The best books to read November 2020

November Books — Photo: Illustration by EW

01 of 20

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom

Aside from having an instantly iconic Judy Blume-esque cover, the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator's memoir-meets-essay collection reflects back on her life so far — and how it contributed to her current comedy career. (Nov. 17)

02 of 20

Alright, Alright, Alright by Melissa Maerz

Journalist Melissa Maerz went behind-the-scenes of the cult favorite movie Dazed and Confused, talking to the cast and crew of the 1993 flick to create this definitive oral history. (Nov. 17)

03 of 20

A Wealth of Pigeons by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin

Steve Martin's quirky comedy is back on the written page — or, should we say, the illustrated page. The actor teamed up with cartoonist Harry Bliss for this collection; the captions and ideas come from Martin, and the artwork comes from Bliss. (Nov. 17)

04 of 20

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer

Another YA blockbuster comes from the bestselling author — this one follows Prudence Daniels, who wakes up one morning with the sudden ability to enact karma on the people in her life. Not surprisingly, it doesn't go quite like she imagines it would. (Nov. 3)

05 of 20

Nights When Nothing Happened by Simon Han

Much of this debut novel takes place after dark. The Chengs are a Chinese family living in suburban Dallas, whose seemingly conventional life begins to tear at the seams when youngest daughter Annabel starts sleepwalking. (Nov 17)

06 of 20

Loved and Wanted by Christa Parravani

This memoir could not be more timely, in the most haunting of ways. Parravani tells of her attempts to obtain an abortion — she's a married mother of two, with a professor's salary, and is met by barrier after barrier, eventually needing to leave her native West Virginia to be able to exercise her right to make choices about her own body. (Nov 10)

07 of 20

One Life by Megan Rapinoe

The Olympic gold medalist — and one of the most famous soccer stars these days — writes a memoir along with Emma Brockes, an author whose made a name for herself writing about motherhood. (Nov 10)

08 of 20

No One Asked for This by Cazzie David

Yes, this is Larry David's daughter and yes, she's just as neurotic as her family name would suggest. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, it's important for you to know that this essay collection is highly arresting: David discusses her life, its privileges and its downfalls, in a highly entertaining and honest way. (Nov 17)

09 of 20

The Arrest by Jonathan Lethem

Lethem puts pause on the detective novels to tell a story that could best be described as post-apocalyptic and dystopian adjacent. It takes place in a society after machines have stopped working, but there is a nuclear-powered super car that presents itself. Hijinks, of course, ensue. (Nov 17)

10 of 20

The Orchard by David Hopen

David Hopen's debut uses a time-tested plotline (which is, essentially, The Secret History set among highly observant Jewish Floridians) in a fresh way, following Ari Eden as he moves from his ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn community to a flashy Miami suburb, where he spends his senior year of high school testing the limits of religious constraint with a subversive group led by a dispirited rabbi. Heretics, sex, drugs, and even Talmudic rituals that border on bacchanalia abound, carrying young Ari far from his staid roots and into a world of sin and risk. (Nov 17)

11 of 20

What Kind of Woman by Kate Baer

The poet's Instagram presence has become a balm for many in 2020, and now her lyrical takes on feminism, marriage, and politics come to the page IRL with this new collection. (Nov 10)

12 of 20

White Ivy by Susie Yang

The titular Ivy develops a youthful penchant for lying and stealing while growing up with her strict Chinese-immigrant parents — fast-forward to her late twenties, when she reconnects with a wealthy family from her childhood and finds that she didn't quite grow out of all her duplicity. (Nov 3)

13 of 20

The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans

This short story collection about race in America is bookended (or, rather, held up) by a novella about a Black scholar in Washington, D.C. who finds herself in the midst of a centuries-long mystery that will, quite frankly, blow your mind. (Nov 10)

14 of 20

To Be a Man by Nicole Krauss

Following up four acclaimed novels, Krauss is releasing a collection of short stories with topics spanning from a (fictional) refugee-camp laden United States to a landscape architect in South America. (Nov. 3)

15 of 20

The Best of Me by David Sedaris

America's favorite essayist is back! Sort of. Sedaris compiles his first-ever greatest hits collection that includes selections from his early New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs columns to iconic fan favorites from his best-selling books. (Nov 3)

16 of 20

The Nolan Variations by Tom Shone

The biography of Christopher Nolan offers up a highly exclusive inside look at his iconic films — in addition to sit-downs with the director, Shone gives readers a look at his storyboards and scene sketches. (Nov 3)

17 of 20

Dearly by Margaret Atwood

The venerable fiction writer takes a pause from the tales of Gilead to deliver a book of poetry about everything from love to zombies. (Nov 10)

18 of 20

No Time Like the Future by Michael J. Fox

In his memoir, the actor shares stories of his own experience battling illness and ruminates on our society's approach to our own mortality. (Nov 17)

19 of 20

Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline

The highly-anticipated sequel to the 2011 novel that became the 2018 Steven Spielberg film returns, yet again, to the OASIS, with founder James Halliday hiding another Easter egg — this time from beyond the grave. (Nov 24)

20 of 20