Always on the hunt for good books for young adults? Fans of Percy Jackson should take a look at Ungodly. Another good book to read this week is Juniors by best selling author a captivating tale of love, friendship, and existing in the places in between.
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New release romance books this week begin the flow of holiday romances! In the mood for cheer, pudding, and some action under the mistletoe? Take a gander at the new books to read below!
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The best new mystery book cover this week is by far the debut novel The Killing Lessons by Saul Black. It's so bleak and foreboding... with just a hint of - is that blood? - running down the side.
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The book is about Vimbai a young single mother trying to make a life for herself and her daughter during Zimbabwe's crazy, hyper-inflationary period. She is the best hairdresser in town who specialises in making women feel "white", until she is usurped by a new guy called Dumisani. The book follows their relationship as it grows and develops amidst the turmoil surrounding them.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
“Don’t think about what anyone else has to say. Just do you.”
Which books do you find yourself returning to again and again?
I seldom reread books, but there are two that I always come back to every couple of years. Dostoevsky’s Demons and The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. I discover something new and meaningful each time I return to them.
Say you're the host of a talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
I would want to have someone antihuman, like Cecil John Rhodes, sit down with them and try to figure out how their minds work. The thing that makes them so radically different from the rest of us. My first question would probably be, “What the fuck?” and everything else will follow from that.
What makes your world go round? Why does it bring you joy?
Little things, small acts of kindness, Wangari Maathai’s little hummingbirds that change the world we live in in really deep, positive and meaningful ways. It brings me joy to know that we don’t have to be big and powerful to do good in this world we live in, that even though the grand negative forces that surround us can seem unstoppable, what we do in our own little, insignificant ways still adds a pixel of colour to the rainbow.
Who are your literary heroes?
I like daring innovative writers, so I have long list that could go on and on till the cows come… Sarah Ladipo-Manyika, Jon McGregor, Dostoevsky, Mridula Kushy, Jim Thompson, David Mitchell, Juan Ruflo, David Foster Wallace, Yvonne Vera, Paul Auster… My list changes frequently and is always expanding. There’s so much good work out there, one doesn’t know where to turn.
What's your favorite quote or scene from The Hairdresser of Harare?
I like chapter 22 because it is particularly explosive. It brings all the main protagonists together and really reveals something about their character and attitudes. At this point the book switches from its light comic gear into something a little more serious. After that they drift in and out of each other’s lives and what happens there has ramifications later on in the narrative.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Very loosely, the philosophy I live by demands that I’m free to change my mind about anything at any time. I always try to have that built in flexibility when it comes to my beliefs and tastes. I may not always succeed, but I always try to open myself up to new experiences and/or ideas. This comes out, I would hope, in my own work as I switch voices, styles and genres, always trying to find new ways of both feeling and expressing myself.
Tendai Huchu is the author of the new book The Hairdresser of Harare.
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Fans of John Grisham books: get excited. John Grisham has two new releases this year. If you love books like The Firm and The Confession, preorder John Grisham's latest book Rogue Lawyer. The Fugitive, part of John Grisham's series for young readers, is already available for purchase! See below for our book list of John Grisham books for 2015.
Also check out out list of what other new books to read if you like John Grisham books and books by authors like John Grisham!
John Grisham
The Fugutive is Book 5 in the Theodore Boone series for younger readers. It's an edge-of-your steat legal thriller, classic of John Grisham books. Readers age 8-12 will love The Fugitive.
Release date: 5/12/15
John Grisham
Rogue Lawyer is John Grisham's mastery at work. It is a legal thriller slated for release in October (now available for preorder) that features a delightfully outrageous and colorful protagonist. Dive into street lawyer Sebastian Rudd's unconventional methods and follow his story of ethics and justice.
Release date: 10/20/15
Joyce Carol Oates books are truly beloved. The award-winning author has several new books to read for 2015 (check out our list of Joyce Carol Oates' new books here). If you've read all of those (or want a book recommendation that's similar - but different), you're in the right place. We've put together a list of brand new books to read if you love Joyce Carol Oates books.
Update to post: Enter to win a copy of Joyce Carol Oates' upcoming release The Man Without a Shadow. It hits bookshelves on January 19th, 2016.
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
Release date: 9/29/2015
Read it if you liked Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Release date: 1/13/2015
Read it if you liked Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates
Purity by Jonathan Franzen
Release date: 9/1/2015
Read it if you liked We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
Release date: 4/21/2015
Read it if you liked Them by Joyce Carol Oates
The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
Release date: 4/4/2015
Read it if you liked You Must Remember This by Joyce Carol Oates
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
Release date: 5/5/2015
Read it if you like The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates
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Well hello there! We have a new recommendation for your To Be Read list (#sorrynotsorry), and it's at the top of our #fridayreads pile this weekend. If you're literarily inclined, you may follow the Man Booker Prize. This past week Steve Toltz, former Man Booker Finalist, released a new book, Quicksand. The Guardian called it "swaggering" and we couldn't agree more. An intense, character driven tale, Quicksand tells the intertwining stories of Aldo and Liam, one criminal entrepreneur, one jaded cop, that have been friends since high school. Filled with charming, nihilistic, non sequitur musings, Quicksand will set your rusty cognitive cogs in motion. Love Dave Eggers and David Foster Wallace? Don't miss out on this darkly humorous and sublimely satirical new literary fiction book.
Our favorite of Aldo's musings?
"With medical science improving at roughly the same rate as our environmental situation worsens, the most likely scenario is that the world will become uninhabitable at the precise moment that the human race becomes immortal"
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I love what CC Hunter said about the series, “An ordinary girl become extraordinary.” A Girl Undone concludes the story of Avie whose dad sells her into marriage to a billionaire as part of a business deal. The two books are set in LA in a twisted version of now, but it’s ten years after hormones in beef killed four generations of American women, so teenage girls are very valuable and protected.
In A Girl Called Fearless, Avie goes on the run and discovers that she’s strong, she’s a survivor. But in A Girl Undone, Avie must bargain for her life and the lives of the two young men she cares about. She’s trying to do the best she can under impossible circumstances, but is devastated when she realizes she’s become the enemy.
I wanted to write about a real girl, not a superhero, and I’m so proud that Avie goes from sheltered and powerless to being a young woman who finds her voice, her will, and her inner strength.
African-American runner Wilma Rudolph who overcame polio and went on to be an Olympian. She pushed herself to become one the fastest women in the world. Oddly, my daughter fell in love with Wilma, too, when she found the picture book, Wilma Unlimited in the library.
This wasn’t the last book I read, but I have to tell you about it, because I loved it so much: Because You’ll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas. The chapters are letters between Ollie and Moritz. Ollie has a life-threatening allergy to electricity and Moritz has a pacemaker so they can never meet. It’s sci fi that reads like contemporary fiction. Totally unique.
A ship called Explorer which I’ve taken to both the Arctic and Antarctica. Polar landscapes are stark and yet amazingly beautiful. In the summer, the sun never sets, but as the clouds shift they create dramatic color changes. And the wildlife? Imagine watching polar bears, or penguins, or killer whales in the wild.
In a cozy chair the size of a love seat. I curl up with my Mac or stretch out, and watch hummingbirds in the jacaranda tree outside.
Rainy day? What’s that?
Just joking. We haven’t seen rain in So Cal in a really long time. But if it did rain, LA drivers would freak out, so I’d cocoon in a bath with a great book, and crack open the window so I could listen to the patter of the raindrops. Bliss!
I love this by Death Cab for Cutie. So romantic it just kills me.
If there’s no one beside you
when your soul embarks
I’ll follow you into the dark.
Butt in chair.
It reminds writers that if you want to write a book, you have to actually sit down and do it. But I think the advice is pretty universal, because no matter what dream you want to make a reality, you need to work to make it happen.
“We are monsters!” It’s a turning point, because Avie realizes how far she’s fallen, and she must decide who she really wants to be.
Choose kindness.
Catherine Linka is the author of the new book A Girl Undone.
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There's something about Gillian Flynn books that keep us coming back. Whether it's the domestic depravity of Gone Girl or the nonstop action of Dark Places, we just can't get enough of Gillian Flynn's books. When we found out that the author of Gone Girl had a new story slated for release in November, we couldn't help but do a happy dance.
If you're a big fan of Gillian Flynn books and can't wait until November, check out our list of new books to read if you like Gone Girl.
Gillian Flynn
The Grownup is a short story (64 pages long) originally published as part of George R.R. Martin's Rogues anthology, will soon be available as a standalone story. The Grownup is full of chilling suspense that fans of Gillian Flynn books know and love. It's a gripping tale of escaping evil.
Release Date: 11/3/2015
Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn
Get The Book
It’s a fun, funny novel that largely revolves around a theatrical production of “Into the Woods” at a Catholic girls’ school in suburban Ohio. The plot hinges on how the narrator, Marty, and her best friend, Jimmy, are trying to maintain the their friendship as they begin attending separate schools. Jimmy begins dating a boy and developing a new group of gay friends, while Marty is just getting into life at an all-girls’ school and trying to figure out how move forward with a handsome guy who’s taken an interest in her. There’s deception, romance, drama and a gay twist – what’s not to love?
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I’m too old for it to have been given to me in the usual way, but “It Gets Better” is the best advice I know of. It’s almost exactly the same as “this, too, shall pass”, which – classic Linas – I only recently learned did not originate as a line spoken by the bellhop in My Best Friend’s Wedding. Apparently it’s Shakespeare, or some famous quote from history? (I’m the worst.)
Say you’re the host of a talk show. Who would be your first guest? What would you want to ask?
Oooh, hard question. Ummm… oh! I know! Oprah Winfrey. That way I’d be pretty sure she’d be able to smooth over the inevitable awkward pauses and clunker questions. I’d ask her for advice about hosting a talk show.
Who are your literary heroes?
Maurice Sendak is someone I truly admire, not just for his picture books but also for the person that he was. I really love works by Jane Austen, Philip Pullman, Gregory Maguire, Jonathan Stroud, David Sedaris… although, to be fair, I’ll basically love anything with a strong narrating voice.
Which books are currently on your nightstand?
It’s a really big, eclectic pile: George by Alex Gino, The Incarnations by Susan Barker, Ulysses by James Joyce (it’s for a book club, I swear!), Hold Me Closer by David Levithan, Anyone but Ivy Pocket by Caleb Crisp, Egg and Spoon by Gregory McGuire, The Thurber Carnival by James Thurber, and an advance reading copy of The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman.
Where is your favourite spot in London? Why does it bring you joy?
It’s probably a too-cheesy answer, but St. James Park. My husband and I would go there every day on a long walk after we had just arrived in the UK two years ago and didn’t yet have jobs. We’re both very fond of birds (we used to have parrots in Sweden), so feeding the ducks, geese and other birds there was ridiculously pleasant. On a related note, I am really looking forward to being elderly.
How do you like to spend a rainy day?
Binge-watching a TV show, occasionally interrupted by deeply unhealthy but impossibly satisfying meals. Ideally in a place with a metal roof, so I can actually hear the rain, and with a view outdoors so we can watch other people get wet. (Kidding!) And/or of course reading a book, but no one wants to hear that!
What’s your favourite quote or scene from Beyond Clueless?
I think my favourite scene is one in which the main character, Marty, hangs out with her best friend Jimmy and his new group of friends. One of the boys, Oliver, is a photographer for the school paper, and he’s been assigned to provide photos for an article on the school’s annual social survey. Marty and the boys spend the evening acting out different expressions for getting drunk and partying – getting sauced, making out, painting the town red, etc – but interpreting the expressions literally. I think it’s funny, and pretty representative of creative, silly, random moments that you encounter as a teen; those are often the moments we remember and treasure most.
Do you have a motto, quote or philosophy you live by?
Sadly, no. I’m a total goldfish where nuggets of wisdom are involved, kind of like with jokes. But one quote that I do remember for being hilariously irreverent is Dorothy Parker’s amazing “This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.”
Linas Alsenas is the author of the new book Beyond Clueless.
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