The Books We’re Excited About in Early 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Book Review – "The Books We’re Excited About in Early 2025"

Introduction

Released on January 10, 2025, "The Book Review" podcast by The New York Times features host Gilbert Cruz and editor Joumana Khatib discussing upcoming literary releases for early 2025. The episode delves into a diverse array of books spanning genres such as fiction, non-fiction, dystopian narratives, and biographies, offering listeners a comprehensive preview of noteworthy publications.

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Opening Remarks

The episode begins with Gilbert Cruz expressing his enthusiasm for the New Year and the anticipation of new book releases. He introduces Joumana Khatib, and together they set the stage for an engaging conversation about the literary landscape to look forward to in the first few months of 2025.

February Releases

1. "Stonyard Devotional" by Charlotte Wood

   • Joumana Khatib highlights this Australian novel, lauding its unique structure as a devotional composed of journal-like entries. She notes, “[04:12] Joumana Khatib: ...it's constructed in a series of very pithy, spiritually inflected, almost journal entries. And it's astonishingly beautiful.”
   • The novel explores themes of grief and solitude through the protagonist's retreat to a convent in New South Wales, unexpectedly delving into deeper narratives such as a mouse infestation and personal backstories.

2. "Glyph" by Ali Smith

   • Joumana describes this dystopian narrative set in a highly surveilled society where biometric data governs individuals' lives. She compares it to "V for Vendetta," emphasizing its relevance in today’s data-centric world.
   • The story follows siblings on the run, their bond, and the symbolic horse named Glyph, with anticipation for a companion novel slated for August.

March Highlights

1. "The Dream Hotel" by Leila Lalami

   • Gilbert introduces this near-future dystopian novel where government surveillance invades personal dreams. Drawing parallels to "Minority Report," he remarks, “[13:00] Gilbert Cruz: ...she's been writing for a while, and it seems like this might be the one that possibly breaks her out.”
   • The protagonist faces detention based on predictive data about her potential for violence, reflecting current societal fears around surveillance and data privacy.

2. "The Colony" by Annika Norlin

   • Joumana presents this Swedish novel about a journalist experiencing severe burnout who retreats to the woods, only to encounter a mysterious group of seven people. She likens the narrative to "[15:32] Joumana Khatib: ...it reminded me of Lost... rebuilding a new society together."

April Releases

1. "Source Code" by Bill Gates

   • Gilbert discusses Bill Gates' extensive memoir project, focusing on his childhood, Microsoft years, and philanthropic efforts. He humorously notes the trilogy approach, drawing a parallel to Bill Clinton’s memoir strategy.
   • Meanwhile, Joumana mentions Melinda French Gates' upcoming memoir, "April 15th," highlighting the couple's continued influence beyond their partnership.

2. "Matriarch" by Tina Knowles

   • Gilbert introduces Tina Knowles’ memoir, celebrating her role in raising influential musicians Beyoncé and Solange Knowles. He expresses personal interest in exploring her narrative beyond her identity as a mother.

May and Beyond

1. "Antidote" by Karen Russell

   • Joumana expresses excitement for this Dust Bowl epic set in Nebraska, featuring a voluble scarecrow and a prairie witch. She praises Russell’s ability to create immersive Midwestern literature, stating, “[28:36] Joumana Khatib: ...this could be an amazing way to get introduced to Karen Russell.”

2. "Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil" by V.E. Schwab

   • Gilbert briefly mentions this forthcoming novel, anticipating its contribution to the fantasy genre.

Heavy Hitters and Popular Authors

1. Emily Henry's "Great Big Beautiful Life"

   • Joumana outlines this romance novel focused on two biographers competing to write the life story of an eccentric heiress. She anticipates the dynamic interplay between characters as a source of levity.

2. Suzanne Collins' "Sunrise on the Reaping"

   • Gilbert introduces the fifth installment in the Hunger Games series, centered on Haymitch Abernathy. He anticipates significant interest given the series’ popularity.

Lightning Round: Quick Highlights

• "Audition" by Katie Kitamura: A novel blending complex relationships with unexpected plot twists, appealing to fans of literary fiction.
• "The Crash" by Freida McFadden: A thriller by a former brain disorder specialist turned writer, promising gripping suspense.
• "Next to Heaven" by James Frey: An anti-marriage plot set in New Bethlehem, Connecticut, explores themes of relationships and societal norms.
• "Atmosphere" by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Continuing Reid’s exploration of personal and emotional narratives.
• "King of Ashes" by S.A. Cosby: A thriller expanding Cosby’s acclaimed repertoire.
• "Speak to Me of Home" by Jeanine Cummins: A follow-up to the controversial "American Dirt," expected to provoke discussions.

Biographies and Memoirs

• "The Antidote" by Karen Russell

  • Joumana describes it as a Dust Bowl epic with rich character development and immersive storytelling.

• "The Autobiography Hope" by Pope Francis

  • Gilbert introduces Pope Francis’ first memoir, intrigued by insights into the modern Catholic Church.

• "Jesus Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of the Catholic Church" by Philip Sheenan

  • Gilbert expresses interest in this investigative history covering seven popes and the evolution of the Catholic Church in the modern era.

Conclusion

Gilbert Cruz and Joumana Khatib wrap up the episode by expressing their enthusiasm for the array of books slated for early 2025. They touch upon personal interests and the significance of these forthcoming works in shaping literary conversations. The episode concludes with well-wishes for the listeners and a reminder of the rich literary offerings ahead.

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Notable Quotes

• Joumana Khatib on "Stonyard Devotional":

  “[04:12] ...it's constructed in a series of very pithy, spiritually inflected, almost journal entries. And it's astonishingly beautiful.”

• Gilbert Cruz on "The Dream Hotel":

  “[13:00] ...she's been writing for a while, and it seems like this might be the one that possibly breaks her out.”

• Joumana Khatib comparing "The Colony" to "Lost":

  “[15:32] ...it reminded me of Lost... rebuilding a new society together.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode of "The Book Review" offers a vibrant glimpse into the literary works that will shape early 2025. With discussions spanning diverse genres and insightful commentary from Cruz and Khatib, listeners are well-equipped to explore and anticipate the next wave of compelling narratives.

Transcript

[Gilbert Cruz]

I use New York Times cooking at least three to four times a week.

[Joumana Khatib]

I love sheet pan bibimbap.

[Gilbert Cruz]

It said 35 minutes, it was 35 minutes.

[Joumana Khatib]

The cucumber salad with soy, ginger and garlic. Oh my God. That is just to die for. This turkey chili has over 17,000 five star ratings.

[Gilbert Cruz]

So easy, so delicious. The instructions are so clear, so simple.

[Joumana Khatib]

And it just works. Hey, it's Eric Kim from New York Times Cooking. Come cook with us. Go to nytcooking.com.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I'm Gilbert Cruz, editor of the New York Times Book Review, and this is the Book Review podcast. Happy New Year, everyone. One of the fun things, one of my favorite things about every January, of course, is thinking about the year ahead, thinking about all the books that are going to be released. And today I am joined by my fellow editor, Joumana Khatib. We're going to talk about a couple things to look forward to in the first few months of 2025. Jumana. Hi.

[Joumana Khatib]

Hi, Gilbert, how are you?

[Gilbert Cruz]

Happy New Year to you.

[Joumana Khatib]

So much happiness in this studio. I'm great. I'm happy to be back in the seat in the saddle is what people would normally say.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Yeah, either. How did you spend the end of your 2024?

[Joumana Khatib]

Well, I read a bunch, actually. I really hit a reading groove where I was almost able to even read a book a day for like a week, which is unusual for me. Part of that is cause I wasn't working as much as I love my job, but I was just perched in the armchair next to the tree. So a lot of what I read is coming out this year, so I'm not gonna necessarily mention it. But I did read True Grit by Charles Portis. I had never read True Grit before. I'd only read Norwood and I loved it. And I started the Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, who won the Booker Prize for it. She also wrote Burnham Wood. It's very different than Birnam Wood, but I'm liking it so far.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Eleanor Ketten, one time guest on the Book Review podcast.

[Joumana Khatib]

You're right, I'm sorry. I talked to her for. I forgot that's more important than the.

[Gilbert Cruz]

One that is the number one. And then you can be like all the other stuff. Did you start the Luminaries because it's about the zodiac?

[Joumana Khatib]

No, I am a woman of a multitude of interests and deciding factors of taste. No, I started it because it was 8, 80% off at McNally Jackson.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Oh, okay.

[Joumana Khatib]

Whatever. It's the end of the year. Credit card bills get a little high I believe in fate. That's something I will say. I do believe that books on sale present themselves to you at the right moment. And I'm not just saying this because I have also recently. Oh. I also spent a lot of my break on ebay.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Oh, what'd you get?

[Joumana Khatib]

Oh. Oh, well, unfortunately, I didn't get anything. Cause I was outbid at the last minute. It was heartbreaking. But I'm beginning to hone my strategy. I love it. Ebay.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I feel like we should devote a separate episode just to book buying strategies on ebay. I read one and a half books because I was hosting family. I didn't have the luxury of all this free time that it sounds like you had. I read Conclave, which is a book that has been made into a movie. Have you seen Conclave?

[Joumana Khatib]

I haven't, but I've heard about Ralph Fiennes papal drip. So I'm interested.

[Gilbert Cruz]

He is flowing. Flowing with robes, as are they all. They're all cardinals, they all have hats, they all have robes. It's quite lush looking movie. You should check it out.

[Joumana Khatib]

Okay.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I know you only see five movies a year, but this is one that.

[Joumana Khatib]

You should check out. Yeah. Okay. I'm interested. I'm pro robe also. Yeah, yeah. So the things are lining up for me to see this movie.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay. I don't know how many of the books that we're gonna talk about are robe centric, but I think what we're gonna do here is we're just gonna do a back and forth. You're gonna talk about some books coming out, I'm gonna talk about some books coming out. So I'm gonna be gracious and let you go first.

[Joumana Khatib]

Thank you, Gilbert. That is very kind of you. I am frothing at the mouth, excited to talk about a book coming out in February. This is Stonyard Devotional by Charlotte Wood. And I have been, it is not an exaggeration, haranguing my colleagues, as you know, for months about how much I like this book.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I do know.

[Joumana Khatib]

Yes. Look at that. Look at that reserve. Gilbert has to sit next to me, so he has to hear all of my early thoughts. It's an Australian novel. It came out in the UK and Canada and some other English speaking countries last year. So. And it was actually a finalist for The Booker in 2024. And now it's getting its US release, which is very exciting. And I will tell you, this is a book that really took me by surprise because on its face, this is not necessarily a book that I thought I would Take to. I read it early. I bought a copy from Canada just in case it won the Booker. And this book follows a woman in Australia who decides to basically leave behind her worldly life and go live in a convent in New South Wales, this very remote part of the country. And she's not even necessarily driven by faith. She's not a super religious or intensely Catholic woman at all. She's just giving in. She's grieving her parents. She's leaving a marriage. This novel takes the form of a devotional. True to its title, it's constructed in a series of very pithy, spiritually inflected, almost journal entries. And it's astonishingly beautiful. And if there's a plot, this is not a plot. Forward book.

[Gilbert Cruz]

That's good to know. Yes, some people, that's what they want.

[Joumana Khatib]

Although I actually would argue now there is a mouse infestation that is probably the biggest plot driver, if there is a plot in this book, so relatable.

[Gilbert Cruz]

To anyone who lives in New York.

[Joumana Khatib]

So this is part of the reason that I was nervous to pick this up, because I don't think that exposure therapy to rodents is gonna work at this point on me. However, the mice become something much bigger. And the way that Charlotte Wood can discuss a mouse infestation, she's talking about hunting of mice thundering over a window screen or when they're crossing the street, it's like a silver river. She does beautiful things. She's a terribly astute writer. And then some other things happen. The bones of an old sister come back from Thailand. Somebody from the narrator's past comes back. None of these elements should work as well as they do. And it is a very elegant, beautiful, deep, meaningful and poignant book. I love it. I love it.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Is there something about the modern world that makes this idea of solitude appealing to you at this moment?

[Joumana Khatib]

Actually, no. I'm raring at the bit to be out in third spaces after basically not leaving my mother's house for two weeks. But just this is the type of sentence from this book that has stayed with me since October, which is when I read it. The narrator notes, she's in the convent. It's one of her first few days there. And she says, the silence here is so thick it makes me feel wealthy.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Ah, that's a good line. I've been skimming. There's a book that I think by this point will have just come out called A Learning from Silence. This is a book by Pico Iyer, the very well known travel writer, and it essentially describes his travels to this monastery on the Northern California coast, which he's been doing for decades. And it's a silent. I think it's Benedictine, a silent Benedictine retreat. So I've also been in the mindset of this is interesting. Might this be valuable? There's one book that I know a lot of people are excited about now I'm going to mention first because it actually, I think I'm at the point where I need to start engaging in this phenomenon. This is a book called Onyx Storm. It's coming out in a few weeks. This is by Rebecca Yarros. Arguably not. Arguably, it will be the biggest book of January. It might be one of the biggest books of the first half of the year, possibly the year. This is the third installment in Rebecca Yarros Romantasy series. It's the Follow up to 4th Wing and Iron Flame. These are behemoths. These are books that, in addition to several other books and several other authors, define the Romantasy genre. And that's gonna be a big deal. It's about. First two books at least, are set at a war college for dragon riders. These are people that ride dragons. As I understand it, those dragon riders also have sex with each other. And so there's fantasy, there's romance. I haven't read them, which I'm gonna admit on air is something I should have done at this point, given my job. I should understand sort of the major strains in book culture. So I'm going to read the first one. I'm taking the release of Onyx Storm to go and pick up 4th wing and check it out. So I'm excited to try that and have a greater understanding of why this genre and these books have come to define the past few years in American publishing.

[Joumana Khatib]

Dragons. Yeah, dragons.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Dragons. Exciting. Are you a dragon person?

[Joumana Khatib]

No.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay. What I'm really asking is, are you a fantasy person?

[Joumana Khatib]

I'm not. I'm trying to understand my own taste. I, on the one hand, if I were not in this line of work, I would love for my taste, remain a black box to me. However, I think I need to understand it better to do this job. Even better. I like some fantasy. God, I was hooked on Redwall. I practically had that on a drip when I was a kid. I guess I've just. I guess I haven't really let myself go back into the sort of childlike delight that came from reading fantasy as an adult.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Well, given what these books are about, I don't think there's anything childlike about it. As I Initially, Yeah.

[Joumana Khatib]

No, I'm not. Yeah, slightly saucy. Okay. Okay, duly noted.

[Gilbert Cruz]

So maybe that's not the entry point, but you should give it a shot. Do you have anything like that on your list here? What do you want to talk about next?

[Joumana Khatib]

Okay. I'm talking about Ali Smith. She is a British writer. Her most recent books are the Seasonal Quartet, Spring, Summer, Fall, Autumn. She is a very playful writer and she's somebody who is a very moral writer and very much has her moral dimension in mind when she's writing her fiction. So in that sense, a lot of her novels can feel like fables or fantastical. So this is Glyph. And this comes out in February, early February. And this follows two siblings in a dystopian state. This actually reminded me of V for Vendetta when I was reading it, which is a movie I have seen.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay.

[Joumana Khatib]

And these children were raised by a mother who abhorred technology. And they're living in a society where the government has all your biometric data beyond retina scans. Like, they know your family, education, history, everything down to your birth date and ethnicity and all that. And these kids are basically on their run. Cause their mother's not there. They're trying to make their way. And again, I'm realizing I'm not coming in hot with plot heavy novels that could go on my tombstone. When these siblings are on the run, they take in a horse that they name Glyph, and their paths diverge. These are memorable kids. They're smart, they're funny. You have the specter of violence in the background. You're surrounded by dread of what this political state is doing. And true to Ali Smith, she is going to release another novel, a companion novel to this book, in August. As of now, that will also be called Glyph. That will give you another perspective on.

[Gilbert Cruz]

The story spelled differently.

[Joumana Khatib]

Spelled differently. Yes.

[Gilbert Cruz]

This one is G. L, I, F.

[Joumana Khatib]

F. Yes, Glyph, like Cliff. The next one is Glyph, like hieroglyph.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay, that sounds exciting.

[Joumana Khatib]

It's fantastic. You know what? I think that's fantasy. Yes.

[Gilbert Cruz]

It's a stretch, but I'll allow it.

[Joumana Khatib]

Okay, let me have this.

[Gilbert Cruz]

We can transition very nicely into a book that sounds somewhat similar. It's also a dystopia. This one comes out in March. It's a book called the Dream Hotel by Leila Lalami. It's sort of a near future dystopia. In this world, surveillance is so pervasive that the government can see. They can see everything. They can even somehow See into your dreams. I don't know if they could literally see your dreams, but they have access to data that indicates what you have been dreaming about. And here, the main character is detained at LAX in Los Angeles after it's determined, based on her dreams, based on what data they can access, that she might be at risk of harming her husband or harming her partner. I don't know if you've ever seen Minority Report, STEVEN Spielberg movie Yes, I have. So you have seen a lot of movies? Some movies with Tom Cruise or read the Philip K. Dick story, the Minority Report. It sounds a little like that. However, I think we both know as soon as we leave this building, any building, certainly in New York City, were being tracked in subway. There are cameras everywhere. Surveillance is everywhere. Big tech is scary. This book is coming now and it feels very relevant. Even though it's set in the near future, we're shedding all this data. I'm very curious. The author is literary. She's been a finalist for the Pulitzer. She's been a finalist for the National Book Award. And as has been the case with so many literary books this century, I think, as we saw when we did that big 21st century project last year, it has a bit of speculative fiction flavor spec fiction underpinning. I'm excited for this one.

[Joumana Khatib]

I have the perfect counter to that.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay.

[Joumana Khatib]

I have the perfect counter to that. This is yet another book about somebody who's fed up with the modern world and needs a break.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I feel like we're on theme.

[Joumana Khatib]

Yeah, we came to play today. All right, so this is the Colony by Annika Norlin. She's a Swedish writer. This apparently has been a huge hit in Sweden, which is not something I've said since the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. So this book, this was translated by Alice Olson. I was really swept away by this. This follows a journalist who wakes up one morning with indescribable burnout. Can barely leave bed, so she decides to go to the woods. These are woods that are familiar to her. She takes a tent, some provisions. She's off roading it. She notices a group of seven people in her sight line. And she can't quite figure out how they know each other, how they're related. They don't look biologically related, but they obviously work as a unit. And very quickly the novel spins into the backstory of these people, how they came together, what their missions are. And it's actually very elegantly told. It is a fairly large cast, but it doesn't feel overwhelming. Everybody is well developed and I really enjoyed this. It actually felt like real escapism because you're leaping from person to person. I'm surprised by a lot of this stuff that happens to these people. It reminded me of Lost. I can leave that there.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay.

[Joumana Khatib]

I've never seen Lost and that you.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Were dissatisfied with the ending. But like, how did it remind you of Lost?

[Joumana Khatib]

It reminded me of Lost in the sense that this is a group of people stranded in one location, sort of rebuilding a new society together. It's interesting. It's interesting. And it's not too heavy handed. I liked this book. Yes. That's for when you're sick of thinking about all the technology that's barreling towards us.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Remember when they saw that foot in Lost that had six toes?

[Joumana Khatib]

It's like Anne Boleyn.

[Gilbert Cruz]

They never explained it. I think about that more than I should. When is that out?

[Joumana Khatib]

That is coming out at the end of March, March 25th.

[Gilbert Cruz]

The next one that I want to talk about is coming out soon. It's coming out January 21st. And it is. We do not part by Hong Kong. Hopefully many of our listeners are more familiar with the name Hong Kong now because Hong Kong just won the Nobel Prize in Literature a few months ago. She's a South Korean author. First South Korean, first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Her book, the Vegetarian, which is probably, if you know any of her books, you know that one was again, one of our hundred best books of the 21st century. And it's just, you gotta read this one. She just won the Nobel Prize also, I gotta tell you, her books are not that long. And that's always a sort of a plus in my column.

[Joumana Khatib]

They pack a punch though. The Vegetarian, Slim but Mighty.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Slim but Mighty. Do you have any Slim but Mighty?

[Joumana Khatib]

I have the opposite of slim but mighty. I have sprawling and weighty.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay.

[Joumana Khatib]

And it comes out even sooner than the Hong Kong. It's actually out now. So. This is Play World by Adam Ross. We have not seen a novel from Adam Ross in a very long time. 15 years or so. He has come back with this very large immersive novel set in New York, follows a child actor who strikes up an affair with a married woman in her 30s. And early on in the book, I'm not spoiling anything. When his mother finds out about the affair and finds out with whom he's having the affair, she's horrified. Not because of the age gap or the impropriety or the marriage factor, but because she doesn't think this woman is attractive enough for her son.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Cool mom.

[Joumana Khatib]

Yes. Well, remains to be seen, but Adam Ross himself has some experience as a child actor, so he's weaving in a little bit of personal autobiography here. He knows this world of what it's like to be on screen, and he also summons a lot of the sounds and smells and textures of New York City at the time. And it's really good. And our critic Alexandra Jacobs reviewed it this week and she loved it.

[Gilbert Cruz]

We will be right back. Welcome back. This is the Book Review podcast and I'm Gilbert Cruze. I'm here with my fellow editor, Joumana Khatib, and we are talking about the year ahead. We're looking at the beginning of 2025 and each talking about a few books that we're interested in or excited about, I think. Joumana, is it my turn?

[Joumana Khatib]

Yes, by all means, Gilbert, go ahead.

[Gilbert Cruz]

This is another book that's out this month. This comes out January 14th, and it's called Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor. She is a sci fi and fantasy writer. She's well known to a lot of readers in the sci fi and fantasy spaces. She writes what she has termed African futurism, which is different from afrofuturism, which is a term that maybe more people are familiar with. And this is science fiction that's centered in an African worldview in African mythology, as opposed to one about black people who live in America or black people who live in the West. She's Nigerian American. And this book, Death of the Author is it's about a Nigerian writer who writes a giant sci fi epic. There's a book within a book situation. Maybe the book that this author has written comes to affect things in the real world. There's a lot of buzz behind this book. She's been writing for a while, and it seems like this might be the one that possibly breaks her out. I'm hoping to dip into this one sometime early this year. What do you have on deck?

[Joumana Khatib]

Okay. Well, I've been coming in hot on fiction, which is the usual. I'm gonna swerve for a moment and talk about a biography that I'm really looking forward to. This is coming in April. This is called the Acid the Psychedelic Life and Counterculture Rebellion of Rosemary Woodruff Leary. So this is the story of Timothy Leary's wives. And unfortunately, I think that's where most people's knowledge of her begins and ends, that she's been totally occluded by her association with Timothy Leary. But really she had a fascinating Life in her own right. She also was in exile and she was on the run. She, of course, made all their outfits when they were a married couple and very, very visible. And she was a real devotee, an advocate for psychedelics and people who wanted to go into this alternative lifestyle. So this is. I always appreciate a look at somebody who's been skimmed over, no matter how overdue. And the author of this book, Susanna Cahalan, is actually a very. She's a really lucid writer. The book of hers that I think of first when I think of her is Brain on Fire, which is a memoir, but kind of an investigation of her own unbelievably rare brain disorder that took ages to sort out and her symptoms. And she's reconstructing a lot of lost time, and it's very gripping. And, Gilbert, you know, I don't love reading about people using drugs and fasting.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I was just gonna bring that up.

[Joumana Khatib]

That's how you know this is a worthwhile book.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Oh, my God.

[Joumana Khatib]

Okay. I know I'm changing.

[Gilbert Cruz]

You read my mind.

[Joumana Khatib]

Changing my ways in 2025.

[Gilbert Cruz]

This is great. What's the release date again?

[Joumana Khatib]

That is coming at the end of April 22nd.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay.

[Joumana Khatib]

How about you?

[Gilbert Cruz]

I am going to talk about a book that I am interested in for personal reasons. It's a novel. It's called Tilt, by Emma Petty. This comes out at the end of March, and it's a real high sort of concept plot. It's set over a single day. There's a woman, she's nine months pregnant. She lives in Portland, Oregon. She's at Ikea shopping for a crib. And a giant earthquake hits. And then she has to make it home. That's the plot. That's it. So it appeals to me for several reasons. Number one, anyone who's been inside IKEA already knows hell on Earth.

[Joumana Khatib]

Fair enough.

[Gilbert Cruz]

It's the true Minotaur's labyrinth. Like, you cannot make it out of an ikea.

[Joumana Khatib]

I disagree completely. They have arrows telling you where to go. It could not be more idiot.

[Gilbert Cruz]

And you keep going. Eventually, I'm sitting here, I've made it out of many an Ikea, but when you're in it, it feels endless. That's number one. Number two. So I have been to the Oregon coast many times for personal reasons. It's beautiful there. It's this town called Cannon Beach. It's gorgeous.

[Joumana Khatib]

Oh, yeah.

[Gilbert Cruz]

And I read a story in the New Yorker many years ago about the potential for the Cascadia Subduction Zone fault.

[Joumana Khatib]

The really big one.

[Gilbert Cruz]

To trigger the long, long overdue earthquake. And when that happens, if and when that happens, a giant tsunami will hit the Oregon coast, the Northern California coast, and just take out all these towns. And so I've actually developed a great fear of going to one of the places I love most in the world because I think a giant tsunami is going to wipe me out and my family. So I think I have to read this book and get over it. I have to face my fear.

[Joumana Khatib]

I'm just taking a moment. I mean, there's a lot of material here. Jennifer Melfi is shaking, however. Okay, now, serious question. Do you think that the author of this novel read that article? The really big one?

[Gilbert Cruz]

Absolutely. I feel like every first of all who lived in Portland read that article. Everyone who read in Oregon, California. Yeah, I actually just skimmed it and a couple follow up articles that the author did for the New Yorker this morning. And I'm scared all over again.

[Joumana Khatib]

Harrowing. Yeah, harrowing.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I'm very interested in this book holding.

[Joumana Khatib]

Power to account, by which we mean a fault line.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Oh, God, it's terrifying.

[Joumana Khatib]

Terrifying.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I cannot run that fast.

[Joumana Khatib]

I have another terrifying novel. Would that be helpful? We can get off of your fear and onto mine. So this is the long awaited fiction re entry by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She is known as the author of Americana and we should all be feminists. And it's been a long time since we've seen a work of fiction from her. So this is called Dream Count. This is coming out in March 4th. In a way, it has a very classical structure. It follows four women, but it's centered on a woman named Chiamaka, who is a Nigerian woman living in the States. She came to the States, she wanted to be a novelist. Now she's trying to work as a travel writer. She's ruminating on her past relationships. And crucially, this novel is set during COVID and really early Covid, right when she's still. She's talking about copying and pasting tweets from Italian doctors. So I remember those days and I said for years it was gonna take me ages before I could read about the pandemic in fiction because it was so visceral. But she has really rendered this in a moving way. She's a great writer on grief. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but that's such a difficult and multifaceted emotion and experience and almost altered reality to try and get down in writing. So it makes sense that she would take this up and I think a Lot of people are gonna be interested in this book because we haven't heard from her in a while.

[Gilbert Cruz]

It's about this time last year, a year ago in 2024, on this podcast, we had Steven Soderbergh, the filmmaker. And we had him on because he's not only a filmmaker, but he is quite a reader. And every year he publishes this list. I think I just put it in the Slack channel the other day, where he logs every day what he has read, what books he's read, what movies he's watched, what TV shows he's watched, what plays he's seen, et cetera. And at the end of 2023, he went on a real Chimamanda run. He read I either everything she has written or almost everything she has written. And it made me quite curious about getting into her backlist. I'm glad she has a new one coming out.

[Joumana Khatib]

Yeah, this could be a good entry point.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Can I tell you who I'm interested in?

[Joumana Khatib]

By all means.

[Gilbert Cruz]

The Pope.

[Joumana Khatib]

I've heard things.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Pope Francis. You know, he has a book coming out.

[Joumana Khatib]

Oh. He's a debut author.

[Gilbert Cruz]

It's called the Autobiography Hope by a Pope.

[Joumana Khatib]

The Pope's Hope by Pope.

[Gilbert Cruz]

It's the first memoir by a sitting pope. I don't know if that's a high bar or not, but that's coming out January 14th, and I'm sure a lot of people are going to buy it. I am slightly curious in checking it out. I'm also equally curious, however, in reading a book that comes out later this winter, which is called Jesus Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of the Catholic Church. This is by Philip Sheenan. He is a former reporter for the New York Times. And let me tell you what this book is about. You're going to get really excited. This is a look at the past.

[Joumana Khatib]

Seven popes, how many hundreds of years of Pope.

[Gilbert Cruz]

It only goes to mid 20th century. Right. So, Hope, the autobiography. One pope. This is a book about seven popes. We're talking Pius XII, John the 22nd, John the 23rd, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and then Francis, who's currently the Pope. And it's essentially a history of the modern Catholic Church. And I'm just. I can only be me, which is something I say way too often. I think I might read this very dense investigative report about the Catholic Church.

[Joumana Khatib]

What would you like to learn about the soul of the Catholic Church?

[Gilbert Cruz]

I just want to know where we're at.

[Joumana Khatib]

You want a temperature check?

[Gilbert Cruz]

Yeah. You Want to buy? You know, I grew up Catholic. I haven't really gone to church in quite a while. I just want to see what's going on. What are we doing?

[Joumana Khatib]

What's up?

[Gilbert Cruz]

So that's the autobiography by Pope Francis and Jesus Wept by Philip Sheenan.

[Joumana Khatib]

I'm going to talk about the Antidote by Karen Russell, which is a novel coming out in March. I don't like to do this because I don't like to generally quote from publicity material, but I am interested. I have never seen a work of contemporary fiction that lists as a character a quote, voluble scarecrow. Yes. Interesting. Interesting.

[Gilbert Cruz]

You mean like an angry scarecrow?

[Joumana Khatib]

Could be. I don't know. I don't know what shade of voluble this scarecrow is gonna be. Okay, this is a Dust bowl epic. This is set in Nebraska. It's a fictional town called Ooze, which I'm guessing is some very obvious wordplay on Oz. And there are several characters whose lives are thrown into chaos after this devastating storm or weather event, which is apparently what Midwestern meteorologists are using now. It drives me bananas because words have meanings and weather event doesn't mean anything to me. But there are all sorts of exciting characters in this book. Aside from the scarecrow. There is a prairie witch whose body serves as a sort of repository for people's secrets and memories and feelings. There's a farmer with an orphan niece.

[Gilbert Cruz]

So very Karen Russell stuff.

[Joumana Khatib]

Oh, yeah. This could be an amazing way to get introduced to Karen Russell if you are not familiar with her. Also, I'm just pro more Midwestern literature.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I'm going to go back to the Pacific Northwest. I'm going to talk about a piece of nonfiction that's coming out in early February. This is called Source Code by Bill Gates, the voluble Bill Gates. He's the co founder of Microsoft. He's lived sort of a big life. He claims that he's writing three memoirs. Three. That's like Bill Clinton esque.

[Joumana Khatib]

It's only worth it if you do it in threes.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Everything needs to be a trilogy. One will be, as he has written about his life as a philanthropist, which is how he spends his time now. One is about his years at Microsoft. This first one is about his childhood, his teenage years, his early college years. It's a big memoir. People are fascinated by this guy who's changed the modern face of technology. Interestingly enough, his ex wife, Melinda Frenchgates also has a book coming out in the next few months. Her book is called the next day April 15th. I don't think they're going to be packaged together, but you can buy them separately and put them together.

[Joumana Khatib]

Let's move into the heavy hitter section.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Let's do that.

[Joumana Khatib]

Okay. Who's a heavy hitter among my friends and loved ones and other people across the United States. M hens, we have a new romance from Emily Henry coming in April called Great Big Beautiful Life. And you may know Emily Henry for her romances, Funny Story and Happy Place. And now she's back with a new one. And this one is about writers. And I am obviously interested in this. As somebody who has watched writers get together and break apart, this follows two biographers who are vying for the opportunity to get the life story of this kind of reclusive tabloid mainstay. She's an heiress, she sounds eccentric. And she invites both of these writers to audition for the chance to land her life story. One is Alice, who is relatively untested. She's still waiting for her first big break, but she is relentlessly optimistic, as is far more common in youth than middle age. And then her opponent is Hayden, who is a decorated author, Pulitzer Prize winner. Also sounds like a real Eeyore. And no, I love Eeyores have their place.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Eeyores have their place. Thank you.

[Joumana Khatib]

So anyway, as you can imagine, chemistry ensues. Who's gonna get the story? Are they gonna work together? We'll see. We'll see. But I think that could be some nice levity by the time that April rolls around.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I read an Emily Henry book last year on vacation.

[Joumana Khatib]

Which one?

[Gilbert Cruz]

Book Lovers. It was very charming.

[Joumana Khatib]

Oh, good.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I was rooting for them the whole time. Let us go to another popular author. Suzanne Collins has a new Hunger Games book coming out. It's called Sunrise on the Reaping. Have you read any of these?

[Joumana Khatib]

No, but I should.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay. Added to your list of things to do this year, this is the fifth Hunger Games book. So they're the first three. The trilogy, Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, and then a couple years ago, she wrote a prequel, the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. This one is another prequel. It's about the character Haymitch Abernathy. Awesome name. If my dog didn't already have a name, I would name him Haymitch. For those of you who've seen the movie, this is the character played by Woody Harrelson in the films. He is the sort of the one who's made it through the trials, who is tasked with training and shepherding Katniss through the Hunger Games. I think it's going to be a big one.

[Joumana Khatib]

Should we go into Lightning Round, Gilbert?

[Gilbert Cruz]

I think we should.

[Joumana Khatib]

Okay. All right. I'm going to start with audition by Katie Kitamura. This is for people who like Trust Exercise by Susan Choi or Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday. Older actress, younger man having lunch. We don't know how they're related. Midway through, the story flips. It's exciting.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I have the crash by Freida McFadden. This comes out in late January. Do you know who Freida McFadden is?

[Joumana Khatib]

I do. She's a thriller writer.

[Gilbert Cruz]

She is a thriller writer. Our reporter Alexandra Alter wrote about her last June. And when Alexandra wrote about her, she at the time was the fastest selling thriller writer in the U.S. amazing story. She's a doctor who treats brain disorders and then decided to become a writer.

[Joumana Khatib]

We're lucky to have her.

[Gilbert Cruz]

She has a new book coming out at the end of January. There is another thriller. I'm putting this in for Tina Jordan, who is our deputy editor, who loved the last book that this author wrote. Deanna Raybourn has a new book coming out, Kills well with Others at the beginning of March. It's the follow up to Killers of a Certain Age. That book was about four female assassins who are older in life. I think they're about retirement age. And this is just the next book in that series.

[Joumana Khatib]

You know what I'm excited about is a Yoko biography by David Sheff.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Yoko Ono.

[Joumana Khatib]

Yoko Ono. Does she need any introduction?

[Gilbert Cruz]

Are there too many Beatles books?

[Joumana Khatib]

I'm not gonna answer that.

[Gilbert Cruz]

There's actually another Beatles book coming out this spring. I think it's about the relationship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon. And it is typical of a man to use this opportunity when you're talking about Yoko Ono to talk about the Beatles.

[Joumana Khatib]

I think that's what the Beatles really nailed about the enduring parts of culture.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Wow.

[Joumana Khatib]

Next.

[Gilbert Cruz]

So cliche.

[Joumana Khatib]

Yep.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Tina Knowles, who you might know as the mother of Beyonce Knowles and Solange Knowles.

[Joumana Khatib]

Thank you.

[Gilbert Cruz]

I was getting there. She has written her own memoir. It's called Matriarch, a memoir, by all accounts an amazing woman who's raised two. The more successful, most successful musicians of our age. I'm in.

[Joumana Khatib]

Do you think she talks about the elevator fight?

[Gilbert Cruz]

I would not deign to speculate. I would not deign to speculate. Some other ones are coming out the rest of the year. I think I've mentioned it before, but I'm going to mention it again. Ron Chernow, the author of Hamilton, the biography that was turned into the musical. The author of a George Washington biography that won a Pulitzer many years ago has his next biography. It is 1,000 pages, I believe, or over a thousand pages. And it's about Mark Twain, the author of the book that inspired James by Percival Everett. Are you going to read this?

[Joumana Khatib]

I will probably be contractually obligated to read this.

[Gilbert Cruz]

You will have to read it.

[Joumana Khatib]

Yes, I will have to read it. Do you think it's going to turn into a musical?

[Gilbert Cruz]

I don't know, but I already saw showboats. I don't know that we need other musicals set on the Mississippi River. A couple of other books coming out in May, the Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong Spence by Alison Bechdel, the great graphic novelist, and Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine, who is Janine Cummins.

[Joumana Khatib]

She is the author of American Dirt, which is the embattled novel of, I don't know, five, six years ago. Five years ago that inspired a lot of blowback because it told the story of a mother and son fleeing into the United States from Central America. And it got ugly.

[Gilbert Cruz]

It did. It did. It's going to be amazing to see what the reception is to this book.

[Joumana Khatib]

It's interesting because we have another somewhat embattled writer returning this summer. And I'm talking, of course, about James Fry, who, as you remember, was lambasted by Oprah. She definitely picked it as her book club pick and then dropped it when she had a Latina read it.

[Gilbert Cruz]

What's the name of James Fry's new book?

[Joumana Khatib]

So James Fry is coming back with a novel called Next to Heaven, which is an anti marriage plot set in New Bethlehem, Connecticut. There is a key party. There's a lot of money, a lot of cocaine.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Okay. That is in June. Also in June, Taylor Jenkins Reid, very well known, bestselling author, has a book called Atmosphere. S.A. cosby, the thriller writer, has a book called King of Ashes. And then V E Schwab, the author of the Invisible Life of Addie Larue, has a new book coming out called Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. And that takes us through June. And I think midyear will come and we'll do this again.

[Joumana Khatib]

We'll see you then.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Thank you, Joumana, for coming on and expressing enthusiasm for so many books.

[Joumana Khatib]

My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

[Gilbert Cruz]

Happy New Year to you and to you and Happy New Year to all you listeners of the Book Review podcast. That was Jumana Khatib talking about some books she's excited for in early 2025. I'm Gilbert Cruz, editor of the New York Times Book Review. As always, thank you for listening.