November new book releases you need to add to your cart now
From Bad Vibes to Inciting Joy to BookTok’s favorite authors, the 7 new releases I’ve hand selected for M.T. Deco readers.
Bad Vibes Only: (And Other Things I Bring to the Table) by Nora McInery
If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with vibes. Unlike Nora McInery though I generally prefer keeping them good. That didn’t stop me from laughing out loud when I first came across the title for this book of humorous essays Bad Vibes Only: (And Other Things I Bring to the Table). I mean, if you’re going to judge a book by its cover, choose one that makes you laugh, right?
DESCRIPTION: Nora McInerny does not dance like no one is watching. In fact, she dances like everyone is watching, which is to say, she does not dance at all. A bestselling author and host of the beloved podcast Terrible, Thanks for Asking, which the New York Times called "a gift," she has captured the hearts of millions with her disarming and earnest approach to discussing grief and loss. Now, with Bad Vibes Only, she turns her eye on our aggressively, oppressively optimistic culture, our obsession with self-improvement, and what it really means to live authentically in the online age.
In essays that revisit her cringey past and anticipate her rapidly approaching, early middle-aged future, McInerny lays bare her own chaos, inviting us to drop the facade of perfection and embrace the truth: that we are all--at best--slightly unhinged. Socrates claimed that the unexamined life is not worth living. Bad Vibes Only is for the people who have taken that dictum a bit too far--the overthinkers, the analyzers, the recovering Girl Bosses, and the burned-out personal brand--reminding us that a life worth living is about more than just "good vibes."
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of attending an art exhibit titled Pure Unadulterated Joy. I saw the work of one of my favorite artists, Sari Shryack, on display. Ross Gay’s book of essays seems to be the natural extension of my journey to add more joy to my life. Based on the description alone, Ross seems to grapple with questions about community and connection in an increasingly disconnected world. Longtime M.T. Deco blog readers will remember one of my favorite recommendations, Together a book by former surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy. While both books tackle the same themes and social issues, Ross’ takes a more storytelling angle while Dr. Murthy takes a very scientific one.
DESCRIPTION: In these gorgeously written and timely pieces, prize-winning poet and author Ross Gay considers the joy we incite when we care for each other, especially during life's inevitable hardships. Throughout Inciting Joy, he explores how we can practice recognizing that connection, and also, crucially, how we expand it.
In "We Kin" he thinks about the garden (especially around August, when the zucchini and tomatoes come on) as a laboratory of mutual aid; in "Share Your Bucket" he explores skateboarding's reclamation of public space; he considers the costs of masculinity in "Grief Suite"; and in "Through My Tears I Saw," he recognizes what was healed in caring for his father as he was dying.
In an era when divisive voices take up so much air space, Inciting Joy offers a vital alternative: What might be possible if we turn our attention to what brings us together, to what we love? Full of energy, curiosity, and compassion, Inciting Joy is essential reading from one of our most brilliant writers.
When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World's Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Walt Bogdanich & Michael Forsythe
McKinsey is really a company I should know more about being that I’m also in consulting and consumer research. However, based on the little I do know, something tells me I wouldn’t love everything I’m about to learn from this “explosive expose” but I am ready to dive into the potentially gory corporate details.
DESCRIPTION: An explosive, deeply reported exposé of McKinsey & Company, the international consulting firm that advises corporations and governments, that highlights the often drastic impact of its work on employees and citizens around the world.
McKinsey & Company is the most prestigious consulting company in the world, earning billions of dollars in fees from major corporations and governments who turn to it to maximize their profits and enhance efficiency. McKinsey's vaunted statement of values asserts that its role is to make the world a better place, and its reputation for excellence and discretion attracts top talent from universities around the world. But what does it actually do?
I first heard of Lydia Millet when I came across Fight No More, a compilation of stories that I quite liked. I was struck by her sharp and cutting insight into the flawed nature of humans and the relationships between them. Now, Millet is back with a main character who, at first blush, seems to be an amalgamation of Odysseus, Forrest Gump, and a dash of Boo Boo Radley. (He’s a man on a journey, on foot, and also the weird neighbor.) The slightly absurd premise combined with Millet’s biting social commentary is sure to be a delightful read.
DESCRIPTION: Dinosaurs is the story of a man named Gil who walks from New York to Arizona to recover from a failed love. After he arrives, new neighbors move into the glass-walled house next door and his life begins to mesh with theirs. In this warmly textured, dryly funny, and philosophical account of Gil's unexpected devotion to the family, Millet explores the uncanny territory where the self ends and community begins--what one person can do in a world beset by emergencies. In the shadow of existential threat, where does hope live?
Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin (Author), Megan McDowell (Translator)
Because I do love a short story collection and am getting more into translated works I’m also recommending Seven Empty houses. The thing about translated works is that so much can be lost in translation, but I’m hoping my fellow Megan (the translator) can pull through on this one. With glowing reviews and intriguing premise–as the title suggests seven stories about seven empty houses–I’m looking forward to this piece of literary fiction.
DESCRIPTION: The seven houses in these seven stories are empty. Some are devoid of love or life or furniture, of people or the truth or of memories. But in Samanta Schweblin's tense, visionary tales, something always creeps back in: a ghost, a fight, trespassers, a list of things to do before you die, a child's first encounter with a dark choice or the fallibility of parents.
This was the collection that established Samanta Schweblin at the forefront of a new generation of Latin American writers. And now in English it will push her cult status to new heights. Seven Empty Houses is an entrypoint into a fiercely original mind, and a slingshot into Schweblin's destabilizing, exhilarating literary world.
In each story, the twists and turns will unnerve and surprise: Schweblin never takes the expected path and instead digs under the skin and reveals uncomfortable truths about our sense of home, of belonging, and of the fragility of our connections with others. This is a masterwork from one of our most brilliant writers.
When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar
A great debut is a special type of read and When We Were Sisters seems like it could be just that. From its gorgeous cover art to the substance of its intersectional perspective, I plan to get lost in someone else’s complicated family dynamic for once.
DESCRIPTION: In this heartrending, lyrical debut work of fiction, Fatimah Asghar traces the intense bond of three orphaned siblings who, after their parents die, are left to raise one another. The youngest, Kausar, grapples with the incomprehensible loss of their parents as she also charts out her own understanding of gender; Aisha, the middle sister, spars with her "crybaby" younger sibling as she desperately tries to hold on to her sense of family in an impossible situation; and Noreen, the eldest, does her best in the role of sister-mother while also trying to create a life for herself, on her own terms.
As Kausar grows up, she must contend with the collision of her private and public worlds, and choose whether to remain in the life of love, sorrow, and codependency that she's known or carve out a new path for herself. When We Were Sisters tenderly examines the bonds and fractures of sisterhood, names the perils of being three Muslim American girls alone against the world, and ultimately illustrates how those who've lost everything might still make homes in one another.
It Starts with Us Colleen Hoover
If you haven’t heard of Colleen Hoover then you probably aren’t on TikTok, specifically BookTok where she has taken over. There she is affectionately known as “CoHo” and if you don’t have an opinion on that part in It Ends With Us can you even call yourself a Gen Z booktok girlie (answer: no). She’s sold over 20 million books and her latest highly-anticipated sequel, It Starts With Us, hit #1 on the NYT bestseller list. It should really be on yours as well!
DESCRIPTION: Lily and her ex-husband, Ryle, have just settled into a civil coparenting rhythm when she suddenly bumps into her first love, Atlas, again. After nearly two years separated, she is elated that for once, time is on their side, and she immediately says yes when Atlas asks her on a date.
But her excitement is quickly hampered by the knowledge that, though they are no longer married, Ryle is still very much a part of her life—and Atlas Corrigan is the one man he will hate being in his ex-wife and daughter’s life.
Switching between the perspectives of Lily and Atlas, It Starts with Us picks up right where the epilogue for the “gripping, pulse-pounding” (Sarah Pekkanen, author of Perfect Neighbors) bestselling phenomenon It Ends with Us left off.