13 books to read in January

Kick off the New Year with these long-anticipated new titles

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13 Books to Read in January

BooksTout
Lee Boudreaux Books; Harper One; Grand Central Publishing; Random House (2)

A New Year brings a new slate of fascinating books to choose from. And the first month of 2018 is certainly kicking things off in style: From striking memoirs to major literary debuts to bold new fantasies, there's a lot to choose from. Here are 13 you should have your eye on. (Click the release dates to pre-order.)

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Green by Sam Graham-Felsen

GREEN
Random House

Barack Obama's former campaign blog director makes his literary debut with this socially-conscious coming-of-age tale. A middle-schooler becomes attuned to the complexities of race and class when he makes a friend who lives a very different reality than him. (Jan. 2)

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Gnomon by Nick Harkaway

Gnomon Hardcover – 2017by NICK HARKAWAY (Author)Publisher: Heinemann (2017)
Heinemann

Britain has become a surveillance state in this strikingly ambitious vision of the near future. Though dystopias are the flavor of the moment, Harkaway writes with the kind of haunting, immersive specificity that sticks like glue. (Jan. 9)

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The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

9780735213180
G.P. Putnam's Sons

Centered on four siblings and spanning decades, The Immortalists asks a seemingly simple yet unimaginably complex question: If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life? The search for the answer makes for an epic, enchanting family saga. (Jan. 9)

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This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff

ThisCouldHurt
Harper

Five women who work in HR struggle to balance work and life as their small company is hit with harsh economic forces outside their control. (Jan. 9)

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I Know My Name by C.J. Cooke

IKnowMyName
Grand Central Publishing

This debut thriller begins on the haunting, mysterious image of a woman washing up on the shore of a beach, with no memory of who she is or how she got there — and no way out. (Jan. 16)

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The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson

9780812988635
Random House

One of the very best short-story writers of his time died last May, but not before he could complete one final collection. The Largesse of the Sea Maiden is both extraordinary in its own right and as a memory of its author. (Jan. 16)

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Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

Leni Zumas, The Red Clocks CR: Lee Boudreaux Books
Lee Boudreaux Books

Leni Zumas' provocative novel, written in the spirit of Margaret Atwood and with an undeniably timely feel, centers on five women who navigate an America in which abortion has again been outlawed and in-vitro fertilization is banned. (Jan. 16)

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When They Call You a Terorrist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele

When They Call You a Terrorist
St. Martin's Press

In this urgent and harrowing memoir from one of the cofounders of Black Lives Matter, the birth of a social movement is traced through one woman's personal experiences. (Jan. 16)

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The Wife by Alafair Burke

THEWIFE
Harper

This might be the most gripping, insightful work from the best-selling author Alafair Burke yet. She poses a seemingly impossible, if undeniably compelling, challenge: a woman must either save her life or defend her husband, but not both. (Jan. 23)

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Brave by Rose McGowan

brave
Harper One

McGowan's whirlwind of a year in 2017, as she moved to the center of the #MeToo spotlight and took on Hollywood's culture of complicity, will get a frank reflection in this provocative, sure-to-be-controversial memoir. (Jan. 30)

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The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

TheHazelWood
Flatiron Books

One of the most anticipated debuts of the year — having set off an auction frenzy — The Hazel Wood is a contemporary fantasy of an aggressively literary bent, centered on a 17-year-old whose mother is stolen away. (Jan. 30)

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Maybe Esther by Katja Petrowskaja

MaybeEsther
Harper

Berlin journalist Katja Petrowskaja provides a fascinatingly inventive literary debut. In the hope of creating a family tree, the author ends up piecing together something far more complex and original, an account of her own search for meaning within the stories of her ancestors. (Jan. 30)

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The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers

TheMonkofMokha
Random House

Eggers tells the remarkable true story of Mokhtar Alkhanshali, who comes from a family of Yemeni coffee farmers, and who lived through a civil war while creating a thriving business. (Jan. 30)

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