I love a good paperback for many reasons. They make for a good vacation read whether it’s in the sun or snow. Paperbacks are considerably lighter than their hardcover counterparts and they’re great for book clubs. And by the time a paperback is published, I’ve been hearing about it long enough to make my mouth water. I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite titles making their paperback debuts this January.
6 Fiction Favorites Now Out in Paperback
The Arrangement
The buzz around THE ARRANGEMENT has been building, and it’s the perfect read to start 2018 off right. Darkly funny, this juicy story about Lucy and Owen develops as they trade in city life for the Hudson Valley. With a creaky old house, an autistic son, and 17 chickens, they have their hands full. When the subject of an open marriage comes up at a dinner party, Lucy and Owen decide to go for it. As the affair progresses, Lucy has to take stock of her life and decide what will really make her happy.
The Women in the Castle
A friend was just recommending this to me over lunch, and I’m sold. I love a well-written historical novel, and this sounds like an entertaining and nuanced read. THE WOMEN IN THE CASTLE follows the intertwining stories of three German widows at the end of World War II as they live together in a collapsing Bavarian castle that once played host to German high society. The war has changed not only the landscape around them, but also their principles, and they each must come to terms with the repercussions of war and what it means to survive.
The Women in the Castle
On the exhaustive subject of World War II, Jessica Shattuck has found a fresh perspective and an interesting viewpoint of the typical German citizen struggling against their homeland to do the right thing. This kind of bravery seems welcome and essential for today’s reader. —Stuart
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The Perfect Stranger
I’ve been a fan of Megan Miranda’s since her debut ALL THE MISSING GIRLS knocked me off my feet. THE PERFECT STRANGER is her follow-up and does not disappoint! I have been recommending this book to my sister, colleagues, and friends since it came out in hardcover last year, and I’m so excited that it’s finally available in paperback. When a journalist sets out to find a missing friend, she’s led down a rabbit hole, leaving her to wonder whether she ever knew her friend at all. This is an eerie suspense story that will keep you entertained and turning pages.
The Perfect Stranger
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Small Treasons
With tender writing, Mark Powell examines a marriage in a small American town on the point of breaking. Tess and John are barely holding on as the war on terror creeps into their lives. John’s former life as a CIA contractor has caught up with him in their quiet town, and threatens to break up the family he has been trying to salvage. Striking the rare balance between complexity and a well-constructed and believable story, SMALL TREASONS is a haunting and heartfelt novel.
The Futures
There’s something special about a novel that gets New York City just right. Full of hope, opportunity, and fresh starts, NYC is exactly what Julia and Evan are looking for when they move there just after graduating from Yale on the eve of the financial meltdown of 2008. As Evan navigates his new hedge fund job, Julia tries to stay connected with him while managing her nonprofit work. With emotional depth, suspense, and dazzling language, THE FUTURES is a striking debut.
The Lonely Hearts Hotel
If you’re looking for a book that hits the sweet spot between literary and commercial fiction, look no further. THE LONELY HEARTS HOTEL is a gorgeous and compelling novel filled with vivid descriptions and set in an alluring and poetic world. In this captivating story that takes place in Montreal on the cusp of the Great Depression, two gifted orphans possess talents that allow them to open themselves up to new possibilities.