This is how I know I’m reading an incredible book. All of the day’s obligations — making my bed, walking to the subway, cooking diner — become obstacles that stand between me and the story's conclusion. If I could, I would dip out of life, and spend the day racing to the back cover. Luckily for me, and unfortunately for my obligations, there is an endless supply of really, really, ridiculously good books.
Looking ahead to 2018, it's definite that our Goodreads queues will be getting a whole lot longer. These are the books you'll want to escape into when you're having a hard day. These are the books that will stimulate your mind and give you talking points to whip out at awkward parties. These are the books you'll love so much that you'll buy copies for your friends.
So, without further ado, here are the upcoming titles to put on your radar for 2018.
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This Will Be My Undoing
By Morgan Jerkins
Out January 30
At a moment where the market seems almost overwhelmed with feminist manifestos, Jerkin's book is truly a standout must read. Whether she's writing about Black female sexuality, Sailor Moon, or what it means to date a man who "doesn't see colour," her insights cut deep and can't help but pave new roads in a reader's mind. Her essays are full of revelations and cathartic moments, and at the heart of every subject she tackles is a pulsing question: What does it mean to be a black woman in the world today? The answer is complicated, but what's clear is that This Will Be My Undoing should be required reading for the world we live in now.
Swearing Is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language
By Emma Byrne
Out January 23
All those times you had to fork over a quarter for swearing as a kid, and it turns out foul language was good for your brain after all! (Take that, mom.) Byrne's witty popular science books digs into the history of colourful language, how it's evolved, and why swearing has been shown to reduce physical pain, decrease anxiety, prevent violence, and generally help people cooperate with one another. Our one-line review? Shit, this book is fascinating.
The Financial Diet: A Total Beginner's Guide to Getting Good with Money
By Chelsea Fagan and Lauren Ver Hage
Out January 2
Maybe you have a savings account and a pension plan; maybe your credit is somewhere in the "excellent" zone and you're paying off your credit cards each month... But if you still don't feel like you're making the best decisions with your dollars — well, then this is the book your should gift yourself. File this one under: brass tacks, immediately useful advice you can actually implement no matter what you're working with, from two women who truly get it. Your future self will someday thank your present self for this good reading decision.
Heart Spring Mountain
By Robin MacArthur
Out January 9
In August 2011, Tropical Storm Irene whipped through Vale's small Vermont hometown — and in the aftermath of the flooding, her mom, Bonnie, is nowhere to be found. Despite their estrangement, Vale packs up her life in New Orleans and goes home to join the search effort. What she finds when she gets there is a place that is at once familiar and unrecognisable — and a family secret that has deeper roots than she could have ever imagined.
Everything Here is Beautiful
By Mira T. Lee
Out January 16
When Miranda and Lucia lose their mother, Lucia begins to hear voices, and older sister Miranda knows it's up to her to bring her sibling back into the real world. But Lucia can't be contained: Before anyone can stop her, she gets married, then leaves that man for a lover, has a baby, moves countries, shakes up her entire life. Ultimately, Lucia's mental illness brings her crashing back down to Earth, and Miranda — who has finally found peace in her own life — must confront a difficult question: At what point do sisterly bonds break — and how far should one sister go to save the other from herself?
Neon in Daylight
By Hermione Hoby
Out January 9
Set in the dog days of an unbearable heat wave in New York City, this story follows Kate, a young Englishwoman cat sitting in Manhattan, while also trying to figure out her future. She has a boyfriend back home, but her love affair with the city is starting to swirl: The siren song of crowded club and bars are irresistible — as are two strangers who will change the course of her life forever.
Red Clocks
By Leni Zumas
Out January 16
It's a story that's frighteningly easy to imagine: Abortion has become illegal once again in America. Doctors are banned from performing in-vitro fertilisation. A Personhood Amendment has endowed embryos with the right to liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and above all else, life. In a small Oregon town, five women are forced to navigate the confines of this new world, in a novel that is like The Handmaid's Tale for the new millennium, that both terrifies and lays bare the strength and resilience of women.
The Milk Lady of Bangalore: An Unexpected Adventure
By Shoba Narayan
Out January 23
Narayan, a writer and cookbook author, lived in Manhattan for years. But when she moves back to Bangalore to be with her family she finds herself suddenly befriending the "milk lady," who sells her fresh dairy every day. The two bond, and eventually Narayan agrees to buy her friend a brand-new cow — so they set off together looking for the perfect one.
This lovely, lighthearted novel is a journey through cultural mores and female friendship, as well as a look at the spiritual and historical part that cows play in India; an easy read that you can't help but love.
Our Lady of the Prairie
By Thisbe Nessen
Out January 23
Phillipa Maakestad barely recognises her life anymore. A long-married professor, she finds herself falling for a colleague during a semester spent teaching at another college; when she returns from Ohio to Iowa, she's thrust into the mix of her difficult daughter's madcap wedding — complete with a maniac mother-in-law, a (soon-t0-be ex) husband who wants his revenge, and a literal tornado on top of everything else. So how does Phillipa make it through? By burning. Shit. Down.
Brazen, sexy, and whip smart: We adored this ode to the power and spirit of feisty midwestern women.
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