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BOOKS

Winter reading guide: 20 books from Joan Didion, Kazuo Ishiguro, Cicely Tyson, more

USA TODAY
Dec. 24, 2020Updated Feb. 1, 2021, 1:23 p.m. ET
This past year has been, shall we say, not the best. But as disappointing as 2020 was in myriad ways, one thing that decidedly did not let us down were the books. And from the looks of things, 2021 is going to be just as full of the good stuff. Here ’ s a glance ahead at 20 winter releases we can ’ t wait to read, starting with “ The Prophets, ” by Robert Jones, Jr. • Release date: Jan. 5 • Jones ’ powerful debut novel centers on a forbidden love between two enslaved gay men on an antebellum Mississippi plantation. Kirkus Reviews calls it an “ ambitious, imaginative, and important tale of Black queerness through history. ”
This past year has been, shall we say, not the best. But as disappointing as 2020 was in myriad ways, one thing that decidedly did not let us down were the books. And from the looks of things, 2021 is going to be just as full of the good stuff. Here’s a glance ahead at 20 winter releases we can’t wait to read, starting with “The Prophets,”by Robert Jones, Jr. • Release date: Jan. 5 • Jones’ powerful debut novel centers on a forbidden love between two enslaved gay men on an antebellum Mississippi plantation. Kirkus Reviewscalls it an “ambitious, imaginative, and important tale of Black queerness through history.” 
G.P. Putnam’s Sons
“ Outlawed, ” by Anna North • Release date: Jan. 5 • It ’ s 1894, and Ada is an outlaw. After a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town that hangs barren witches as women, the teenage wife joins the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a new safe haven for outcast women.
“Outlawed,” by Anna North • Release date: Jan. 5 • It’s 1894, and Ada is an outlaw. After a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town that hangs barren witches as women, the teenage wife joins the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a new safe haven for outcast women.
Bloomsbury
“ Walking with Ghosts, ” by Gabriel Byrne • Release date: Jan. 12 • The award-winning Irish actor ( “ Miller ’ s Crossing, ” “ The Usual Suspects ” ) reflects on his working-class Dublin childhood and his rise to stardom in Hollywood and on Broadway.
“Walking with Ghosts,” by Gabriel Byrne • Release date: Jan. 12 • The award-winning Irish actor (“Miller’s Crossing,” “The Usual Suspects”) reflects on his working-class Dublin childhood and his rise to stardom in Hollywood and on Broadway.
Grove
“ A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life, ” by George Saunders • Release date: Jan. 12 • The short-story master and Booker Prize-winning author of “ Lincoln in the Bardo ” has long taught his MFA students at Syracuse University a class on the Russian short story. Now, he brings that class to us, teaching readers how fiction works and why.
“A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life,” by George Saunders • Release date: Jan. 12 • The short-story master and Booker Prize-winning author of “Lincoln in the Bardo” has long taught his MFA students at Syracuse University a class on the Russian short story. Now, he brings that class to us, teaching readers how fiction works and why.
Random House
“ Concrete Rose, ” by Angie Thomas • Release date: Jan. 12 • Thomas revisits Garden Heights 17 years before the events of “ The Hate U Give ” in a prequel that explores Maverick Carter ’ s coming-of-age. When the dope-slinging son of a former gang legend finds out he ’ s going to be a father, he starts to learn what it means to really be a man.
“Concrete Rose,”by Angie Thomas • Release date: Jan. 12 • Thomas revisits Garden Heights 17 years before the events of “The Hate U Give” in a prequel that explores Maverick Carter’s coming-of-age. When the dope-slinging son of a former gang legend finds out he’s going to be a father, he starts to learn what it means to really be a man.
Balzer + Bray
“ Just As I Am, ” by Cicely Tyson • Release date: Jan. 26 • The award-winning actress, nonagenarian and groundbreaking Black icon reflects on her life and long career in this meditative memoir
“Just As I Am,” by Cicely Tyson • Release date: Jan. 26 • The award-winning actress, nonagenarian and groundbreaking Black icon reflects on her life and long career in this meditative memoir
Harper Collins
“ Let Me Tell You What I Mean, ” by Joan Didion • Release date: Jan. 26 • A collection of 12 essays drawn from the early days of Didion ’ s five-decade career on topics as varied as a Gamblers Anonymous meeting and Nancy Reagan.
“Let Me Tell You What I Mean,” by Joan Didion • Release date: Jan. 26 • A collection of 12 essays drawn from the early days of Didion’s five-decade career on topics as varied as a Gamblers Anonymous meeting and Nancy Reagan.
Knopf
“ Burnt Sugar, ” by Avni Doshi • Release date: Jan. 26 • Shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, this debut novel set in India finds a grown daughter tasked with caring for the aging mother who never cared for her.
“Burnt Sugar,” by Avni Doshi • Release date: Jan. 26 • Shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, this debut novel set in India finds a grown daughter tasked with caring for the aging mother who never cared for her.
Overlook Press
“ The Low Desert: Gangster Stories, ” by Tod Goldberg • Release date: Feb. 2 • Twelve spare, stylish contemporary crime stories that exemplify the craft. “ These spare slices of literary noir are the work of a master storyteller, ” says a starred review in Publisher Weekly.
“The Low Desert: Gangster Stories,”by Tod Goldberg • Release date: Feb. 2 • Twelve spare, stylish contemporary crime stories that exemplify the craft. “These spare slices of literary noir are the work of a master storyteller,” says a starred reviewin Publisher Weekly.
Counterpoint
“ The Four Winds, ” by Kristin Hannah • Release date: Feb. 2 • From the author of “ The Great Alone ” comes an epic new novel of hope and sacrifice set against the backdrop of the Great Depression. In 1934 Texas, Elsa Martinelli must journey west in search of an ever-elusive better future.
“The Four Winds,”by Kristin Hannah • Release date: Feb. 2 • From the author of “The Great Alone” comes an epic new novel of hope and sacrifice set against the backdrop of the Great Depression. In 1934 Texas, Elsa Martinelli must journey west in search of an ever-elusive better future.
St. Martin's Press
“ Mike Nichols: A Life, ” by Mark Harris • Release date: Feb. 2 • Acclaimed film writer Harris, with deep research and vivid details, writes a comprehensive biography of one of America ’ s brightest creative forces. Publishers Weekly calls it “ a joyously readable and balanced account of a complex man. ”
“Mike Nichols: A Life,” by Mark Harris • Release date: Feb. 2 • Acclaimed film writer Harris, with deep research and vivid details, writes a comprehensive biography of one of America’s brightest creative forces. Publishers Weekly calls it “a joyously readable and balanced account of a complex man.”
Penguin Press
“ A Bright Ray of Darkness, ” by Ethan Hawke • Release date: Feb. 2 • The latest novel from the acclaimed actor ( “ First Reformed, ” “ Reality Bites ” ) is a meditation on art and celebrity. A young man rises to fame in his Broadway debut in " Henry IV " as his marriage implodes.
“A Bright Ray of Darkness,” by Ethan Hawke • Release date: Feb. 2 • The latest novel from the acclaimed actor (“First Reformed,” “Reality Bites”) is a meditation on art and celebrity. A young man rises to fame in his Broadway debut in "Henry IV" as his marriage implodes.
Knopf
“ The Removed, ” by Brandon Hobson • Release date: Feb. 2 • Steeped in Cherokee history and folklore, the latest from the National Book Award finalist finds the fractured Echota family reckoning with the death of their son, killed 15 years ago in a police shooting.
“The Removed,”by Brandon Hobson • Release date: Feb. 2 • Steeped in Cherokee history and folklore, the latest from the National Book Award finalist finds the fractured Echota family reckoning with the death of their son, killed 15 years ago in a police shooting.
Ecco
“ Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted, ” by Suleika Jaouad • Release date: Feb. 9 • Just a few weeks before her 23rd birthday, recent college grad Jaouad was given a life-changing diagnosis: leukemia, with just a 35% chance of survival. She survived the nearly four years of treatment, but it took an epic road trip to heal her soul.
“Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted,”by Suleika Jaouad • Release date: Feb. 9 • Just a few weeks before her 23rd birthday, recent college grad Jaouad was given a life-changing diagnosis: leukemia, with just a 35% chance of survival. She survived the nearly four years of treatment, but it took an epic road trip to heal her soul.
Random House
“ How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need, ” by Bill Gates • Release date: Feb. 16 • With the help of experts in fields such as physics, engineering, chemistry, finance and politics, the technologist and philanthropist offers a practical and accessible plan for getting the world to zero greenhouse gas emissions and averting climate catastrophe.
“How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need,”by Bill Gates • Release date: Feb. 16 • With the help of experts in fields such as physics, engineering, chemistry, finance and politics, the technologist and philanthropist offers a practical and accessible plan for getting the world to zero greenhouse gas emissions and averting climate catastrophe.
Knopf
“ No One Is Talking About This, ” by Patricia Lockwood • Release date: Feb. 16 • Lockwood ’ s first novel, following her memoir “ Priestdaddy, ” follows an unnamed woman made famous by a social media post in a meditation on life, both online and off.
“No One Is Talking About This,”by Patricia Lockwood • Release date: Feb. 16 • Lockwood’s first novel, following her memoir “Priestdaddy,” follows an unnamed woman made famous by a social media post in a meditation on life, both online and off.
Riverhead
“ Klara and the Sun, ” by Kazuo Ishiguro • Release date: March 2 • From the Nobel Prize-winning author of “ Never Let Me Go ” and “ The Remains of the Day ” comes a new story told from the perspective of Klara, an Artificial Friend who watches the world from her place in the store, hopeful that someone will choose her.
“Klara and the Sun,”by Kazuo Ishiguro • Release date: March 2 • From the Nobel Prize-winning author of “Never Let Me Go” and “The Remains of the Day” comes a new story told from the perspective of Klara, an Artificial Friend who watches the world from her place in the store, hopeful that someone will choose her.
Knopf
“ The Committed, ” by Viet Thanh Nguyen • Release date: March 2 • This sequel to Nguyen ' s Pulitzer Prize-winning “ The Sympathizer ” follows its spy protagonist to Paris in the 1980s with his brother Bon, where the two deal drugs and get roped into Paris ’ criminal underworld.
“The Committed,” by Viet Thanh Nguyen • Release date: March 2 • This sequel to Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Sympathizer” follows its spy protagonist to Paris in the 1980s with his brother Bon, where the two deal drugs and get roped into Paris’ criminal underworld.
Grove
“ Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage, ” by Anne Lamott • Release date: March 2 • The bestselling author of “ Help, Thanks, Wow ” returns with an inspiring guide to restoring hope and joy in the midst of suffering, drawing from her own life experience.
“Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage,”by Anne Lamott • Release date: March 2 • The bestselling author of “Help, Thanks, Wow” returns with an inspiring guide to restoring hope and joy in the midst of suffering, drawing from her own life experience.
Riverhead
“ How Beautiful We Were, ” by Imbolo Mbue • Release date: March 9 • From the bestselling author of “ Behold the Dreamers ” comes the sweeping story of an African village on a collision course with an American oil company and those who take a stand and fight back against colonialism and capitalism.
“How Beautiful We Were,” by Imbolo Mbue • Release date: March 9 • From the bestselling author of “Behold the Dreamers” comes the sweeping story of an African village on a collision course with an American oil company and those who take a stand and fight back against colonialism and capitalism.
Random House
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