What To Read

Notable releases for September include the perfect dystopian novel for fans of Station Eleven, the warts-and-all bio that’s sure to please Musk haters and fans alike, the “compulsively readable” latest from Karl Ove Knausgaard, new cookbooks from legends like Jacques Pépin and Lidia Bastianich, Zadie Smith’s highly-anticipated first historical novel, plus Stephen King brings back a beloved PI.

Notable Releases for the Week of September 25, 2023

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Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang

In the latest novel from the author of the Booker-longlisted How Much of These Hills Is Gold, a chef is lured to a secretive colony of rich folks in a food-deprived future. Rave reviews are pouring in for what the  Los Angeles Times called "the most beautiful dystopian novel since Station Eleven." *A Tertulia staff pick for September.

The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis

A decade later, the author of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie returns with a powerful generational saga set between Philadelphia and Alabama in the 1980s that Oprah Daily called "a highly anticipated follow-up that gathers the story of a mother, a daughter, and the land that unites and divides them."

This Is Salvaged: Stories by Vauhini Vara

The New Yorker writer and Pulitzer finalist behind The Immortal King Rao returns with a slender collection of powerful and introspective short stories. The Millions praised the book's “gripping and playful tales about loss, fear, loneliness, and the desire for intimacy” for “showcasing the chaotic inner workings of the human mind in the face of crisis.”

Penance by Eliza Clark

A searing take on the true crime genre from the rising star behind the cult shocker Boy Parts. The Economist was taken by this “darkly compelling study of violence, madness and manipulation” that revolves around a sensational murder in an English coastal town.

People Collide by Isle McElroy

A clever body-swapping caper from the author of the wellness satire The Atmospherians. When a man suddenly finds himself inhabiting his missing wife’s body, he sets out on a chase across Europe and America in a literary thriller that Vogue found “expertly interrogates gender roles and questions the ties that bind lovers together." 

Devil Makes Three by Ben Fountain

This spy thriller, from the author of the National Book Award-nominated Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk, is set in the chaotic aftermath of the 1991 Haitian coup. “It’s a big, deeply humane political thriller that proves the flame of Graham Greene and John le Carré is still burning,” raved The Washington Post. 

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The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time by Yascha Mounk

A probing examination of the origins and pitfalls of identity politics from an acclaimed Johns Hopkins University professor whose The Great Experiment dissected the challenges faced by diverse democracies.

Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian Merchant 

A Los Angeles Times’ tech columnist explores how 19th-century England’s Luddite uprising still resonates in today’s Big Tech-dominated world. This book, longlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year, was praised by Kirkus as a "well-argued linkage of early industrial and postindustrial struggles for workers' rights." *A Tertulia staff pick for September.

The World According to Joan Didion by Evelyn McDonnell

This illustrated exploration of the pioneering writer’s life and work was named one of the most anticipated books of 2023 by The Millions. “Shaped by intellectual rigor and artistic grace in chapters coalescing around totem objects that figured prominently in Didion's life and imagination ... McDonnell's portrait is vibrant, fluent, sensitive, and clarifying," raved Booklist.

Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way: Recipes and Techniques for Economical Cooking by Jacques Pépin

The renowned master of French cuisine teaches home cooks to save time, effort and money in 150 practical and illustrated recipes. It’s an indispensable guide for learning to choose tasty yet cost-effective meats, fully utilizing overlooked parts of seasonal produce, and other sage advice from the acclaimed chef.

Lidia's from Our Family Table to Yours: More Than 100 Recipes Made with Love for All Occasions: A Cookbook by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

A deeply personal collection of family recipes from a legend of Italian cuisine. In her first book since the passing of her beloved mother (known to fans a "Grandma"), the Emmy Award-winning host of PBS's Lidia's Kitchen brings us mouthwatering fare like Leek and Ricotta Tart, Spicy Crispy Roasted Cauliflower, Avocado and Tomato Salad with Balsamic and Mozzarella, Fuzi with Chicken Ragu, Spaghetti in Lemon Cream Sauce, Mimosa cake, and Strawberry and Cream Parfaits.

Other New Releases This Week:

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Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

The Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigar

Lies and Other Love Languages by Sonali Dev

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Thicker Than Water: A Memoir by Kerry Washington

What about Men?: A Feminist Answers the Question by Caitlin Moran

Before the Movement: The Hidden History of Black Civil Rights by Dylan C. Penningroth

Notable Releases for the Week of September 19, 2023

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Beyond the Door of no Return by David Diop

This hotly anticipated historical epic from the Booker Prize-winning author of At Night All Blood Is Black was just longlisted for the National Book Award for translated literature. The Los Angeles Times praised its acclaimed French-Senegalese author for exposing “a neglected corner of the French colonial experience [and] expanding the country's literary conversation at a time of heated debate over national identity and culture."

The Last Devil to Die: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman

This is the fourth book in the popular BBC presenter’s quirky crime series about a group of eccentric English retirees who crack unsolved cases. In Esquire, crime writer Sarah Weinman was delighted by the climax, “The endings feel both inevitable and earned: the exact combination one wants in a good mystery. Osman's greatest strength is fusing the puzzle-mastery of Christie and her Golden Age peers with emotional earnestness and wry humor."

The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgård

From the acclaimed author of the My Struggle series, comes a characteristically thought-provoking tale about two half-siblings set between present day Moscow and Norway in the 1980s that The Washington Post promises is compulsively readable and “brings readers existential musings on philosophy, death and the mundane.”

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

This riveting mother-daughter tale from the author of Quiet Dell, set in the aftermath of the Civil War, was just nominated for the National Book Award for fiction. “The bruised and turbulent postbellum era comes alive in Phillips's page-turning affair," hailed Publishers Weekly.  

The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright

The author of the Booker Prize-winning The Gathering is back with a “gritty, sad, sly, riotous” generational saga whose “gem-packed language fizzes like a sidewalk firecracker,” according to Margaret Atwood.

The Pole by J. M. Coetzee

From a Nobel laureate and two time Booker Prize-winning author comes a complex love story about the unlikely relationship between an extravagant Polish pianist and his wealthy benefactor, which Publishers Weekly called “rich and engrossing... The prose is unornamented but nevertheless consistently incisive. Coetzee's ability to render the human condition in all its vagaries is as masterful as ever.”

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll

The latest from the author of the New York Times bestseller Luckiest Girl Alive flips the script on the well-tread story of serial killer Ted Bundy, which CrimeReads found refreshing: “Some may claim that the crime genre is rift with misogyny; those people have not read Jessica Knoll. She tears apart the restrictive world of women's roles and lays bare the purpose of such hobbles: to keep women from making a scene, to keep them from seeking justice, and most of all, to keep them from seeking their own lives." 

Mr. Texas by Lawrence Wright

The latest from the Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author is "a seductive portrait through words [of] the hot, barren beauty of West Texas... A fascinating portrait of Lone Star legislating" according to Booklist.

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Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation by Tiya Miles

The Harvard historian and author of the National Book Award-winning All That She Carried brings us an exploration of the natural world and its enduring impact on the lives of remarkable women like Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Tubman, Pocahontas and others who transformed America. “The personal stories range from intriguing to downright inspiring--the Native American players of the Fort Shaw basketball team deserve a movie!—but it is the author's insatiable curiosity and obvious affection for her subjects that will most captivate readers. So many fascinating women of different races are included in this little book. It's a true treasure! This gem is an obvious choice for teens,” declared Booklist.

The Book of (More) Delights: Essays by Ross Gay

Rediscover even more everyday joys with this follow up manifesto from the celebrated poet and National Book Award-finalist behind the bestselling The Book of Delights. "Keenly observed and delivered with deftness, these essays are a testament to the artfulness of attention and everyday joy," trumpeted Kirkus.

​​Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell by Sy Montgomery

The National Book Award-nominated author of The Soul of an Octopus brings us the hope-filled stories of the wonderful, wise creatures at the Turtle Rescue League in “a deeply human book…that invites us to slow down and really take a look around us — which is much needed in a society urging us to do more and go faster,” per BookRiot.  

For the Culture: Phenomenal Black Women and Femmes in Food: Interviews, Inspiration, and Recipes by Klancy Miller

From the chef and founder of For the Culture magazine, which celebrates Black women and femmes in food and wine, comes a beautifully photographed volume paying tribute to the activists, chefs, farmers, mixologists, sommeliers and other culinary figures profiled in its pages. Vogue called it "a gorgeous collection [that] is a love letter to, and in celebration of, Black women and femmes in food and wine."

Astor: The Rise and Fall of an American Fortune by Anderson Cooper

The CNN anchor follows up his bestselling history of his own Vanderbilt family dynasty with a new book about another of America’s most prominent families, the Astors. It’s a 336 page historical account tracking the rise of the legendary German immigrant family from its beaver trapping roots in the 18th century through the present day.

Other New Releases This Week:

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Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

Wellness by Nathan Hill

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

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Move Like Water: My Story of the Sea by Hannah Stowe

Notable Releases for the Week of September 11, 2023

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The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

A historical adventure set in the American colonial era from a three-time National Book Award finalist. When a pious servant girl flees the famine-wracked Jamestown settlement in 17th-century Virginia, she must brave a terrifying wilderness in an “absorbing, visceral study of survival,” per Vanity Fair.

The Enchanters by James Ellroy

In the Black Dahlia author's latest LA crime caper, it’s the summer of 1962 and infamous LAPD officer-cum-private eye Fred Otash (the real life inspiration for Jack Nicholson’s character Jake Gittes in Chinatown) is trying to unravel Marylin Monroe’s mysterious death. From Jimmy Hoffa to the Kennedys, this feverish rollercoaster from the undisputed master of LA crime fiction leaves no stone unturned. *A Tertulia staff pick for September.

Nineteen Steps by Millie Bobby Brown

A coming-of-age story set in London during WWII, written by the multi-talented star of the Netflix smash Stranger Things. It’s a love story about an English girl and an American airman that’s inspired by the actor’s own grandmother, who lived through the war.

How I Won a Nobel Prize by Julius Taranto

A clever debut by a Yale-educated lawyer about a talented young physicist who lands at a controversial institute for disgraced academics. “Taranto’s compelling dissections of moral gray areas and nail-bitingly tense passages of superconductivity experiments make the novel bracingly clever…a viciously funny page-turner with plenty of surprises,” observed Vogue. 

Normal Rules Don't Apply: Stories by Kate Atkinson

The beloved author of Shrines of Gaiety is back with eleven interconnected tales filled with outlandish characters, supernatural themes and a healthy splash of humor. The Irish Times praised these short works for showing us that the “mundanity of modern living is an unacceptable drudgery where nothing is guaranteed.”

Rouge by Mona Awad

This gothic fairy tale by the acclaimed author of Bunny, which made it to several most anticipated releases lists this fall, follows a skin care-obsessed woman as she becomes ensnared by a mysterious California spa. Vogue hailed "an edgy fable on the perils of our modern fascination with beauty." *A Tertulia staff pick for September.

Just Because by Matthew McConaughey

The famously laid back Academy Award-winner’s debut picture book offers reassuring words of wisdom to anxious kids and parents alike. "The homespun homilies effectively communicate that everyone's a complex being trying their best, that things move on--and that life can be alright, alright, alright," found Publishers Weekly.

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Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson

The Steve Jobs author’s new bio of the controversial tech titan has generated a frenzy of media attention of late, especially since a recent excerpt disclosed details of Musk's involvement in the Russia/Ukraine war. Other early snippets revealed the mogul’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde- like personality, and the existence of even more oddly-named Musk progeny, among other juicy tidbits. "There’s not much middle ground on Musk — people love him or hate him — but Isaacson is best positioned to figure out what makes him tick," mused LA Times.

The Young Man by Annie Ernaux

The French Nobel laureate’s most recent autobiographical book is a scandalous 50-page exploration of her taboo relationship with a much younger student, translated into English by a Booker Prize nominee. 

Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey

During the pandemic, with America mired in a happiness slump, the entertainment mogul joined forces with the acclaimed Harvard professor and popular Atlantic columnist to create this practical, science-backed guide to enhancing happiness and self-empowerment. 

Sing a Black Girl's Song: The Unpublished Work of Ntozake Shange by Ntozake Shange

A collection of previously unseen works by the late Black feminist pioneer, curated by National Book Award winner Imani Perry and featuring a foreword by bestselling activist Tarana Burke. "From a poem published in her high school newspaper to her groundbreaking choreopoems to moving critical essays--all previously unpublished--this volume showcases the genius of Shange: her breadth, depth, wisdom and love," remarked Ms. Magazine. 

Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein

In a mix of memoir and social critique, the noted intellectual behind No Logo and The Shock Doctrine turns her incisive gaze inward to probe the most personal and unsettling issues of the modern age. "If I had to name a single book that makes sense of these last few dark years, it would be this one," exclaimed The New York Times Book Review. *A Tertulia staff pick for September.

The World Central Kitchen Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope by José Andrés

With a foreword from Stephen Colbert and recipes from other bold names, this is the debut cookbook from celeb chef José Andrés’s nonprofit, which feeds communities impacted by disaster. Each recipe has a humanitarian backstory, like the Lahmajoun Flatbread served in Beirut following a massive 2020 explosion or a Borsch recipe for Ukrainians besieged by war. It’s finger-licking proof that important work happens when stars and amazing flavors align for a humanitarian cause. *A Tertulia staff pick for September.

Other New Releases This Week:

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The Secret Hours by Mick Herron

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The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush

First Gen: A Memoir by Alejandra Campoverdi

Madame Fromage's Adventures in Cheese: How to Explore It, Pair It, and Love It, from the Creamiest Bries to the Funkiest Blues by Tenaya Darlington

Notable Releases for the Week of September 4, 2023

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The Fraud by Zadie Smith

A 19th-century Scottish housekeeper searches for the truth during a sensational trial that captivated Victorian England.  “As always, it is a pleasure to be in Zadie Smith’s mind, which, as time goes on, is becoming contiguous with London itself. Dickens may be dead, but Smith, thankfully, is alive.” —The New York Times Book Review.

Holly by Stephen King

The master of horror returns with a beloved character from his crime thriller The Outsider. This time, whip-smart private eye Holly Gibney is back to take on two twisted professors in “a thriller scary enough to test its readers’ mettle — and toughen them up… From vaccinations to the Capitol riot, Holly charges into the thorniest contemporary debates with gleeful recklessness,” hailed The New York Times. 

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

Despite a seemingly perfect life, a Palestinian-American woman questions her present and unpacks her past. Time Magazine praised this “complicated mother-daughter drama that looks at the lasting effects of intergenerational trauma and what it takes to break the cycle of abuse." 

Wednesday's Child: Stories by Yiyun Li

Eleven short stories bursting with the mysteries of everyday life from the award-winning author of The Book of Goose. Vulture proclaimed, "Few writers tackle the way grief reverberates through our lives with Li's frankness, tact, and humor." 

Reykjavík: A Crime Story by Ragnar Jónasson

An authentic Icelandic caper co-written by Iceland’s current prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, and inspired by a real-life cold case from the ’50s in which a teen girl vanished from a desolate island off Reykjavík’s coast. "This is Nordic noir at its most authoritative," according to the Financial Times. *A Tertulia staff pick for September.

Dayswork by Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel

In this slim pandemic novel from a husband and wife writing duo, a quarantined woman obsessively dissects the secrets of Herman Melville’s life and art. “Like a good marriage, ‘Dayswork’ doesn’t crowd its subjects and unearths hidden connections; it is faithful to its task, and contains madness without being deranged by it,” observed The Washington Post. 

Do You Remember Being Born? by Sean Michaels

In this timely and innovative novel about Artificial Intelligence and art from the founder of pioneering music blog Said the Gramophone, a respected poet’s life is upended after she sells out and agrees to co-author a poem with a machine. “With this edgy 21st-century hook, Michaels maps the interior of a great human mind, and raises relevant questions about AI and the nature of creativity,” noted BookPage.

Second Best by David Foenkinos

This French bestseller follows the devastation of a child actor who fails to get the part of Harry Potter, as he grows up in a world of Potter-mania.  “Foenkinos’s surreal yet relatable novel, a French bestseller, considers life in our age of anxiety, when other people’s picture-perfect lives make our own seem drab in comparison.” —The Washington Post.

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Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski

This ode to America’s pastime is broken down into 50 unforgettable moments from the celebrated sportswriter behind The Baseball 100. “One of Posnanski's winning ploys is to dig into the archives to find such hidden gems and especially to celebrate the mediocre players who, for one of those magical moments, pulled something out of their caps and hit a surprise homer... A book for any baseball fan to cherish." cheered Kirkus. 

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-First Century's Greatest Dilemma by Mustafa Suleyman, Michael Bhaskar 

As humanity ventures into the age of Artificial Intelligence apace, this book is an urgent warning from one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject (Suleyman, CEO of Inflection AI, co-founded DeepMind, which is now Google’s primary AI research lab.) Bloomberg called this Financial Times and Schroders Business Book of the Year Award nominee "dazzling... You have by now read a great deal of both hype and doom-mongering on the subject [of AI]. But Suleyman's is the book you cannot afford not to read... Brilliant." *A Tertulia staff pick for September.

The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden's White House and the Struggle for America's Future by Franklin Foer

A highly anticipated reveal of the Biden presidency’s first two years, from an Atlantic staff writer who was granted unparalleled access to key advisers and members of his administration. The result is a behind-the-curtains account covering everything from COVID-19 to the midterm elections to the turbulent final days of the war in Afghanistan. 

Creep: Accusations and Confessions by Myriam Gurba

A fierce collection of essays from the author of Mean that examine how chronic toxicity in American society and institutions enables abusers of many kinds in the US.  "Absorbing. . . Gurba turns her unblinking gaze to life's cruelties, weaving together disparate threads that somehow hold in the end," noted The Los Angeles Times.

The Once Upon a Time World: The Dark and Sparkling Story of the French Riviera by Jonathan Miles

A spellbinding history of the world-famous Côte d'Azur that’s awash in glamor, intrigue and bold names like Picasso, Matisse, Cole Porter, Brigitte Bardot, James Baldwin, Coco Chanel, Jean-Paul Sartre and myriad others who flocked to its glittery shore. “Reading this breathtaking account of the transformations of the French Riviera over the last two millenniums is like riding shotgun with a racecar driver in the Monaco Grand Prix,” exclaimed a breathless New York Times Book Review.  

Other New Releases This Week:

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The Art of Desire by Stacey Abrams

Amazing Grace Adams by Fran Littlewood

Coleman Hill by Kim Coleman Foote

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama. Translated by Alison Watts.

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

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The Lights: Poems by Ben Lerner Straitjackets and Lunch Money: A 10-Year-Old in a Psychosomatic Ward by Katya Cengel

Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Table to Yours by Adeena Sussman

Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere by Maria Bamford

Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry by George Getschow