New Books for January 2024

This year is going to be a great year for books readers are going to love!

Happy New Year, readers!

If you are a football fan, you’ve had a wonderful several days with all the bowl games. If you are like me and not into football, maybe you’ve used this time for reading or other fun activities. No matter what you’ve been doing, I hope you had a wonderful New Year’s Eve celebration and are enjoying 2024 so far. I appreciate that you make time to follow along here with my bookish goodness; you make this worth doing week after week; thank you so much for being here.

The new year will be an abundance of riches in the book world; so many good books are coming in 2024 that I’m aware of, and I’m sure many more that I just haven’t heard about yet, even though I peruse all the publishing information I can. Some of my favorite authors such as J. Courtney Sullivan, Katherine Wood (formerly St. John), Marjan Kamali, Beatriz Williams, Kimberly Belle, Greg Iles, and so many more, have new books coming this year, and I can’t wait to read them. For now, let’s look at the new books for this month, as there are some I know you won’t be able to resist.

• Mercury by Amy Jo Burns (1-2-24) - If you like compelling fiction with family at the heart of it, Burns is the author you need to read. I loved her first novel, Shiner, for the family, friendships, and rising above one’s circumstances, and Mercury is Burn’s latest family novel, earning early rave reviews. Author Patti Callahan says, "Mercury is that rare and marvelous novel that offers us the combination of unforgettable characters, tender prose, page-turning narrative, and the escape of an immersive world.” One of my book clubs is reading this in a couple of months, so I’ll wait until closer to then to read it.

• The Book of Fire by Christy Lefteri (1-2-24) - I loved The Beekeeper of Aleppo; it was an excellent book with a compelling and sad story of real life. In the newest book, Lefteri tells the story of a family living their life to the fullest when tragedy strikes and everything changes. Throughout the story, the reader falls in love with the characters and aches for them amid everything that happens. It’s a story of love, loss, resilience, and a longing for what their life was before while trying to rebuild it. The author makes the reader feel like they are walking beside the characters and experiencing everything they are going through. I loved this book and can’t wait to read more by this author.

• 1000 Words by

  Jami Attenberg
  (1-9-24) - I subscribe to Attenberg’s Substack newsletter Craft Talk, and I’ve found worthwhile nuggets of information here and there about writing that have been helpful to me. I’m not interested in writing a book; heck, I can barely write this newsletter, but I’m interested in reading this book as it features inspiration and tips from more than fifty well-known writers. Along with Jami, these writers offer encouragement, wisdom, and strategies on how to be creative and productive as a writer.

• Recipe For A Charmed Life by Rachel Linden (1-9-24) - I love reading “foodie fiction” as there is usually a chef involved—most times, it’s the main character, and there’s always a lot of mouthwatering food to tempt the reader. Family and friends feature prominently in the storyline, and as always, her books are set in the Seattle area, which makes me want to visit again, as I’m sure I didn’t see everything the first time I was there. Disappointed American chef Georgia May leaves Paris after losing her job and boyfriend and lands in the Pacific Northwest at the invitation of her estranged mother to heal and hopefully reconnect with her. I enjoy reading books like this as a palette cleanser between more difficult books, so I’ll save this for later this year.

• No Reservations by Sheryl Lister (1-9-24) - I love this book's publisher, Harper Muse, and have read and enjoyed several so far, and I can’t wait to read this one. It’s about friendships and what friends do for each other in their time of need. From author Vanessa Riley, “Warm and wise—a feel-good story…a heartfelt tribute to sisterhood and found family. The feelings linger long after the last page.” Four friends, heartbreak, loss, and strengthening bonds take you from the beginning to the end in this compelling story of friendship.

• Valley Verified by Kyla Zhao (1-16-24) - In January 2023, I featured Zhao in a Q&A when her first book was published, and now, a year later, she is back with another new book that features her rich Asian American heritage, this time set in the Silicon Valley. From author Balli Kaur Jaswal, “Valley Verified captures the experiences of a young woman navigating the hierarchies and prejudices of her Silicon Valley company while staying true to herself and carving out the place she deserves in the world. A page-turner that brims with humor, snappy dialogue, and sharp observations of an industry." I haven’t read this one yet, but it is on my TBR. This is another palette cleanser-type book for me, so I’m sure I’ll find a place to fit it in between other books during the year.

• When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart (1-23-24) - I love Southern fiction, especially historical Southern fiction, and Everhart is a master at it. Her previous book, The Saints of Swallow Hill, is set in the South during the great depression, and the newest one goes further back in time to the Civil War. From the publisher, “An evocative, morally complex novel set in rural 19th century North Carolina, as one woman fights to keep her family united, her farm running, and her convictions whole during the most devastating and divisive period in American history.” An early review says, “Kudos to Ms. Everhart for bringing us to the brink of civil war and back again with dignity, ingenuity, and immense feeling.” I’ve added it to my overflowing TBR, and I’ll read it sometime this year.

• Family Family by Laurie Frankel (1-23-24) - Frankel writes fiction about somewhat controversial topics that make headlines and force readers to think and understand something that might be foreign to them. This book is about adoption, what makes a family, and why adopted families aren’t the last resort to building a family. From a reviewer, “For a hilarious, joyful read, this novel’s intent is serious: to rewrite the adoption narrative. These wonderful, complicated, messy characters have made complicated and wonderful choices.” It sounds like it would make a great book club book rich with much to discuss. I’ve read two of Frankel’s previous books and I was still thinking about each of them months later.

• The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham (1-30-24) - From the publisher, “a triumph and a tale of intrigue, racial tension, and class warfare, set against the glamorous and gritty backdrop of early 20th century Chicago." This is a debut book, and the reviews are mixed, but I plan on giving it a chance as it’s historical and set during prohibition, and I enjoy reading books set in this period. Early reviews say, “the plot, atmosphere, and mood are convincing, the prose immaculate and, at times, clever, and that it was slow at times but a strong contribution from a young writer.” I’m willing to give a new author a chance, and this sounds like a potential winner.

• House of Flame & Shadow by Sarah J. Maas (1-30-24) - This is not my preferred book genre, but I mention it here because fans of her books have been not so patiently waiting for the third book in the Crescent City series. Fortunately, she writes quickly, so readers haven’t waited too long for the latest book. The books in this series are long (800+ pages), and fans want “more books faster” from her. Her books sell millions, and her fans adore her, and from what I’ve read, it is well deserved. From the publisher, “… the Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt's world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.” There are no early reviews that I can find, which tells me there were no ARCs for this book. I’m certainly impressed—I wish she wrote books in a genre I was interested in.

Wow! That’s a lot of books publishing this month, and those are just a drop in the bookish bucket; and aren’t those covers gorgeous? Are there any books from this list you are looking forward to reading? Did I miss any that you want to read this month? You can tell me in the comments below.

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Bookish Fun Fact

January 2, 1920, is the “listed” birthday of author Isaac Asimov, and January 2 is celebrated yearly by sci-fi fans in the US in honor of him. The first science fiction novel was published in 1818, and the first science fiction film was released in 1902, but it took until 1954 for the genre name to be shortened to sci-fi. Celebrate sci-fi day by “eating Reese’s pieces” and “riding sci-fi rides” at theme parks, or better yet, read a sci-fi book or two.

I hit my Goodreads reading goal of seventy-five books, and I really had to kick it in gear in December to do that; I read sixteen books last month. There were several books I had started and hadn’t finished, so I focused on those to hit the magical number. I’m planning my reading for the next couple of months related to the online communities and book clubs I participate in—more on all of that next week.

I’ve mentioned a couple of times that maybe I’d like to try a digital planner or reading log, and this year, I'm giving both of those the digital planner a shot. I’ll let you know how that works out and if it is something that I’ll stick with. I hope you have a fantastic week and take some time to read a good book. Happy reading!

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