garrett M. Graff

In recent years, speculation about UFOs has become a legitimate consideration in Washington, causing many citizens to wonder just how much the government knows about alien life. This book chronicles the fascinating work of the real-life Mulders and Scullys over the past three decades.

The Cookie That Changed My Life: And More Than 100 Other Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, and Pies That Will Change Yours: A Cookbook by Nancy Silverton

At last, the highly anticipated baking bible from the James Beard-decorated pastry chef who made her name at Wolfgang Puck’s acclaimed Spago and founded LA’s beloved La Brea Bakery. There’s over 100 enticing recipes ranging from classics like cornbread and apple pie, to inventive takes on fig newtons and chocolate brandy cake.

Snoop Dogg Presents Goon with the Spoon by Snoop Dogg

The beloved hip hop icon picks up where he left off with his last cookbook From Crook to Cook. And this time he’s brought along food-savvy hip hop legend and friend E40, owner of Filipino food company Lumpia. The result is a fun catalog of both rappers’ culinary inventions featuring over 60 crowd-pleasing hits inspired by their life, music and tastes.

Notable Releases for the Week of November 6, 2023

FICTION

The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez

In her latest novel, the National Book award winning author of The Friend tackles life's complexities with a solo narrator reflecting on the perils of modern existence that "cracks open windows and offers a reassuring breeze, reminding us that it's OK -- and perhaps even necessary -- to need each other; it's only human," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Future by Naomi Alderman

Following President Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence, debates and fears about AI are reaching a fever pitch. There couldn’t be better timing for the highly anticipated release of The Power author’s latest dystopian nail-biter, which follows a group of friends battling to save a world that’s been doomed by AI-supercharged tech moguls. 

Baumgartner by Paul Auster

The celebrated New York Trilogy author’s latest is being praised as "a late-career triumph" about a widower coming to grips with the loss of his wife. "By dispensing with his postmodern pyrotechnics, Auster has produced a more grounded and consequently more believable work about a memorable life," remarked the LA Times. You can discover—or rediscover—the world of Auster with this list of 8 favorites recommended by a Tertulia staff member and superfan.

The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan

The Irish author of Exciting Times is back with a fun, messy novel about a young couple and their friends hurtling toward a potentially-disastrous wedding. "Reading Dolan is like watching your favorite dramedy: the gossip is juicy, the stakes are ordinary yet elevated, and you're a little bit in love with everyone," raved LitHub. *A Tertulia staff pick for November.

The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook

You may have seen this Wild West adventure on Tertulia’s First Dibs Picks of the most exciting upcoming titles selected by top book editors. Already drawing comparisons to classics like Lonesome Dove, the Civil War-era Western follows a young frontier tradesman and a pregnant mother and child escaping outlaws "on a harrowing (and sometimes humorous) ride through 1868 Texas," according to CrimeReads. 

Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter

There’s plenty of buzz swirling around the third title from Roxane Gay's imprint, a dark pageturner that picks apart a dysfunctional friendship between two suburban women. "The Gone Girl-style thriller you were waiting for is here," trumpeted The Washington Post, which found it "filled with memorable prose and fascinating characters — men and women desperately searching for happiness in their lives and in each other — penned by a fearless writer with an enviable eye for detail."

The Liberators by E.J. Koh

Fleeing South Korea’s military dictatorship, a couple tries to start anew in California in this multigenerational family saga that "breaks new ground in understanding the Korean diaspora and the emancipating power of love," according to Poets & Writers. *A Tertulia staff pick for November.

Chaos Terminal by Mur Lafferty

When a passenger on the space shuttle is killed, intergalactic sleuth Mallory Viridian races to find the killer in a thrilling second installment of the sci-fi detective series that Booklist called, "wonderfully inventive, delightfully wacky, and cleverly complex."

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The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI by Fei-Fei Li

A timely and informative memoir by a pioneering Chinese-American computer scientist that looks back on her childhood, immigration to the US, and role as a key player in the advancement of artificial intelligence. Along the way, readers gain valuable insight into the possibilities and dangers of this controversial, world-changing technology. 

Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Stephanie Land

Her first memoir was one of Obama's favorite books of 2019 and became a Netflix series. In her follow up memoir, the Montana resident "describes the challenges of trying to get a college degree as a single mother living below the poverty line. As in her debut book, the blockbuster Maid, Land is not just exploring her own story, but also the larger implications of what it means to fall between the cracks of American capitalism," noted The New York Times.

To Free the Captives: A Plea for the American Soul by Tracy K. Smith

The former US poet laureate and Pulitzer prize winner uses her own family history to anchor a "searing manifesto on the power of collective ritual in confronting the persistence of violence and racism against Black people in America," according to TIME. *A Tertulia staff pick for November.

The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend by Rob Copeland

Grab this bombshell behind-the-scenes look at Bridgewater’s legendary founder Ray Dalio before the powerful hedge fund titan manages to get it killed (It’s been reported that Bridgewater, the world’s largest hedge fund, desperately tried to block the book’s release).

Comedy Book: How Comedy Conquered Culture-And the Magic That Makes It Work by Jesse David Fox

Vulture’s beloved comedy critic dissects the world's funniest profession in a cameo-rich exploration "that reminds me of good jazz writing from the '50s and '60s: savvy, insidery, immersed, excited, with its own developing vocabulary," declared James Parker of The Atlantic.

World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music by Jeff Tweedy

Following the success of his bestselling manual How to Write One Song, the founding member and leader of the rock band Wilco returns to wax on the fifty songs that changed his life and why, including tunes by The Replacements, Mavis Staples, The Velvet Underground, Joni Mitchell, Otis Redding, Dolly Parton, Billie Eilish and more. *A Tertulia staff pick for November.

My Name Is Barbra by Barbra Streisand

The long-awaited memoir by the EGOT-winning superstar is finally here and it "offers a funny and frank look at her career, six decades in. At a whopping 992 pages, it appears that the Hollywood and Broadway legend... isn’t skimping on the details of her rarefied life," remarked TIME.

Racial Wellness: A Guide to Liberatory Healing for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color by Jacquelyn Ogorchukwu Iyamah

A powerful book from a forward-thinking activist designed to help heal Black, Indigenous, and people of color traumatized by systemic racism.

How to Be Multiple: The Philosophy of Twins by Helena de Bres 

In a fascinating collection of autobiographical essays, a Wellesley philosophy professor explores profound philosophical issues of selfhood and free will from her perspective as an identical twin, while examining the broader role of twins throughout history and in society at large.