Hello, my friends, and happy last newsletter of 2023! What an amazing reading year it has been. I am, of course, trying to squeeze in as many books as I can before the end of the year. But I also kinda really love starting a fresh reading spreadsheet. This is the last sparse week of new releases for a long time, and then 2024 hits the ground running. So for this week’s newsletter, I have three books coming out next year that I am really excited to read that I didn’t mention in my preview post: a historical drama about a mother who becomes a spy for Japan during WWII, a debut about four Black women in a Southern family, and a speculative Western set in Mexico!
Every year, I spend a lot of time trying to decide what book I want to read as my first book of the year. In 2023, I reread the brilliant Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman. So, at first, I thought for 2024 I might go in the opposite direction and choose something absolutely ridiculous. And I came thisclose to choosing My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews, but then I got an upcoming book I have been dying to read: The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma. I am a big fan of his previous work, so I am happy to launch my reading year with this novel. (Related: Did you see our new reading spreadsheet and the 2024 Read Harder Challenge?)
You can hear about more fabulous books on All the Books! The show is on break today and next Tuesday, but we’ll be back on January 9. Until then, check out older episodes here! Maybe you’ll find another 2023 release that you’ll love. Or another fifteen, even.
The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan (January 2, 2024)
So many authors I admire are excited about this debut novel, so of course I want to read it. Cecily Alcantara has been a spy for the Japanese British-colonized Malaya for a decade, and now she is paying the price. Her work has allowed the Japanese to invade. Now during WWII, she must decide what she can do to save her family. Her son is missing and her younger daughter is being kept hidden from soldiers to avoid the fate of her older daughter, who serves the Japanese soldiers in a tea house. Cecily will do anything to escape the bonds of her arrangement with the Japanese to keep her children safe, but will it be enough?
Backlist bump: Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
The Gardins of Edin by Rosey Lee (January 9, 2024)
Another debut I am looking forward to is this contemporary Southern family drama. In Edin, Georgia, four women in the Gardin family deal with family secrets, family responsibilities, and family mistrust. Mary, Martha, Ruth, and Naomi attempt to run the family’s multimillion-dollar peanut business, and a new family restaurant, while also handling loss, love, and the complex bonds of family. It sounds like it’s going to be heartwarming and layered.
Backlist bump: Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James (January 23, 2023)
And last but not least, one of my favorite kinds of books to read: a Western set in the late nineteenth century. Well, partially, anyway. Antonio Sonoro is a Mexican bandido in 1895, and when a train robbery goes wrong and his brother is killed, it leaves him with a thirst for revenge. And in 1965, famous actor and singer Jaime Sonoro discovers a book that tells the long history of crime in his family, all the way back to ancient times. As he digs deeper into his past, he may learn the truth of his grandfather Antonio, better known as El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower.
Backlist bump: Mona at Sea by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
Are you looking for the perfect gift for that bookish special someone in your life this holiday season? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help! Here at TBR, we pair our customers with a professional book nerd (aka bibliologist) who just gets them. They fill out a survey and then sit back and relax as we pick books just for them. We’ve got three levels — recs-only, paperback, and hardcover — and you can gift a full year or one time, so there are options for every budget! Get all the details at mytbr.co/gift.
This week, I am reading The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Anna O by Matthew Blake. I have watched a lot of NBA basketball this past week, because the Celtics have had a busy schedule. (I can’t wait to see them beat the Lakers on Christmas, Vanessa!) The song stuck in my head this week is “Team” by Lorde. And here is your weekly cat picture: “Hello? Yes, this is Zevon. No, I wasn’t aware my car’s warranty had expired.”
Thank you, as always, for joining me each Tuesday as I rave about books! I am wishing you all a wonderful rest of your week, whatever situation you find yourself in now. And yay, books! See you next year. – XO, Liberty