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Tertulia Staff Picks: 10 Books Coming in February That We Can't Wait to Read

Tertulia Staff Picks: 10 Books Coming in February That We Can't Wait to Read
Tertulia Staff Picks: 10 Books Coming in February That We Can't Wait to Read
Tertulia staff •
Jan 30th, 2025

Every month, we share the books we can't wait to read. Our February staff picks include: a memoir from Pulitzer Prize winner Geraldine Brooks, a novelist's reflection on the war in Gaza, and a nostalgic romp through the indie music scene of the early aughts.


FICTION

Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley (Feb 25)

Selected by Fernanda Gorgulho

Remember when mixtapes were love letters and your taste in music pretty much defined your whole personality? Deep Cuts promises to transport you back to that glorious era! Set in the early-2000s indie music scene, it follows two Berkeley college students whose creative partnership gets tangled up in love, ambition, and obsession. I'm already getting in the perfect nostalgic mood with the author's Spotify playlist.


Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger (Feb 25)

Selected by Romina Raimundo

I'm always up for a hit of Lisa Unger's signature adrenaline rush-inducing writing. This one's a hide-and-seek meets "Hunger Games" thriller that follows a single mother who is lured into a competition on an island, where a seemingly innocent game escalates to life or death stakes.


Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford (Feb 11)

Selected by Fernanda Gorgulho

Close cousins are like your own secret society: the people you share your weirdest family stories with, the ones who reveal the skeletons in the closets you never even knew existed, the ones who can bring you to your knees laughing—like a sibling but without the same drama. Idle Grounds not only captures this magical dynamic but adds a haunting twist. Set on a summer’s day in late-1980s New England, this novel follows a group of young cousins who band together after their youngest member vanishes into the woods. What begins as a daring rescue mission quickly spirals into something stranger and darker, as they uncover hidden truths about their family and themselves.


Show Don't Tell: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld (Feb 25)

Selected by Lynda Hammes

I'm not always drawn to reading short stories, but when I heard about the cameo of Lee Fiora in this collection I was sold. Lee is the main character of Sittenfeld’s iconic novel Prep and apparently we get a glimpse at her reunion at the boarding school decades later! I love it when authors can revive a beloved character in a new context, and it will be fascinating to see her come alive again.


The Other March Sisters by Linda Epstein, Ally Malinenko, and Liz Parker (Feb 25)

Selected by Romina Raimundo

I can't wait to settle in for my long-awaited reunion with Meg, Beth and Amy March. Notably, Jo won't be joining! This reimagining of one of my favorite books takes a fascinating approach of focusing on the untold depths of the March sisters outside of Jo, who dominates so much of Little Women. I'm a sucker for remixed classics, but this one sounds especially creative and fresh.


NONFICTION

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (Feb 25)

Selected by Emmanuel Hidalgo-Wohlleben

In the wake of a fragile Gaza ceasefire, it is chilling to think back on the viral tweet posted by Omar el Akkad back in 2023: “One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” This book in a resounding amplifcation of how he sees the West's actions as a betrayal of its fundamental values. This one's going to be a painful but necessary read for me.


Fearless and Free: A Memoir by Josephine Baker (Feb 4)

Selected by Iliyah Coles

I have been obsessed with Josephine Baker ever since I learned about her in an elementary school asembly on Black History Month in the 3rd grade. There's nobody more unique than this glam celebrity who doubled as Résistance spy and civil rights activist. How did this Black woman figure of the Harlem Renaissance have the world at her fingertips? I can't wait to feel her words and aura on the pages. This one's a must.


Looking at Women Looking at War: A War and Justice Diary by Victoria Amelina (Feb 18)

Selected by Emmanuel Hidalgo-Wohlleben

The Ukrainian novelist, Victoria Amelina, was killed in 2023 when a Russian cruise missile landed on the restaurant where she was having dinner. This posthumously published work of reportage is Victoria's first-hand account of the horrors she witnessed in her war-ravaged country. For those of us who live in relative safety and stability, reading a book like this helps process the human toll of war so much more than frenetic media coverage.


Memorial Days: A Memoir by Geraldine Brooks (Feb 4)

Selected by Romina Raimundo

Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks offers a raw, deeply moving memoir about grief and loss after her partner of over three decades, Tony Horwitz, suddenly passed away. Grief is such a difficult subject both to talk about and to write about, but if someone can pull this off is definitely Brooks. I’m really interested in digging into this one and widen my own views learning the different ways in which cultures grieve and what can we learn from this.


How to Sell Out: The (Hidden) Cost of Being a Black Writer by Chad Sanders (Feb 4)

Selected by Iliyah Coles

There's a line Black writers have to tow when they write about race. Are we being honest or are we catering to what white people think we should say? Is the profit we gain evidence of our selling out, or our ability to work the system? These questions come up in several aspects of Black life, and I'm interested to see what Chad Sanders has been able to make of them.

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