Our Most Anticipated New Book Releases of November 2020

A Promised Land 
Barack Obama
Dreams from My Father, and an iconic speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, introduced our nation to a little-known Illinois state senator with an orator’s lyrical soul. The Audacity of Hope then laid plain the expansive and compassionate goals he envisioned for his presidency. Few books have been as avidly anticipated as this autobiography, which offers us the promise of a grand and detailed story, as well as a poetic and gripping narrative. We cannot wait to read this arc of an unexpected life, a momentous and consequential presidency and the important lessons of past, present and future.

Light for the World to See
Kwame Alexander
How do you make words jump off a page? How do you convey the passion in your voice? How do you get someone to hear the rhythm of voice and words held together? To watch or listen to Kwame Alexander perform his fierce, beautiful and important words is to want to hold them in your hands, to want to embrace their depth and meaning. Alexander perfectly takes the spoken word and delivers it to the page with poems that get straight to the heart — in 1,000 words to be exact.

The Best of Me 
David Sedaris
David Sedaris is a unique talent. He is funny, a great observer of human nature, slightly neurotic and an excellent writer. The last part is what really comes out in this compendium of awesomeness that showcases Sedaris’ best work over the past 25 years. It is hard to believe he has been at it this long and the mere act of culling through all the great stuff and picking “the best” was a difficult one. It is a great and funny journey though, and an excellent book to pick up and put down when you need a good laugh.

A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection 
Steve Martin, Harry Bliss (Illustrator)
Apparently, Steve Martin loves cartoons and covets the talent displayed by his friend, The New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. Each deserves to be in some kind of hall of fame, if they aren’t already. They love each other’s work, so Steve decided to write a bunch of funny stuff and watch Harry turn them into funny cartoons with captions. The result is A Wealth of Pigeons — original material combined with some familiar ones. Plus, a running commentary about their collaboration which is just as funny as the cartoons.

One Life
Megan Rapinoe
Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe has achieved at the highest levels, and while few can rival her medals and skill set, Rapinoe mostly wants to direct her high-energy reserves toward social justice and human rights. Story after story paints a picture of her activism, and the message of it all is that we can all do it together to achieve equality and peace.

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Emmanual Acho
“Dear white friends, country persons — welcome. Pull up a chair. Consider this book an invitation to the table.” That table was built in a series of frank and open interviews intended to spark real conversation, real questions and provide real answers in a “safe space” for folks to begin the work of unpacking what it means to be white and Black in America. And, thank goodness he continues that talk here. Patient and understanding, also direct and uncompromising, Acho aims squarely at education, empathy and compassion, asking us to look, reflect and make change happen.

What Kind of Woman: Poems
Kate Baer
In a voice that is fierce and compassionate, Kate Baer’s poems are clearheaded and direct. Here are short, sharp, prescriptive words for our 21st-century lives. They encompass growing up and growing older and the years in between. To take steps with Baer is to move forward with confidence. These poems are a new canon on what it means to be a woman today. Buy this for your mother, your sister, your daughter — for any woman you love in your life.

The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories 
Danielle Evans
Acclaimed author Danielle Evans brings all her usual wit and keen observational artistry to her latest collection of short stories that center around the complexities of the heart and human relationships. “These stories are wickedly smart and haunting in what they say about the human condition … Her language is nimble, her sentences immensely pleasurable to read, and in every single story there is a breathtaking surprise, an unexpected turn, a moment that will leave you speechless, and wanting more.” — Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist

Ready Player Two: A Novel
Ernest Cline
The sequel to Ready Player One, the 2012 blockbuster release that transcended category and received the Spielberg treatment in film form, was hailed by CNN as “as part intergalactic scavenger hunt, part romance, and all heart.” Now, Ready Player Two is almost here and will surely be essential reading for any speculative fiction fan. What is sure to be chock full of signature pop culture and nerd references, this sequel takes us back to the world of the OASIS and the fallout from Ready Player One. 
 

White Ivy: A Novel 
Susie Yang
Dark, addictive and filled with surprising twists, White Ivy is a propulsive debut that pulls you into the grit and unsettling obsessions of a woman who yearns for success at any cost. The hypnotic protagonist, Ivy Lin “eviscerates the model minority stereotype with a smile on her lips and a boot on your neck. Cancel your weekend plans, because you won’t be able to take your eyes off Ivy Lin.” — Lucy Tan, author of What We Were Promised 

Moonflower Murders: A Novel
Anthony Horowitz
Take your favorite delicious treat: Is it an ice cream sandwich? An Oreo cookie? Something where the outside is as good as the inside and you do not know which part to eat first? That is what you get with Anthony Horowitz’s latest Susan Ryeland/Atticus Pund novel. A mystery novel wrapped around a whole other mystery novel. This is not a two-for-one special — but instead, an extremely fun and compulsive read that will satiate the most devoted mystery fan as well as convert the, you know, finicky eaters.

The Butchers’ Blessing
Ruth Gilligan
An achingly beautiful novel of family, tradition, Ireland and the deep secrets buried in all three. The Butchers’ Blessing moves between 1996 and the present, offering a thrilling glimpse into the modern tensions that surround eight fabled men and a country on the edge of irrevocable change. “Gilligan braids beauty and brutality together in a seamless literary thriller. With plot twists worthy of Tana French and language reminiscent of Téa Obreht, this young Irish writer has crafted a story that is dark, wild, mythic, unsuspecting, and absolutely riveting.” — Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin

Dark Tides: A Novel
Philippa Gregory
No one does historical fiction quite like Philippa Gregory. In this emotionally sweeping sequel to Tidelands, we once again find Alinor, a woman with a dangerous secret, and her family pulled between London, New England and Venice in an epic tale of greed and desire. If you haven’t dived into Gregory’s Fairmile series — you’re missing out. While this series focuses on the plights of common women in 1640s England — a deviation from Gregory’s usual royal retellings — her strong female characters and page-turning narratives are better than ever.

September Love
Leav Lang
What months are best for making poems? Or, better still—what months make us feel “more” than other months? September is still summer but it’s also the beginning of autumn. It’s a month we never forget, and Lang Leav knows this in her heart. Her latest book of poetry tips her hat in the title. In the poem “Seasons,” she opens up to us, “What page of the calendar would you mark? I’d choose fall—the season you came back to me.” Seasons change — and so do feelings. Through Leav’s love of poetry, of reading, writing and of intimacies, we gain the courage to face those changes.

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are 
Rachel Bloom
If you love the CW cult series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which was full of zany comedy, singing and drama, then you will LOVE Rachel Bloom’s book, which is just another piece of her wildly creative mind, exposing a different side to her comedic genius. Rachel Bloom has always been hilarious and, here, her fans will get to know her a little better as she weighs in on subjects ranging from insecurity and anxiety, to Disney and female friendships. But her main point is something we can all relate to — we are all a little weird sometimes.