Welcome back, and happy new year to all! I hope everyone’s holiday break was filled with slowness, rich food, and delectable winter reads. I know many people who plan their holiday reading months in advance: that rare time of year with an empty inbox, and time aplenty. I trust that everyone caught up well, and we’ll ease slowly back into the rush of a new calendar year. For now, this week offers a number of scintillating nonfiction titles, such as Eric Lichtblau’s chilling book about the rise of white supremacy, Stefan Merrill Block’s shocking memoir about homeschooling, and a cultural history on the importance of laughter. In fiction news, there’s a new historical novel by Alice Jolly as well as Laura Dave’s sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me. And many more, so take care to read on. Happy Tuesday!
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Eric Lichtblau, American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate
(Little Brown)
“Alarming … Lichtblau’s elegant writing somehow makes the horrors he relates even more upsetting.”
–Booklist
Jean-Baptiste Andrea, trans. by Frank Wynne, Watching Over Her
(Simon and Schuster)
“Andrea blends the tumultuous history of 20th-century Italy with finely wrought character work. It’s a marvel.”
–Publishers Weekly
Alice Jolly, The Matchbox Girl
(Bloomsbury)
“A beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel telling the story of a young girl’s battle for survival and search for the truth in occupied Vienna.”
–From the publisher
Stefan Merrill Block, Homeschooled: A Memoir
(Hanover Square Press)
“An important book for our current world, Block’s brave story will help a lot of people feel less alone. An instant classic.”
–Emma Straub
Chris Duffy, Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy
(Doubleday)
“A delightful read about how we can bring more levity into our lives.”
–Adam Grant
Laura Dave, The First Time I Saw Him
(Scribner)
“Clear your schedule because once you pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down. I loved everything about it.”
–Mary Kubica
Alan Allport, Advance Britannia: The Epic Story of the Second World War, 1942-1945
(Knopf)
“As complete and compelling a picture of Britain in the Second World War as one could hope to read.”
–Phillips Payson O’Brien
Jacob Soboroff, Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster
(Mariner)
“An emotional and intrepid account of the Los Angeles wildfires … A cathartically heartbreaking account of the unique horror of watching one’s community reduced to ash.”
–Publishers Weekly
Jennifer Niven, Meet the Newmans
(Flatiron)
“I loved Meet the Newmans! The characters jump off the page.”
–Judy Blume
Jack Kelly, Tom Paine’s War: The Words That Rallied a Nation and the Founder for Our Time
(St. Martin’s Press)
“[A] compelling narrative. Kelly’s writing is clear, direct, and engaging.”
–Library Journal
Amil Niazi, Life After Ambition: A “Good Enough” Memoir
(Atria)
“A graceful memoir not of abolishing ambition but of evolving it toward something more authentic and profound.”
–Rachel Yoder
Mary Clare Jalonick, Storm at the Capitol: An Oral History of January 6th
(PublicAffairs)
“A gripping, fast-paced account … The result reads like a surreal nightmare.”
–Publishers Weekly
Javier Moro, trans. by Peter J. Hearn, The Architect of New York
(Counterpoint)
“A page turner that reveals the secrets of a turbulent family life and the conflicts father and son—both extremely talented, inseparable companions, yet rivals—had to face in order to survive in the gilded age.”
–Antonio Banderas
Carrie Gibson, The Great Resistance: The 400-Year Fight to End Slavery in the Americas
(Atlantic Monthly Press)
“Expansive and elegant, this is a marvel.”
–Publishers Weekly
Paula McLain, Skylark
(Atria)
“With fine-tuned historical detail, McLain’s latest is a compelling tale of human will, resilience, and connection.”
–Booklist
Xiaolu Guo, Call Me Ishmaelle
(Grove)
“Propulsive and immediate … A rich addition to Melvilliana.”
–Kirkus
Melanie McDonagh, Converts: From Oscar Wilde to Muriel Spark, Why So Many Became Catholic in the 20th Century
(Yale University Press)
“McDonagh writes scintillating, witty, probing intellectual history that is also extremely moving.”
–Financial Times
