Seven new books I'm looking forward to reading

Like many readers, I maintain a TBR (To Be Read) list. And if you spend any time in the Bookstagram community or reading book-oriented websites and publications, you're going to end up adding a lot of books to your list, to the point that it becomes ridiculously unwieldy. Then it's time to decide which recent and upcoming books you really want to read. That's how I came up with this list of seven books; some were published in December and January and others are due out later this month and in March. I'll be posting a follow-up selection on books that will be published in the spring.

Good Dirt – Charmaine Wilkerson (Ballantine Books)

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut, Black Cake (2022), was a big hit and was made into a successful movie that aired on Hulu in 2023. Like that book, Good Dirt also concerns a treasured family tradition/heirloom (this time it’s a clay jar) and moves back and forth from the 1800s to 2000 and 2018 and from an affluent neighborhood to France. The novel begins when ten-year-old Ebby Freeman witnesses the murder of her younger brother and the shattering of the jar. His murder becomes a media sensation and remains a mystery that haunts her and the family. Twenty years later, she flees to France following the sudden end of a relationship. But her past, and that of the stonewar jar, catches up with her, revealing surprising truths. Good Dirt is a multigenerational family saga with a key plot point that reminds me of All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, which won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2021.

The Colony – Annika Norlin (Translated by Alice E. Olsson) (Europa Editions)

The Colony was a bestseller in Sweden, the rights have been sold to over a dozen countries, and a TV adaptation is underway. It won the Vi Literature Award and Swedish Radio’s Novel Prize, two of Sweden’s biggest awards. So what is all the excitement about? The Colony examines modern society through the experiences of Emelie, who is burned out from her stressful life in the city and decides to get away to the countryside. While thMi'ere she encounters a group of people who belong to a nearby commune. Emelie is intrigued, especially by the charismatic Sara and “the Guru,” but is also concerned by the rigid roles members have been assigned and other aspects of life in the colony. Her presence shifts the chemistry of the group. Annika Norlin is said to examine community, group dynamics, and the need for belonging with great warmth.

Mutual Interest – Olivia Wolfgang-Smith (Bloomsbury)

I’ve always been a sucker for books set in New York City during the Gilded Age. They usually have a strong sense of place and are rife with social and economic conflicts. Mutual Interest is the story of a trio of queer characters who are entangled in business and in life. Vivian, Oscar, and Squire are all seeking to escape the restrictive lives set out for them. Vivian and Oscar reach an agreement that allows them to achieve their personal goals, and later they combine forces with Squire for business purposes. The trio builds a soap, perfume, and candle empire with Vivian hidden at the heart of it. Wolfgang-Smith examines marriage and ambition, sexuality and secrecy, and the true cost of achieving personal and financial freedom.

Waiting for the Long Night Moon: Stories – Amanda Peters (Catapult)

The Berry Pickers was one of my favorite reads of 2024, so I’m looking forward to reading Amanda Peters’ first short story collection. Peters is a member of the Mi’kmaq from Nova Scotia who writes powerfully about indigenous lives, the indignities and traumas on one hand and the culture and beliefs that unite them on the other. The Berry Pickers was the winner of the 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, 2024 Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence, and 2024 Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction, so I’m optimistic about the quality of the stories in Waiting for the Long Night Moon.

A Calamity of Noble Houses – Amira Ghenim (Translated by Miled Faiza and Karen McNeil) (Europa Editions)

I love historical fiction set in a time and place that I’m unfamiliar with and from which I can learn something new. Set in Tunisia from the 1930s to the early 2000s, A Calamity of Noble Houses follows the complex entanglements of two prominent families. Zbaida, from the relatively open-minded Rassaa family, is married to Mohsen, from the conservative and patriarchal Ennaifer family. When Zbaida is accused of having an affair with Tahar Haddad, a radical intellectual from humble origins, the destinies of both families are changed forever. Eleven different narrators from the two families recount the story of this scandal and the consequences across seven decades, creating a narrative mosaic. Originally published in 2020, A Calamity of Noble Houses was a finalist for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

Fagin the Thief -- Allison Epstein (Doubleday)

I became a Dickens aficionado in college. My senior seminar was a semester-long course with Dickens scholar Dr. Harry Stone and I’ve read several of his novels. So I’m always interested in books about Dickens and reworkings of his novels. Fagin the Thief is particularly intriguing because Allison Epstein shines the spotlight on Fagin and allows us to learn how he came to be the infamous pickpocket and street gang leader in Oliver Twist. Her reimagining of Dickens’ characters reminds me of Percival Everett’s James, although I don’t necessarily expect Fagin the Thief to reach that level of artistic accomplishment. I’m looking forward to spending time in the dirty and dangerous streets of Victorian London with Jacob Fagin and his band of ne’er-do-wells.

Also Here: Love, Literacy, and the Legacy of the Holocaust – Brooke Randel (Tortoise Books)

Last year's standout Holocaust-related biography/memoir was Rachelle Unreich's A Brilliant Life: My Mother's Inspiring True Story of Surviving the Holocaust (Harper). Also Here sounds like it might be this year's special intergenerational memoir. Brooke Randel grew up knowing little about the Holocaust other than that millions of people were murdered and her grandmother, Golda Indig, had managed to survive. Golda refused to speak about it and they did the usual grandmother-granddaughter activities. But one day Golda receives a phone call and tells Brooke, “You should write about my life. What happened in the war.” Randel’s memoir details Golda’s survival against all odds while also depicting the difficult task of unearthing a story from seven decades ago. Adding to the challenge is Golda’s illiteracy. Working with Golda in her sunny Florida condo, Randel pieces together Golda’s life, from the Holocaust to their special relationship.