20 new books to read in January
David Canfield
New year, new reads
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The publishing industry is wasting no time getting good books out in 2019. What better way to celebrate the new year than by checking out one of January's hottest reads? Here are the 20 to have on your radar.
Scribner; Little, Brown and Company; Atria Books; Harry N. Abrams; Imprint
Adèle is another exquisite French novel from Leila Slimani: EW review
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Adele review: Leila Slimani's new novel is explosively good
Burned , by Edward Humes
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The Pulitzer Prize-winning crime journalist and author (No Matter How Loud I Shout) returns with another eye-opening, suspenseful tale of murder and secrets. This time, he takes the action back to 1989, and investigates a tragic fire shrouded in mystery and conspiracy. (Jan. 8)
Dutton
Hollywood's Eve , by Lili Anolik
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The author behind the Vanity Fair profile that vaulted Eve Babitz into late-career fame expands her work with this intimate book, which is as much a biography of Babitz's glitzy, star-studded life as it is a meditation on why so many are transfixed by her. (Jan. 8)
Scribner
Looker , by Laura Sims
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Newly separated, an unnamed woman fixates intensely on the life of her famous actress neighbor. The obsession worsens, and the stakes turn dangerous. (Jan. 8)
Scribner
An Orchestra of Minorities , by Chigozie Obioma
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A Man Booker Prize finalist, Obioma could break out with U.S. audiences with this passionate, emotional contemporary twist on Homer’s Odyssey, set in the outskirts of Umuahia, Nigeria. (Jan. 8)
Little, Brown and Company
The Sopranos Sessions , by Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall
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The two veteran critics offer in-depth, episode-by-episode analysis of one of the greatest TV series ever. But a juicy bonus lurks for fans: a new, wide-ranging interview with Sopranos creator David Chase. And in it, he just might shed some light on that perennially controversial final scene. (Jan. 8)
Harry N. Abrams
Sugar Run , by Mesha Maren
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A tense, atmospheric Southern noir spiked with queer themes, Sugar Run weaves between two timelines in its depiction of Jodi, a woman just finishing an 18-year prison sentence. (Jan. 8)
Algonquin Books
Thick , by Tressie McMillan Cottom
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In this searingly written collection, Cottom, a proven author (Lower Ed) and assistant professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, mixes cultural criticism with personal reflection, recalling the best of Janet Mock and Roxane Gay. The latter has already called Thick "transgressive, provocative, and brilliant." (Jan. 8)
The New Press
To Keep the Sun Alive , by Rabeah Ghaffari
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Ghaffari’s fiery debut tenderly depicts a family against the harrowing backdrop of the 1979 Iranian revolution. (Jan. 8)
Catapult
The Water Cure , by Sophie Mackintosh
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This dystopian novel centers on three young sisters who’ve lived their whole lives in isolation with their parents, kept away from a world that has become violent toward women. (Think The Handmaid’s Tale set on the outskirts of Gilead.) But when their father dies, they’re forced to face the danger beyond their walls — and find the strength to survive it. (Jan. 8)
Doubleday
The Wicked King , by Holly Black
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Black promises to do more with the follow-up to her smash success The Cruel Prince than merely set up the final act in her Folk of the Air trilogy, an epic saga of palace intrigue and deception. Expect new blood to be shed. (Jan. 8)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
The Dreamers is a startling, beautiful portrait of a community in peril: EW review
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The Dreamers book review: Karen Thompson Walker novel soars
The Far Field examines grief, politics, and family with rare wisdom: EW review
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The Far Field review: Madhuri Vijay book examines grief
You Know You Want This , by Kristen Roupenian
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Roupenian inked a huge book deal off her buzzy New Yorker short story “Cat Person,” and here’s the first result: a collection that provocatively tackles sex and power. Read an excerpt. (Jan. 15)
Scout Press
The Current , by Tim Johnston
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Johnston dazzled with his breakout thriller, Descent; his follow-up is a more ambitious page-turner, unpacking how a shocking murder impacts the denizens of a small Minnesota town as they weather suspicion, guilt, and grief. (Jan. 22)
Algonquin
Talent , by Juliet Lapidos
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This satirical debut centers on an intellectually ambitious graduate student desperately seeking inspiration as she struggles to finish her disseration. She finds it in the life (and potential unfinished, unknown project) of a deceased author. (Jan. 22)
Little, Brown and Company
You need to read The Falconer, an irresistible coming-of-age debut: EW review
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The Falconer review: Dana Czapnik's debut novel is a must-read
King of Scars , by Leigh Bardugo
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Kicking off a new duology, Scars centers on Nikolai Lantsov, the mysterious and roguish prince from Bardugo’s original Grisha trilogy who quickly emerged as a fan favorite, and it also features at least one character from her Six of Crows duology. (As to whom, that remains under wraps.) Bardugo fans probably don't want to miss this one. (Jan. 29)
Imprint
The Wolf in the Whale , by Jordanna Max Brodsky
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Calling fans of Diana Gabaldon and Sharon Kay Penman: Brodsky's new fantasy imagines a consequential meeting between Vikings and the Inuit in the year 1000, surrounding the clash with gods and romance and tragedy. (Jan. 29)
Redhook
The World According to Fannie Davis by Bridgett M. Davis
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Novelist Bridgett M. Davis turned to nonfiction in what started out as the story of her mother, who ran an illegal Numbers game in Detroit in the '60s and '70s. But this memoir turned out to be much more: a panorama of African-American communities in this era, the resolve they demonstrated and the restrictions put upon them in their pursuit of the American dream. It's a family story of nationwide scale.
Little, Brown and CompanyThe best new books to read in January 2019