It’s back to school time, and the cogs of publishing have begun to churn again. Here is a list of titles I am most excited about that are coming out this year, starting off with my five star predictions.
(One thing to note about how I write about books: Before I read a book, I like to go in nearly blind. If a few key points peak my interest, that’s all I need to know. So if you want an in-depth blurb for a book, you’ll have to look elsewhere.)
⭐ Five Star Predictions ⭐
Whistler ~ Ann Patchett
To be released in June
I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Ann Patchett after her talk at the Readers & Writers Festival in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, in 2024. She was just as thoughtful and kind as she appears online and even complimented me on my handmade booksleeve. I was very late to the bandwagon with Ann Patchett. Tom Lake was the first book I read of hers, closely followed by These Precious Days (coincidently two of her best book covers). Needless to say, I am so excited about this next book from her.
Whistler is about a woman’s serendipitous reconnection with her former step-father. It’s about love, memory, impermanence and loss. There’s no doubt in my mind that it will be full of warmth, as Ann Patchett has written extensively in her essays about her deep bond with her own step fathers.
A Far-Flung Life by M. L. Stedman
March
We haven’t had anything new from M. L. Stedman since her bestselling success with The Light Between Oceans in 2012. I read her first novel with a Book Club and absolutely loved it. It combines two of my favourite things in books: the Edwardian era and 1920’s, lighthouses and living in remote places. Her newest novel is sure to spark those same notes I love (and maybe will for you, too!). It is a historical novel set in 1958 on a remote sheep station in Western Australia.
The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw
September
(Cover yet to be revealed)
Secret Lives of Church Ladies has got to be one of my favourite short story collections of all time and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have high hopes for Deesha Philyaw’s first novel. Described as a mega-church ‘rags-to-rolex’ story, that’s all I need to know to be fully onboard. I’m expecting it to have a similar tone to Netflix’s Greenleaf show, which is about a black patriarch of an American mega-church – its rise and fall and familial drama.
Antifascist Dad: Urgent Conversations with Young People in Chaotic Times by Matthew Remski
April
One of the things I love about being alive in the twenty-first century is that I can thoroughly enjoy a World War II romance novel (hello to all my The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society fans), and not support fascism in the slightest at the same time. Matthew Remski is one of three co-creators of the Conspirituality podcast. The three podcasters wrote a book of the same name in 2023 following the social trends they had tracked across the pandemic. (A book I am only halfway through and still need to finish!)
Remski’s new book seeks to tackle the current crisis we find ourselves in with boys and men in particular by offering alternatives to the manosphere, brofluencers and far-right punters. The book has been blurbed by Naomi Klein, who wrote one of my favourite books of 2023 called Doppelganger, so I think it’s going to pop off.
The Story of Capital: What Everyone Should Know About How Capital Works by David Harvey
February
Last year I was part of a reading group that read Capital: Volume I by Karl Marx (it’s over a thousand pages). It was a dense yet surprisingly rewarding read. David Harvey was referenced a lot by the group, as he is an eminent Marxist scholar. Whilst I haven’t personally consulted Harvey’s commentary before, I’ve heard good things and think this will be a perfect (and hopefully quick!) refresher to keep these ideas in my mind. I’m hoping that by reinforcing my reading, I’ll be able to explain socialism (and capitalism) better on the fly.
Top Picks
Non-Fiction
Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online ~ Fortesa Latifi (April)
This one looks like a fascinating foray into the twisted world of child influencers and family vloggers. It’s a topic many video essays have explored, but I’m in for a deeper dive into the darkness.
Famesick: A Memoir ~ Lena Dunham (April)
Finally another memoir from Lena Dunham. A devotee of her essays, including the collection Not That Kind of Girl, and her show GIRLS, I’ll read anything she writes. Dunham and Dolly Alderton are two essayists who’s frankness (and often crassness) got me through the crazy ride that is your early twenties.
Girls: Gen Z and the Commodification of Everything ~ Freya India (March)
I’ve been following along Freya India’s Substack for a little while, since she was featured by Jonathan Haidt. Her essays are gentle but firm, questioning and kind, and she often pens just the thing I’ve been pondering on and want to read about. So I’m stoked she’s produced a collection to hold in my hands (rather than read online, as I have a love-hate relationship with Substack).
Homeboys Forever: The Lifetime Consequences of Gang Membership ~ Avelardo Valdez (April)
When I used to threaten to up and move, my sister would always say that if you want community in a small town, you have to either join the church or a gang. I laughed at the time. Now I do live in a small town and know she was right. I was absolutely captivated by the show Sons of Anarchy (I have yet to finish it) and unfortunately did go through a bit of a biker-romance phase. This longitudinal study of Mexican men in Texas looks as fascinating as the fictionalized depictions.
Nature Non-Fiction
Up: A Scientist’s Guide to the Magic Above Us ~ Dr. Lucy Rogers (April)
Lucy Roger’s book is described as being for ‘stargazers, cloud watchers and dreamers’. As all three, I know this read is for me. Plus the cover is so cute!
When the Forest Breathes: Renewal and Resilience in the Natural World ~ Suzanne Simard (March)
Suzanne Simard’s first book, Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the Wisdom and the Intelligence of the Forest, has been on my TBR backlist for a long time. Her new book looks just as interesting in our age of climate change.
Nightfaring: In Search of Disappearing Darkness ~ Megan Eaves-Egenes (January)
A few years ago I read Johan Eklöf’s The Darkness Manifesto: Why the World Needs the Night, which inspired me to create a display for Dark Sky Week at the library. Here in NZ we have quite a few Dark Sky certified places, reserves and sanctuaries. It’s something we have to actively protect so we can see beautiful things like auroras, the stars and what Lucy Rogers calls ‘the magic above us’.
Food Writing
I had no idea that food writing was a genre until I stumbled across Priya Basil’s Be My Guest: Reflections on Food, Community and the Meaning of Generosity at the library as a teenager. Ever since then, I’ve loved the genre and am always looking for that perfect blend of memoir and comfort food that Basil gave me. These two books look like a great offering for the palate.
Capitalism
Because I’m me, I have some specifically anti-capitalist books I want to read.
- Losing Interest: The Antisocial History of Economic Growth ~ Scott W. Schwartz (April)
- Capitalism is Sexism ~ Doortje Smithuijsen (August)
- Anthropause: The Beauty of Degrowth ~ Stan Cox (January)
- On Natural Capital: The Value of the World Around Us I ~ Partha Dasgupta (July)
- Escape from Capitalism: Economics is Political and Other Liberating Truths ~ Clara E. Mattei (January)
Fiction
Oh, did I mention I love WWII novels and books about books? Here’s two by authors that have been on my TBR before.
- The Secret Society of Librarians ~ Kate Thompson (March)
- The Parisian Chapter ~ Janet Skeslien Charles (May)
Wild Card Fiction
My wild card picks include two authors I’ve read and enjoyed before (the two Emily’s), a novel about a tradwife who is sent back in time to face the past she idealizes (Yesteryear), a novel about a woman who washes dishes for a living on McMurdo Station in Antarctica (Understory).
- Yesteryear ~ Caro Claire Burke (April)
- Is This a Cry for Help? ~ Emily Austin (January)
- Exit Party ~ Emily St. John Mandel (September)
- Understory ~ Chloe Benjamin
Middle-Grade
My middle grade picks (from left to right). Katherine Applegate’s newest book looks adorable as always. I loved The One and Only Ivan when I first read it and need to read more from her. Joy McCullough’s novel is a religious reckoning told in poetry which sounds fantastic. Strays has been compared to Because of Winn-Dixie, which was one of my favourites as a child. Diane Zahler’s novel explores the journey of Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine’s granddaughter as she becomes a queen. There’s a lighthouse in this last one, need I say more?
- Wombat Waiting ~ Katherine Applegate (May)
- Kestrel Takes Flight ~ Joy McCullough (May)
- Strays ~ Gia Gordon (June)
- The Queen’s Granddaughter ~ Diane Zahler (March)
- The Mysterious Magic of Lighthouse Lane ~ Erin Stewart (February)
Hopefully I’ll get around to reading some of these (and fingers crossed I can review a few as well!). Although, based on how big my leftover books published from my 2025 list is that I haven’t got around to, we’ll have to see about that. 😂
Love, The Laid Back Librarian x
The Laid Back Librarian 