My six picks this month go across the board—we’ve got top-notch historical fiction, an Obama-era White House memoir, and a history of Silicon Valley. One of my new favorite authors Lisa Jewell has a thriller now out in paperback; Lane Moore writes a series of funny, heartbreaking essays; and Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison team up once again for their Brit in the FBI series. There’s something for everyone, and I hope you’ll all enjoy!
6 Favorite Books New in Paperback This November
If you raced through THE NIGHTINGALE and fell in love with LILAC GIRLS, move THE ROOM ON RUE AMÉLIE to the top of your TBR pile, tout de suite! I adored this charming historical fiction about an American woman in Paris during World War II. As the city begins to fall around her and her marriage to Frenchman Marcel falters, Ruby Henderson Benoit must stand in the face of the Nazis, even as their swastika flags fly everywhere. Fate unites Ruby; Charlotte Dacher, an 11-year-old Jewish neighbor; and Thomas Clarke, a British Royal Air Force pilot. Their stories together form an unforgettable tale of bravery, and the risks good people are willing to take in times of need.
Feeling nostalgic for the Obama administration? Obama’s senior writer and former deputy director of messaging Pat Cunnane’s memoir reads like a friend giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the White House. He tells stories of President Obama as the funnyman, the nerd, the athlete. There was the time Cunnane watched—in horror—as the president reached over the sneeze guard at Chipotle. He writes about the more somber days, such as watching how President Obama handled the 2015 terrorist attacks in London. This is a fun, poignant story from behind the White House walls.
Silicon Valley has undoubtedly changed the world. Leslie Berlin recounts the history of the Valley, and the tale of seven exceptional men and women who pioneered technology in the 1970s and early 1980s. These are the stories behind the birth of the internet (so you can read this great roundup!), as well as Apple, Atari, Xerox PARC, and iconic venture capital firms. These innovators didn’t follow the rules—they were troublemakers who rewrote the rules and reinvented the future. TROUBLEMAKERS is a deeply researched history with riveting storytelling.
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I hate to admit it, but THEN SHE WAS GONE is the first book by Lisa Jewell I’ve read! Now that I know what I’m missing I’m quickly working on making up for lost time. I took this book with me on a vacation and spent an entire afternoon reading it cover to cover. When Ellie Mack, the perfect daughter, student, and girlfriend, disappears suddenly, her mother’s life is turned upside-down. Ten years after her daughter disappears and seven years after her marriage falls apart, Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. Before she knows it she’s dating again, and meeting her new boyfriend Floyd’s daughters. And when she meets his youngest, Poppy, Laurel is stunned. Poppy looks exactly like her missing daughter, and now all the questions she’s been burying are coming back up. This is a twisted family drama that will leave you with chills.
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This book of essays is funny and honest, uplifting and compassionate. Lane Moore has succeeded in her career: writing about relationships for Cosmopolitan, and hosting her own iconic show, Tinder Live, but her life story has its obstacles. She writes about being her own parent, living out of her car as a teenager, and ultimately moving to NYC to pursue her dreams. This book is about making connections, and as you read her words, you’ll find yourself making a connection with her, too.
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This is the fifth installment in the bestselling A Brit in the FBI series, but you don’t need to have read the previous books to jump in on this one. After several key political figures die mysteriously, it quickly becomes clear that their deaths weren’t an accident. They were well-constructed assassinations and the Covert Eyes team is on the investigation. With their signature heart-pounding tension and gripping suspense on every page, Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison are back with another adventure for special agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine.
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