Here’s my February 2018 Book List. You can get a quick summary of any of the books on the list by looking the book up on Amazon, or at Barnes and Noble, or at your library, except for books to be published in the future. Both Publishers Weekly and New York Times Book Review give critiques of the books they list and have “buy this book” buttons.
Publisher’s Weekly
Jan. 8
The Immortalists: A Novel by Chloe Benjamin
Green: A Novel by Sam Graham-Felsen
Gnomen: A Novel Nick Harkaway
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind by Michael Massing (NF)
Red Sky at Noon: A Novel by Simon Sebag Montefiore
A State of Freedom: A Novel by Neel Mukherjee
Nice Try, Jane Sinner by Lianne Oelke (YA)
When Montezuma Met Cortés: The True Story of the Meeting that Changed History by Matthew Restall (NF)
Walking the Bones: A Ryan DeMarco Mystery by Randall Silvis
The Maze at Windermere by Gregory Blake Smith
1917: War, Peace, and Revolution by David Stevenson
Jan. 22
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi (Syria, YA)
Peach: A Novel by Emma Glass
The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow’s World by Charles C. Mann (NF)
The Other Side of Everything by Lauren Doyle Owens
Anatomy of a Scandal: A Novel by Sarah Vaughan
Jan. 29
Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom by Keisha N Blain (NF)
This is What Happened (Novel) by Mick Herron
Tempest: Old West Book 3 by Beverly Jenkins (Romance)
This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jenkins (NF)
The Invention of Ana: A Novel by Mikkel Rosengaard
The Book of the Dead by Muriel Rukeyser (Poems)
The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C Stewart (Bio)
A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History by Jeanne Theoharis (NF)
Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2018 (Pub. Between Feb. and April)
Fiction
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
Circe by Madeline Miller
Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Green Sun by Kent Anderson
The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
Science Fiction
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller (YA)
The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg
Space Opera by Catherynne M Valente
Witchmark by CL Polk
Memoirs
The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath by Leslie Jamison
Brave by Rose McGowan
Eat the Apple by Matt Young
A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership by James Comey
Literary Essays (Criticism)/ Biography
Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee
Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion by Michelle Dean
History
Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race, and Justice Lost and Found by Gilbert King
God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright
Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom by Keisha N. Blain
The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss
Political/Current Events
China’s Great Wall of Debt: Shadow Banks, Ghost Cities, Massive Loans, and the End of the Chinese Miracle by Dinny McMahon
Fascism: A Warning by Madeline Albright
Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations by Amy Chua
New York Times Book Review
Jan. 7th
Crime
Robicheaux by James Lee Burke
Beau Death by Peter Lovesey
The Body in the Casket by Katherine Hall Page
Dead Man’s Blues by Ray Celestin
Fiction
Three Floors Up by Eshkol Neva (Israeli)
Solar Bones by Mike McCormack
The King is Always Above the People by Daniel Marcón
The Floating World by C. Morgan Babst
Continental Fiction
How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille Bordas
Yiza by Michael Köhlmeier, Trans by Ruth Martin
Lea by Pascal Mercier, Trans by Shaun Whiteside
Uncertain Glory by Joan Sales, Trans by Peter Bush
Nonfiction
The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization by Martin Puchner
The Social Life of Books: Reading Together in the Eighteenth Century Home by Abigail Williams
Texas Blood by Roger D. Hodges
Ghost Empire by Richard Fidler
Seduced by Mrs. Robinson by Beverly Gray
Playing with Fire by Lawrence O’Donnell
Enemies and Neighbors by Ian Black
Anesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness by Kate Cole Adams
Counting Backwards: A Doctor’s Notes on Anesthesia by Henry Jay Przybylo
The Race Underground: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America’s First Subway by Doug Most
Move: Putting America’s Infrastructure Back in the Lead by Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The Side of Brightness by Colum McCann
Jan. 14th
Fiction
The Ruined House by Ruby Namdar
The World Goes On by Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Trans by John Batki, Ottilie Nulzet, and George Szirtes
The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Nonfiction
Craeft by Alexander Langlands
The Road Not Taken by Max Boot
The Bughouse by Daniel Swift
Supernormal by Meg Jay
Late Essays by J M Coetzee
The Thin Light of Freedom by Edward L. Ayers
Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife by Pamela Bannos
Renoir: An Intimate Biography by Barbara Ehrlich White
A Generous Vision: The Creative Life of Elaine de Kooning by Cathy Curtis
Jan. 21st
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani
Green by Sam Graham-Felsen
King Zeno by Nathaniel Rich
Winter by Ali Smith
In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende
Dogs at the Perimeter by Madeleine Thien
State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee
Crime
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani
The Bomb Maker by Thomas Perry
Lullaby Road by James Anderson
A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis
Books in Translation
The Temptation to Be Happy by Lorenzo Marone, Trans by Shaun Whiteside
The Time of Mute Swans by Ece Temelkuran, Trans by Kenneth Dakan
Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki, Trans by Polly Barton
Happy Dreams by Jia Pingwa, Trans by Nicky Harman
Nonfiction
Winter by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Trans by Ingvild Burkey
The Last Girl by Nadia Murad
The Years by Annie Ernaux, Trans by Alison L Strayer
Off the Charts: The Hidden Lives and Lessons of American Child Prodigies by Ann Hulbert
Jan 28th
Fiction
The Nothing by Hanif Kureishi
Red Clocks by Naomi Alderonan (What if abortion were illegal again)
Here in Berlin by Cristina Garcia
The Mannequin Makers by Craig Cliff
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson
London and the South-East by David Szalay
The Years, Months, Days: Two Novellas by Yan Lianke
Nonfiction
Trumpocracy by David Frum
The Newcomers by Helen Thorpe
Show Medicine by Victoria Sweet
Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff
The Last Man Who Knew Everything by David N Schwartz (Enrico Fermi)
The Meaning of Birds by Simon Barnes
Birdmania: A Remarkable Passion for Birds by Bernd Brunner
Birding without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah Strycker
Bipolar Disorder
Gorilla and the Bird: A Memoir of Madness and a Mother’s Love by Zack McDermott
The Glass Eye: A Memoir by Jeannie Venasco
Mental: Lithium, Love, and Losing My Mind by Jaime Lowe
Amazon
Literature and Fiction
The Friend: A Novel by Sigrid Nunez
A Long Way From Home: A Novel by Peter Carey
Only Killers and Thieves by Paul Howarth
Asymmetry: A Novel by Lisa Halliday
In Every Moment We Are Still Alive by Tom Malmquist, Henning Koch
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi
Chicago: A Novel by David Mamet
An American Marriage: A Novel by Tayari Jones
The Great Alone: A Novel by Kristin Hannah
Still Me: A Novel by Jojo Moyes
White Houses: A Novel by Amy Bloom
Mystery and Thrillers
Force of Nature: A Novel by Jane Harper
The Deceivers (A John Wells Novel) by Alex Berenson
A Dangerous Crossing: A Novel by Ausma Zehanet Khan
The Plea: A Novel by Steve Cavanagh
Girl Unknown: A Novel by Karen Perry
The Kremlin’s Candidate: A Novel by Jason Matthews
The Woman in the Water: A Prequel to the Charles Lenox Mystery Series by Charles Finch
Kill the Angel: A Novel (Caselli and Torre Series) by Sandrone Dazieri
The Gate Keeper: An Inspector Rutledge Mystery) by Charles Todd
Look For Me (D.D. Warren by Lisa Gardner
Biographies and Memoirs
The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú
The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family’s Search for the American Dream by Bryan Mealer
Limits of the Known by David Roberts
Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love, and Loss by Stephanie Wittels Wacks, Aziz Ansari
Brave by Rose McGowan
I Wrote This Book Because I Love You: Essays by Tim Kreider
Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall by Joel Richard Paul
I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O’Farrell
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Nonfiction
The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth by Michio Kaku
Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship by Kayleen Schaefer
What Are We Doing Here?: Essays by Marilynne Robinson
Close Encounters with Humankind: A Paleoanthropologist Investigates Our Evolving Species by Sang-Hee, Shin Young Yoon
Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boy’s Club of Silicon Valley by Emily Chang
The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South by Radley Balko, Tucker Carrington, Intro by John Grisham
Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet by Yasha Levine
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Hassim Taleb
The Kings of Big Spring: God, Oil, and One Family’s Search for the American Dream by Bryan Mealer
Feel Free: Essays by Zadie Smith
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle
Science Fiction and Fantasy
The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch
The Philosopher’s Flight: A Novel by Tom Miller
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
Your One and Only (There is Nothing More Human Than Love) by Adrianne Finlay
Into the Fire by Elizabeth Moon
Fire and Bone by Rachael A Marks (the occult)
Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira
So Many Books, Choose Wisely 