20 new books to read in November

Just because we’re headed towards the holidays doesn’t mean that publishing is slowing down. Far from it: Some of 2018’s most anticipated titles, including Michelle Obama’s memoir and the latest from Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty, are hitting shelves this November. Here’s our list of this month’s 20 essential new books. 

A pair of grisly murders haunt a small Pennsylvania town, just as former resident Becca Kingsley resurfaces to care for her dying father. Is she a predator or a protector? (Nov. 1)

This literary mystery takes the action back to the 19th  century. Detective-turned-smuggler Alma Rosales disguises herself as a man in order to recover valuable stolen opium. (Nov. 6)

A posthumously published collection, Paradise affirms Berlin as one of the more underrated writers of her time. The stories take place all over the world and have the same, yes, grit as her acclaimed A Manual for Cleaning Women. (Nov. 6)

The Feral Detective follows Phoebe, a disillusioned New Yorker searching for her friend’s missing daughter in the SoCal desert. She pairs up with a strange loner named Charles Heist to solve the case. Another important detail: The novel takes place over a 10-day period surrounding Donald Trump’s inauguration. (Nov. 6)

Here’s Moriarty’s first novel since HBO’s Big Little Lies adaptation launched the author into A-list territory. Here’s another twisty human comedy, tracing a group of people from different walks of life as they try to reinvent themselves at an intensive health resort. It turns out to be more than they bargained for. (Nov. 6)

There’s timely and then there’s timely. In this prescient novel, a powerful, corrupt senator may finally atone for his crimes when a woman close to him winds up dead. But who can bring him down? (Nov. 6)

What does it mean — and take — for a gay man to become a father? Barnz (producer of the Jennifer Aniston vehicle Cake) recounts his own journey to get at that question, to heartbreaking effect. He outlines the legal battle that ensued when trying to adopt, explores the nuances and complications of same-sex parenting, and recounts life through the ‘80s AIDS crisis in New York, meditating on his survival. (Nov. 6)

From the woman who needs no introduction comes a book that needs no exposition. Becoming is the memoir from the First Lady who changed everything. Obama herself has promised a “deeply personal” literary journey, which her publishers have noted will include her upbringing in Chicago, her time as a young mother, and her historic turn in the nation’s most famous building — and far be it for the former FLOTUS to do anything but deliver. Whatever she chooses to reveal — and how much she makes mention of the current political situation — the countless readers who (to this day) look to the Obamas as the pinnacle of hope will show up in droves. This one’s going to be big. (Nov. 13)

Apostol (Bibliolepsy) interrogates the traumatic, mostly forgotten U.S.-Philippines War in this dazzling two-hander, following an American filmmaker and a Filipino translator on a road trip as they clash on matters of art and genocide. What results is a tender character study erupting with blazing insights on the ethics of storytelling. (Nov. 13)

This prequel to the acclaimed, popular podcast created by Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie should appeal to fans while also working as a solid standalone. (Nov. 13)

The You Must Remember This podcast host reexamines the golden age of Hollywood through a #MeToo lens. (Nov. 13)

The Booker Prize-nominated author tells a powerful family story set in postwar India, about a mother who leaves her family to pursue her artistic passions, and a son who tries to understand her choice. (Nov. 20)

Pay attention to this twisty noir narrative, a finalist for the Man Booker Prize. Robertson, a poet, tells the story of a D-Day veteran in postwar America, through prose that cuts deep. (Nov. 20)

This slim, scathingly black comedy delves into two sisters’ tenuous dynamic — heightened since one of them is, erm, a serial killer. Such morbidity only sharpens the book’s comic edge, which emerges via Braithwaite’s deadpan prose. (Nov. 20)

Trigliani (Big Stone Gap) immerses readers in the Big Band era of the 1940s, telling the story of two working-class kids who develop into musical sensations. Here’s a big, sweeping family novel to soak into. (Nov. 20)

Trend alert! 2018 has been rife with literary takes on modern Silicon Valley, from The Glitch to Family Trust. Schulman’s psychological thriller is the latest, which takes a family to unexpected places over three life-changing days. (Nov. 27)

The oft-lauded author is sure to give off Handmaid’s Tale vibes, meditating on resistance and political action as one woman navigates an oppressive, anti-woman regime. (Nov. 27) 

Jemisin just became the first author ever to win the Hugo Award for Best Novel three times in a row, for her Broken Earth trilogy. You can bet we’re eager to read her new short-story collection, which features mind-bending tales of speculative fiction. (Nov. 27)

The No. 1 New York Times best-selling author delivers her latest Chief Inspector Gamache unfurls a mystery around an elderly woman’s will. (Nov. 27)

Sometimes a nasty family comedy is just what you need for the holidays. In this biting satire of bad people behaving badly, a separated couple tries (and fails) to celebrate Christmas peacefully as they come together for their daughter. For good fun, they bring their new romantic partners along. (Nov. 27)