6 new releases + 6 golden oldies!
12 books you should consider this fall.
You may not be back in school but Fall is a great time to crack open a new book! I’ve compiled a list of 6 new releases that I’m most excited about and 6 golden oldies that deserve another look.
First the new Fall releases:
(nf) Over Work: Transforming the Daily Grind in the Quest for a Better Life. Brigid Schulte. Schulte is the author of Overwhelmed (2015) which I read and loved. Over Work levels up here and talks more about the culture of work and business today and the cost of burnout. I’m here for it! Edited: this came out yesterday so go grab it.
(nf) We Will Rest: The Art of Escape. Tricia Hersey. Escape from Grind Culture and the machine that valorizes all things productivity and take a nap already, says Hersey. Listen. She’s right and I need more rest. I bet you do too. Edited: Just noticed, this pub date has been pushed to January from November but I’m keeping it here.
(memoir) Be Ready When Luck Happens. Ina Garten, “the aunt everyone wishes they had,” has a
cookbookmemoir coming out! The Barefoot Contessa cookbook was probably my first cookbook (well, maybe second after Silver Palate) and I’ve always loved Ina. Can’t wait for this!
(f)Entitlement. Rumaan Alam. Leave The World Behind was Alam’s book I did not read on vacation and thank goddess! Ooof. Entitlement sounds different but related. Here’s what Penguin says, “Taut, unsettling, and alive to the seductive distortions of money, Entitlement is a riveting tale for our new gilded age, a story that confidently considers questions about need and worth, race and privilege, philanthropy and generosity, passion and obsession.” Yes, please.
(nf) How To Be Heard. Roxane Gay. Roxane says “all writing advice is terrible,” so she decided to write a craft book since she has so much time on her hands. Ha! Harper Collins says, “In this invaluable guide, Gay provides realistic, frank, and humorous advice for inexperienced writers and those who aspire to the writing life,”
(f) Women’s Hotel. Daniel M. Lavery. Here’s a blurb from the NYT, “This novel features an ensemble cast of ordinary but distinct characters in 1960s New York who all reside at the Biedermeier — a fictional and more decrepit version of the storied, all-female Barbizon Hotel.” I LOVE all things Barbizon so just add this to your cart and ship it to meeeee!
Now- the golden oldies:
These are some of my favorites. I stuck with fiction because non-fiction, unless it’s a memoir, can feel dated. All are worth a second look if you aren’t familiar.
Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury. 1953. “Is it true that long ago firemen put fires out instead of going to start them?”
“No. Houses have always been fireproof, take my word for it.”
“Strange. I heard once that a long time ago houses used to burn by accident and they needed firemen to stop the flames.”
A story where it doesn’t matter who is right, Bradbury’s dystopian novel is as relevant today as it was seventy years ago. And this anniversary cover! Zowie.
Eyes of the Dragon. Stephen King. 1984. Don’t tell me you don’t read horror! Listen..neither do I. Well, not really anyway. And Eyes of the Dragon is not horror, it’s fantasy. A fairy tale in fact. No, no, don’t come at me with “I don’t like Dark Tower,” Neither do I! This is not that. This is mesmerizing, original and not what you expect.
The Witching Hour. Anne Rice. 1990. A young doctor, Rowan, is drawn to New Orleans for an inheritance and gets way more than she bargains for as soon as she meets family she never knew she had. The first Anne Rice book I read and turn back to occasionally. My favorite Rice.
Shadow of The Wind. Carlos Ruiz Zapón and Lucia Graves. 2001. A book about a book. It’s a mystery and a love story in 1945 Barcelona. Yes, oh yes.
Last Night at The Lobster. Stewart O’Nan. 2007. Maybe because I’ve worked many an exhausting restaurant shift but this book is terrific. The last night at a Red Lobster that isn’t making its numbers. Working class? Check. New England? Check. Memorable characters? Check. A gem of a little (160 pgs) book.
On Earth, We're Briefly Gorgeous. Ocean Vuong. 2019. Why do you write a letter to a parent who cannot read? Allow Vuong to show you with this book. His protagonist, Little Dog, traces their life in America through the eyes of race, class and masculinity. Gorgeous and wrenching.
What I’m Reading right now:
The Myth of Normal (nf) by Dr. Gabor Maté. Maté is exploring similar themes to O’Rourke in this book but with a physician hat on. No matter! Maté offers compassion and critique of systems that often do more harm than good. I’m really early into this book but it’s excellent so far. I’m also a fan of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts (his first book that looked at addition and illness).
Great Circle (f) by Kate Shipstead. Just finished! I’ve read a number of lonnng novels this year that span decades and switch perspectives (The Travelers, Cutting for Stone, The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls). If you like that kind of book, Full Circle is along those lines. Shipstead gives us two juicy female protagonists -Marion and Hadley- who are very different but lead entwined lives. Fair warning, it’s 600pgs / 24 hrs audio but I liked both Marion and Hadley and the historical elements of early aviation and World War II.
The Invisible Kingdom (memoir) by
. This is another one that I started listening to and barely finished the introduction. I knew I needed to own it. O’Rourke uses her own illness as a lens to explore healthcare, privilege, medicine and what it means to be “sick” and “well” in the United States.What are you reading? Anything you think is outrageously good? I’d love to know.
Recommended Links:
“Primary colors in everyday life” whose works “have been compared to 20th-century American realists such as Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth, along with Black figure painters such as Charles White and Barkley L. Hendricks,”. This is Amy Sherald’s work. I love it so much. Take a look.
The origins of cats in Our Missing Hearts, a well-worn copy of The Princess Bride and other gems in Celeste Ng’s home library. This series from WaPo is a real treat. Check out Jason Reynolds’ too, if you have time.
Like divorce lit that’s EVERYWHERE right now, I’m tired, too of the prescribed minimalism. Eliminate that, cut back on this, trim that out. Boo! Too often, to me, it feels like tiresome virtue signalling. So
piece in which Hannah Steinkopf-Frank interviews Washington Post book critic Becca Rothfeld about her new book All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess is RIGHT up my alley. And the cover! Hieronymus Bosch! YES please.
+ Reader, if you like any piece of this, would you hit the ❤️ below? I know it’s a big ask (because you’re not in the app, are busy, whatever) but I can’t tell you how much if helps if you do. Thank you, thank you.
You reminded me I still have never read Rest is Resistance, which I just snagged through Libby. Thank you and happy reading :)
Yes to Gabor Mate! Love him!
Great recommendations and OMG a memoir by Ina Garten ❤️❤️❤️