Critic Bethanne Patrick recommends 10 promising fiction and nonfiction titles to consider for your January reading list.
Each of us approaches the new year with both anxiety and hope. What lies ahead? Is this when you actually start working out, cooking, and writing screenplays?
If your own solution involves reading more, we can help. This month’s titles range from a bittersweet comedy set in the Italian countryside to a frigid road trip, and from a science fiction novel set in a murder mystery to a memoir about our most colorful four-legged family member. I’ll probably come across it someday. Enjoy reading!
fiction
Home Seeking: Novel
Written by Carissa Chen
Putnam: 512 pages, $30.
(January 7th)
Fans of historical fiction will want to pick up this exceptional novel right away. The story of Chinese history from the 1930s to the 21st century is told through the lives of Suu Kyi and Hai Wen, two Shanghai students who fall in love early on but their paths diverge early. Too. As national and global events impact them and their families, the connection of “mingyun”, the concept of personal destiny, keeps them spiritually connected despite hardship.
Heart of Winter: A Novel
Jonathan Evison
Dutton: 368 pages, $28.
(January 7th)
Loose teeth lead to long marriages, as Abe Winter and Ruth Warnecke reflect on their 70-year marriage. They live quietly on Bainbridge Island and have three adult children. Ruth’s family is in uproar when she is diagnosed with cancer due to dental problems. As Prime Minister Abe strives to care for his wife, their past is revealed, and the story shows how the negotiations surrounding their partnership become the foundation for its growth and finalization.
Death of the Author: A Novel
Nnedi Okorafor
William Morrow & Co.: 448 pages, $30
(January 14th)
Zell, a paraplegic adjunct professor, hits rock bottom both personally and professionally when he unexpectedly writes an Afrofuturist bestseller that also touches on people with disabilities. Although her large Nigerian-American family downplays her accomplishments, Zell meets an unusual scientist who equips her with a surprisingly advanced prosthetic leg and discovers his unusual purpose in providing it. reveal.
We Were Living on the Horizon: A Novel
Written by Erica Swyler
Atria: 336 pages, $29
(January 14th)
Combining AI, robotics, and more, Swyler’s latest world-building novel concerns Bulwark, a walled desert city whose history, values, and economy are based on the sacrifices of its founders. These humans, known as “saints,” now have descendants who form an elite supported by the AI system, Parallax. There’s also a murder mystery that threatens the AI children and the entire community. A very elegant dystopian novel.
Tartufo: Novel
Written by Kira Jane Buxton
Grand Central Publishing: 352 pages, $29
(January 28th)
The rural Italian town of Lazzarini Boscarino may be on the verge of death, with its population shrinking faster than budget. But when grief-stricken Giovanni Scarpazza and his hunting dogs Aria and Fagiolo stumble upon a rare truffle, Mayor Delizia Micucci decides that the food industry moguls will seize the chance to get their hands on it. I hope so. Will it be a boon or a disappointment? Buxton (“Hollow Creatures”) plays it for laughs, but is never cruel.
nonfiction
Cold Kitchen: A Year in the Culinary Journey
caroline eden
Bloomsbury Publishing: 256 pages, $28
(January 14th)
Journalist Eden’s kitchen is cold. She spends most of her time traveling in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. But she rarely returns to her home in Edinburgh without a souvenir that reminds her of the food in those places she writes about here. Comprised of about a dozen recipes, including Uzbek watermelon salad and Russian piroshki, the book is part memoir, part travelogue, part cookbook, all of which add up to something delicious.
Three Wild Dogs (and the Truth): A Memoir
Written by Markus Zusak
Harper: 240 pages, $28.
(January 21st)
Zusak (The Book Thief) and his family do have three stray dogs, but they are each very different, Reuben, Archer, and Frosty, and are more than accessories to some people. , recognized as a real family member. The same may be true of livestock. The author states that dogs represent lifelong devotion and our own deep human primal instincts. Anyone you know who has lived with a dog will enjoy this beautiful memoir.
The More I Fight, The More I Love You: A Memoir
Written by Neko Case
Grand Central Publishing: 288 pages, $30
(January 28th)
Alternative rock star Case charts a grueling journey to professional success through a painful childhood and a disastrous adolescence, including experiencing the harsh Chicago winters with no money for heat or warm clothing. It also included. But the Grammy-nominated musician evokes memories of hardship with great humor and great writing (Chicago winds blowing “like a bouquet of cold fists”) that should please fans and charm new fans, too. is.
Kingdom of Ice and Sky: Triumph, Tragedy, and the Greatest Arctic Rescue in History
Written by Buddy Levy
St. Martin’s Press: 384 pages, $32
(January 28th)
American Walter Wellman was the first to attempt to reach the North Pole by airship. After failing, Roald Amundsen (the same man who first reached the South Pole) tried again in 1926 and flew over the North Pole on May 21st. His Italian engineer, Umberto Nobile, was determined to obtain Mussolini’s honor in 1928. His attempt to accomplish the feat was met with disaster when his airship Italia crashed, sparking a high-profile international rescue mission.
Black in Blues: How Color Tells People’s Stories
Written by Imani Perry
Ecco: 256 pages, $29
(January 28th)
Blue skies equate to hope, but as Perry (South to America) shows here, blue dye was derived from the 16th century slave trade, where indigo cloth was traded in exchange for human lives. It may remind you of the times. From the description of “dark” skin to the blues as a musical genre, blue and its various shades are intertwined with the genetics, history, and traditions of African Americans. Part cultural compendium and part meditation, Black in Blues will inspire other great minds.
