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Somehow, we are already knocking on November’s door, which is great for new books, but also nerve-racking because of…just everything. I don’t know about y’all, but I am tired tired.
There are, at least, a lot of new books coming out to both distract us and even expand our understanding of certain things. Haruki Murakami and Robin Wall Kimmerer both have new books out this month, and there’s a bookish memoir and a tale of revenge to look forward to.
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
A new Murakami is always going to make waves, and this is his first in six years. Fans of the author will find the Town here familiar. It’s where a Dream Reader reviews dreams and where shadows go on their own way. There’s love, noir, pop culture, jazz, libraries, and the intriguing otherworldliness that we’ve come to expect from Murakami.
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer, illustrated by John Burgoyne
I haven’t come across anyone who’s read Braiding Sweetgrass by Kimmerer who doesn’t recommend it emphatically. Here, the Indigenous scientist considers the gift economy and how we can better position ourselves when it comes to reciprocity and community, based on lessons from nature. Which is, of course, in direct contrast to the capitalist-driven culture of scarcity we currently live in.
City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim
From the author of Beasts of a Little Land comes a novel set in 2019 in the ballet world of Russia. Prima Ballerina Natalia Leonova is back in St. Petersberg after a career-altering accident led her to substance abuse. She encounters old ghosts — both haunting and alluring — as she traverses her old stomping ground, and when she gets offered a way back to her former glory on stage by sus genius Dmitri, she’ll have to decide whether trying to reenter the world of ballet is worth its more cutthroat aspects.
She’s Always Hungry: Stories by Eliza Clark
The bestselling author of Boy Parts is back with a collection of stories that have her dark sense of humor…with a little body horror thrown in for good measure. Clark takes us from California to Frontier-era America, to an unexplored planet in the future, unsettling us along the way.
Kill Yours, Kill Mine by Katherine Kovacic
There are more plans for revenge simmering in Kill Yours, Kill Mine, but this time with a more sinister bubble. Mia has a…unique counseling practice. It’s named after The Pleiades, the seven tragic sisters of Greek mythology who died of grief or were killed to be saved. But the name isn’t what makes it different — Mia has intentionally been gathering hurt women for a more radical kind of healing, one that is a little more hands-on. All of the women — Amy, Gabrielle, Katy, Brooke, and Olivia — had sisters who were murdered by partners who walked free, and Mia just needs Naomi to join before they can really enact what she’s been planning (hint: it’s in the title).
Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me by Glory Edim
Here, the founder of the Well-Read Black Girl book club highlights the relationship she’s had with books all her life. As a daughter of Nigerian immigrants growing up in Virginia, the books that often left the biggest impression on Edim were ones where she felt uplifted and represented. This is technically out the last week of October, but I wanted to include it since I feel like it’s the best kind of memoir for a book club.
Suggestion Section
Nibbles and Sips: Carne Guisada (Puerto Rican beef stew)
