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- Literairyland: Dec. 5-11, 2023
Literairyland: Dec. 5-11, 2023
This week's new books, writer birthdays, and more.
Welcome to Literairyland, your list of this week's new books and writer birthdays. Subscribe today and get Literairyland in your inbox every Tuesday!
Hi Reader,
Last week, Irish writer Paul Lynch's novel Prophet Song won the Booker Prize, and the book is available in the U.S. starting today (Amazon | Bookshop). It's a dystopian novel about Ireland becoming a totalitarian state.
Katie Cotugno's latest novel, Meet the Benedettos (Amazon | Bookshop), is another new book I'm seeing reviewers talk about this week.
Two books out this week that are appearing on a lot of December must-read lists are Tim Alberta's The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism (Amazon | Bookshop) and Silent Cavalry: How Union Soldiers from Alabama Helped Sherman Burn Atlanta — And Then Got Written Out of History by Howell Raines (Amazon | Bookshop).
You'll find these books and many more below, along with two new things I think you might enjoy:
A call-out of which book Literairyland subscribers clicked on the most in last week's email.
A book-related trivia question.
Remember to shop the Literairyland Gift Guide, and if you're a writer with an upcoming book, let me know. Submit this short form so I can include your book in Literairyland the week it is published.
Lastly, here's a list of 10 books to read this December, and here's The New York Times list of eight books you might want to read this month.
Happy reading,
Nick Barron
P.S. And happy early Hannukah! 🕎
Last Week’s Most Clicked-On Book Was… 🥁
This Week’s New Books
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Fiction
Mystery
The Frozen River: A Novel by Ariel Lawhon (Amazon | Bookshop)
Perfect Little Lives: A Novel by Amber and Danielle Brown (Amazon | Bookshop)
Daughter of Ashes (A Teresa Battaglia Novel) by Ilaria Tuti, translated by Ekin Oklap (Amazon | Bookshop)
Sunset, Water City (The Water City Trilogy) by Chris McKinney (Amazon | Bookshop)
Death at the Dog Show by Peter Boland (Amazon)
Mayhem in Circulation by Leah Dobrinska (Amazon)
Hidden in Shadows by Viveca Sten, translated by Marlaine Delargy (Amazon | Bookshop)
Sniffing Out Murder by Kallie E. Benjamin (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Curse of Penryth Hall: A Mystery by Jess Armstrong (Amazon | Bookshop)
Their Lost Souls by Roger Stelljes (Amazon) (Available Dec. 7)
Thriller
The Engagement Party: A Novel by Darby Kane (Amazon | Bookshop)
Flashpoint by Stacy Lynn Miller and Brian Shea (Amazon | Bookshop)
Good Girls by Leesa Gazi, translated by Shabnam Nadiya (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Doctor's Mistress by Daniel Hurst (Amazon) (Available Dec. 6)
Exposed by Casey King (Amazon | Bookshop) (Available Dec. 7)
Horror
Science Fiction
Romance
Second Chances in New Port Stephen: A Novel by TJ Alexander (Amazon | Bookshop) 🏳️🌈
Mercy (Salacious Players' Club, 4) by Sara Cate Alexander (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner (Amazon | Bookshop)
Meet the Benedettos: A Novel by Katie Cotugno (Amazon | Bookshop)
Fuel the Fire (Addicted Series) by Krista and Becca Ritchie (Amazon | Bookshop)
Waiting for a Bright New Future by Sally Jenkins (Amazon)
The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale by Virginia Kantra (Amazon | Bookshop)
Every Time You Go Away by Abigail Johnson (Amazon | Bookshop)
Curiosity Killed the Duke by Emily EK Murdoch (Amazon) (Available Dec. 7)
Historical
Invisible No More: A Historical Novel by Rick Burton and Scott Pitoniak (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Wonder of It All: A House of Falconer Novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford (Amazon | Bookshop)
Rome's Last Noble Palace by Kimberly Sullivan (Amazon) (Available Dec. 6)
The Midwife's Promise by Eliza Graham (Amazon | Bookshop) (Available Dec. 6)
Driving the Tide by Lee Jackson (Amazon | Bookshop) (Available Dec. 7)
The French Affair by Theresa Howes (Amazon) (Available Dec. 7)
The Wilderness Way by Anne Madden (Amazon) (Available Dec. 7)
Fantasy & Mythology
The Serpent & the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia, 1) by Carissa Broadbent (Amazon | Bookshop)
A River of Golden Bones: Book One of the Golden Court by A.K. Mulford (Amazon | Bookshop) 🏳️🌈
All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows (Amazon | Bookshop) 🏳️🌈
Dr. C. Lillefisk's Sirenology: A Guide to Mermaids and Other Under-The-Sea Phenonemon by Jana Heidersorf and Cecilia Lillefisk (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Dragons of Deepwood Fen by Bradley P. Beaulieu (Amazon | Bookshop)
Dystopian
Alternative History
Graphic & Manga
Experimental
MyLifeAndMyLife by Melinda Mátyus, translated by Jozefina Komporaly (Publisher)
Short Stories
Satire
Literary
All the Little Bird-Hearts: A Novel by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow (Amazon | Bookshop)
Flores and Miss Paula: A Novel by Melissa Rivero (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Bridesman by Savyon Liebrecht, translated by Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann (Amazon)
A Different Kind of Gone by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Year of Goodbyes and Hellos by Kelly Irvin (Amazon | Bookshop)
Welcome Home, Stranger by Kate Christensen (Amazon | Bookshop)
Young Adult
Trivia Time
What did Jane Austen originally title Pride and Prejudice? |
Nonfiction
Memoir
Biography
Essays
Music
Fashion
Sports
Education
Ethnic Studies
Sociology
Psychology
Health
Travel
Archeology
History
The Palace: From the Tudors to the Windsors, 500 Years of British History at Hampton Court by Gareth Russell (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Rest Is History: From Ancient Rome to Ronald Reagan — History's Most Curious Questions, Answered by Goalhanger Podcasts with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook (Amazon | Bookshop)
Magus: The Art of Magic from Faustus to Agrippa by Anthony Grafton (Amazon | Bookshop)
Silent Cavalry: How Union Soldiers from Alabama Helped Sherman Burn Atlanta — And Then Got Written Out of History by Howell Raines (Amazon | Bookshop)
Strike of the Sailfish: Two Sister Submarines and the Sinking of a Japanese Aircraft Carrier by Stephen L. Moore (Amazon | Bookshop)
Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia by Gregory J. Wallance (Amazon | Bookshop)
God Save Benedict Arnold: The True Story of America's Most Hated Man by Jack Kelly (Amazon | Bookshop)
Performing Arts
Entertainment
Everywhere an Oink Oink: An Embittered, Dyspeptic, and Accurate Report of Forty Years in Hollywood by David Mamet (Amazon | Bookshop)
Black TV: Five Decades of Groundbreaking Television from Soul Train to Black-Ish and Beyond by Bethonie Butler (Amazon | Bookshop)
Supes Ain't Always Heroes: Inside the Complex Characters and Twisted Psychology of The Boys by Matthew Snyder and Lynn S. Zubernis (Amazon | Bookshop)
Arts & Crafts
Business
Choose Your Enemies Wisely: Business Planning for the Audacious Few by Patrick Bet-David and Greg Dinkin (Amazon | Bookshop)
Ask & Deliver: Discover the Heart of Your Business by Listening to the Voice of Your Customers by Mary Ann O'Brien (Amazon | Bookshop)
Choose Your Enemies Wisely: Business Planning for the Audacious Few by Patrick Bet-David and Greg Dinkin (Amazon | Bookshop)
Personal Finance
Communication
Politics
Parenting
Creativity
Self-Help
Spiritual
Religion of Sports: Navigating the Trials of Life through the Games We Love by Gotham Chopra and Joe Levin (Amazon | Bookshop)
12 Truths & a Lie: Answers to Life's Biggest Questions by J.D. Greear (Amazon | Bookshop)
What's My Aura?: Learn Your Color, What It Means, and How You Can Embrace Your Unique Energy Signature by Mystic Michaela (Amazon | Bookshop)
Light of the Word: How Knowing the History of the Bible Illuminates Our Faith by Susan C. Lim (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Practice of Remembering: Uncovering the Place of Memories in Our Spiritual Life by Casey Tygrett (Amazon | Bookshop)
The Celestial Garden: Growing Herbs, Vegetables, and Flowers in Sync with the Moon and Zodiac by Jane Hawley Stevens (Amazon | Bookshop) (Available Dec. 7)
Poetry
This Week’s Literary Birthdays & Events
December 5
James Lee Burke
Samuel Butler
Ellis Parker Butler
Ann Nolan Clark
Joan Didion
Hans Hellmut Kirst
Lydia Millet
Rainer Maria Rilke
Christina Rossetti
Louis Sachar
Adam Thorpe
Calvin Trillin
December 6
Vladimir Nabokov finishes Lolita (1953)
Dion Fortune
Joyce Kilmer
Jason Reynolds
Elizabeth Yates
December 7
Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr
Paul Adam
Tatamkhulu Afrika
Leigh Brackett
Joyce Cary
Willa Cather
Allan Cunningham
Anne Fine
Lucy Hughes-Hallett
Intizar Hussain
Susan Isaacs
Christopher Nicole
Rosemary Rogers
Akiko Yosano
December 8
Mark David Chapman shoots John Lennon, then sits down to read The Catcher in the Rye (1980)
Hervey Allen
John Banville
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bill Bryson
Rob Byrnes
Carmen Martín Gaite
Nikos Gatsos
Bob Greene
Marcus Lee Hansen
Horace
Jakov Ignjatović
Nasir Kazmi
Amanda McKittrick Ros
Delmore Schwartz
James Tate
December 9
Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" first published (1845)
Léonie Adams
Jerome Beatty, Jr.
Joan Blos
Ashleigh Brilliant
Jean de Brunhoff
Joel Chandler Harris
Ki Longfellow
Richard Lovelace
Joe McGinniss
Eloise Jarvis McGraw
John Milton
Laura Salverson
Jonathan Sumption
Joanna Trollope
December 10
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn first published (1884)
María Bibiana Benítez
Philip R. Craig
Emily Dickinson
Cornelia Funke
Rumer Godden
Carolyn Kizer
Alfred Kreymborg
Clarice Lispector
George MacDonald
Jacquelyn Mitchard
December 11
Naguib Mahfouz
Thomas McGuane
Grace Paley
Diana Palmer
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Ayelet Waldman
Keith Waldrop
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