Book Haul: 9 New Additions to Our Shelves and Why We Chose Them

Emily’s Pick #1: I like to listen to podcasts while cleaning but have found myself in a podcast lull lately. And so I’ve decided to try out a few audiobooks to fill up the audio space (plus maybe it’ll help me achieve my reading goals for the year). After talking with my coworker Aimee about my audiobook search, she suggested FAIRY TALE by Stephen King, and her rec sold me. She was raving about how good the narrator was, and so far I can say I absolutely agree (and it just so happened to win an Audie Award this year!). The audio narrator’s captivating voice is perfectly suited for this equally bewitching story about a teen boy who enters a portal into another world and sets out on your classic fantasy story filled with grand adventures through castles, dungeons, royalty, and more!

Emily’s Pick #2: It’s not often that a Goodreads review convinces me (I use it more to find similar opinions after I’ve finished the book), but popular Goodreads reviewer Emily May wrote a rave review of STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND where she said, “I’d be very surprised if this doesn’t end up being one of the most popular books of 2023,” and that was all I needed to get me to pick up this book. That and the fact that I just so happened to magically find a galley in the office within the same week. Sally Diamond is a recluse, dealing with trauma from her past, who emerges from her isolated Ireland home when curious messages from a stranger arrive. As she journeys onward, the world reveals itself in all its beauty and darkness—she finds friends and enemies, learns how to trust, and uncovers secrets of her past and the strangers that are quickly adding up and entering her life.  

Sara’s Pick: I have been a fan of Becky Chambers since I first cracked the cover on her debut novel. So, when I saw the first in her latest series sitting on the shelf, it was all but sealed that the book was coming home with me. A PSALM FOR THE WILD-BUILT is the start of her new Monk and Robot series, and it’s as imaginative as all her other sci-fi works have been. When the robots of Panga develop sentience, they leave en masse into the wild, disappearing without a trace. Hundreds of years later, one robot returns on a mission: to answer the seemingly simple (but insanely complex) question “what do people need?” Finding a tea monk named Dex, the two go forth on a journey to answer philosophical questions and develop a friendship along the way. Thoughtful, engaging, and down-right beautiful, this short but powerful book is perfect for traveling or just relaxing with a cup of tea.

Kerry’s Pick #1: Race has been a part of the horror genre since the first spooky story was ever told. But it has only been relatively recently that we began analyzing how the horror genre has portrayed race politics, and this in-depth work of scholarship is a fresh and integral addition to the conversation. Last Halloween, I watched the eye-opening documentary Horror Noire (which I highly recommend) and became familiar with the work of Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman and Mark H. Harris. When I discovered they had written a new, seminal look into how horror has used Blackness since 1968, I knew I had to get my hands on it. From Night of the Living Dead to Tales from the Hood and more recently Nope, these unforgettable films are explored with insight and deep love. Even if you’re just a casual fan who prefers to watch scary movies through your fingers, you’ll find THE BLACK GUY DIES FIRST an engaging and revolutionary read that will have you streaming your own horror marathon.

Kerry’s Pick #2: I have a hyper fixation habit that whenever I become interested in a subject, I must devour any and all information on it as soon as possible. One of my latest examples is when the trailer for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film Oppenheimer dropped, I immediately picked up and read this Pulitzer Prize–winning biography about the man behind the atomic bomb: J. Robert Oppenheimer. Like the man himself, AMERICAN PROMETHEUS is a fascinating and complicated story, one that will have you hooked from the first page. If you’re like me, you may go into it with preconceived notions about the Manhattan Project and the man who famously called himself the destroyer of worlds. Be prepared for a multifaceted portrait, one that reveals the admirable sides of Oppenheimer while not shying away from his flawed and darkest actions. He, and the rest of the remarkable cast of characters, come to vibrant life, making the creation and detonation of the atomic bomb all the more horrifying. This, quite frankly, demonstrates the best of what the biography genre has to offer.

Heather’s Pick: Taylor Jenkins Reid has been on my radar for years because of the sensational word of mouth around THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO and DAISY JONES AND THE SIX. After witnessing an explosion of online chatter about the DAISY JONES AND THE SIX television adaptation and then watching the (terrific) trailer, I knew I needed to hurry up and get with the program. The DAISY JONES audiobook, read by a full cast of talented narrators and actors, like Judy Greer, quickly sucked me in and I found myself listening to chapters at every opportunity. Reid’s oral history of the dramatic rise and fall of a 1970s rock band felt so real at times that I second-guessed whether it was actually fictional. Whether you feel nostalgic for the golden age of rock’n’roll, grew up on VH1’s Behind the Music, or simply appreciate a juicy story, this book will hit the spot.

Katya’s Pick: I first picked up Marina Keegan’s THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS because I felt some dark magnetism to Keegan’s life story, or rather, to the shocking way and time that her life ended. I’m not sure I can articulate exactly what about the precocious young author’s tragic early death endeared me to her writing, though I know I’m not alone in feeling the intrigue and curiosity I did, seeing as THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS was an instant NYT bestseller. A collection of stories and essays, many written during Keegan’s time at Yale (she graduated only a few days before dying in a car accident, just a couple months before she was set to begin a job at THE NEW YORKER), this book exudes wisdom, hope, genius, and a sheer joy for living that can be hard to come by. I believe these works would have been published even if the author had not died so tragically, because they’re just plain good works of literature, but—though I am somewhat ashamed to admit it—I can’t be certain that I would have picked this up just as quickly.