What To Read

Every month, we share the books we can't wait to read including: a larger-than-life new biography of Dolly Parton, a new novel from Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk that moves between daily life, memory, and myth, and a 2025 Booker Prize finalist from Ben Markovits that follows the rhythms and pressures of middle age.

FICTION

The Award by Matthew Pearl (Dec 2)

Selected by Fernanda Gorgulho

An up-and-coming novelist wins a big award, and suddenly his famously unhinged neighbor—a celebrated but notoriously cruel writer—starts creeping into his life. It all unfolds in Cambridge cafés and writing groups, with an award committee hiding some seriously disturbing secrets. I love the mash-up of literary satire and psych thriller - the whole story fully chaotic. With the prize season buzz still fresh, this one feels like an especially fun one to grab now.

House of Day, House of Night by Olga Tokarczuk (Dec 2)

Selected by Lynda Hammes

The thing I love about Olga Tokarczuk is how even the smallest places -- like a tiny Polish village on the Czech border -- contain infinite universes. The Nobel Prize winner herself has referred to her fragmented storytelling as "constellations," made up of short vignettes, various characters' stories and anecdotes, sometimes even recipes or historical tidbits—that all orbit around theme. For me, they always dazzle - I'll read anything she writes.

The Definitions by Matt Greene (Dec 2)

Selected by Romina Raimundo

The Definitions hooked me right away because the premise feels weirdly close to home post-pandemic—people having to relearn how to live, talk, and just be after an illness tears through the world. It's set in this quiet but slightly eerie seaside center where students are piecing their identities back together through lessons, borrowed names, and these fragile flickers of memory coming back.

The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits (Dec 30)

Selected by Fernanda Gorgulho

Ann Patchett says this “feels less like reading a novel and more like sitting in a car beside a dear friend,” which is about as compelling as a blurb gets. A Booker finalist, it follows a man on an unplanned cross-country detour, revisiting the people who defined him as he tries to decide what comes next. A fittingly reflective read as the year winds down.

We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories and Essays on Protest, Resistance, and Hope by Malka Older (Dec 2)

Selected by Iliyah Coles

I love books that activate. There are certain ones that you read even a few pages from and suddenly, you want to put the book down and start doing. I know these stories were created to empower and embolden and I can't wait to see which ones stay with me indefinitely.

Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen (Dec 2)

Selected by Romina Raimundo

This one hits close to home—and brings me right back to my grandfather's journey with Alzheimer's. The novel digs into memory from every angle: how it holds us together, how it fails us, and how losing it can crack open unexpected truths. It's about family bonds stretched to their limit, the quiet courage it takes to start over, and who we become when the people we love can't remember us anymore.

NONFICTION

Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton by Martha Ackmann (Dec 30)

Selected by Fernanda Gorgulho

I adore Dolly Parton’s music, and I’m always amazed every time I learn something new about her. The Tennessee icon funds vaccine science, mails free books to millions of kids, and literally created the beat for “9 to 5” with her acrylic nails. This new biography feels like the ideal chance to finally get the full, extraordinary story behind the legend.

Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-Reum (Dec 2)

Selected by Iliyah Coles

Okay, I have to admit, I don't read nearly as much as I used to. The older I get, the harder it is for me to make time for it. I'm anxious to rediscover my love for books and when I heard about this book coming out, I knew it'd be perfect for me.

Evergreen: The Trees That Shaped America by Trent Preszler (Dec 2)

Selected by Romina Raimundo

As we are approaching one of my favorite seasons of the year—the one where evergreens start popping up in windows and on street corners—I couldn’t help being drawn to Evergreen. If you’re in the mood for something thoughtful, festive, and rooted in nature and history, this sounds like exactly the kind of read that deepens the season’s magic. This one is also such a fantastic gift!

Progress: How One Idea Built Civilization and Now Threatens to Destroy It by Samuel Miller McDonald (Dec 2)

Selected by Emmanuel Hidalgo-Wohlleben

Any book pitched as "for readers of Thomas Piketty, David Graeber, and Jared Diamond" is basically promising big, provocative ideas that'll shake things up—which I'm here for. I'm pretty sure I won't agree with everything Samuel Miller McDonald throws at me, but that's kind of the point. I want a book that challenges how I see history and the world we're living in now, and this one sounds like it'll deliver.