November Staff Picks
Four days in and this month already feels like a lifetime. November was always going to be a whirlwind this year, so take a break from doomscrolling to check out some of the books that have been pulling us through this month. You can find all our past staff picks here.
Imagine a mash-up of Wilder Girls and Beauty and the Beast: that's what you're getting from this novel. In turns tender and terrifying, Among the Beasts and Briars is a truly stellar fantasy romance that had me hooked from beginning to end. Ashley Poston's writing is gorgeous, her worldbuilding thorough but seamless, and the tension carefully built between the two unlikely leads, Cerys the gardener's daughter and Fox the now-reluctantly-human, is engrossing. Woven through this compelling romance is a story of legacy; of thinking critically about the stories you've been spoon-fed your whole life; of imagining the world how it could be in spite of the way that it is. And when the world is cursed and chaotic and hungry, striving to fix it is no small feat. —Abby
This may be a wild pick for November 2020, but I’m not backing down. I’m reading this along with the podcast Octavia’s Parables hosted by Adrienne Marie Brown and Toshi Reagon and I highly recommend it, especially if this is your first time reading the book, but also for anyone who loves the series and wants to take a deep dive into all the nooks and crannies of this prophetic world. In the dystopia of 2024, America is highly unstable. Climate collapse, mass disease, violence, and hunger have ravaged the country. Lauren, just 15 years old, knows things are only going to get worse and her walled neighborhood is becoming less safe by the day. This is her journey to figuring out how to survive the wreckage of an uninhabitable world and create a future for the next generation. I’m taking notes and reminding myself at every turn, God is Change. —Colleen
As this surreal year nears its end, the mood of reflection is all over us, so I want to share with you all a book that has continued to make me reflect on romantic love, family, and marriage. This is the book that I want to shove in the hands of all my friends who tell me that they want to get married or they are about to get married.
Calhoun's essays are structured–as the title suggests–as wedding toasts she'll never give. This comes from the feeling that strikes her while at weddings, listening to the couple exchange vows of togetherness, love, dedication, she is often struck by how the day's joy is not abound with soaring expectations yet lack frank conversations about the day-to-day experience of monogamous matrimony. —Danni
At any given moment, there are between 37 and 43 titles in my Top 5 Favorite Books of All Time but I assure you that Last Orders is actually in my top 5. It's about the lifelong relationships among four drinking buddies in a working class section of London. One of them dies and the other three go to scatter his ashes with his adult son. That's it. That's the whole story. Except, of course, it isn't. —Eddie
You know what I think we all need right now? Some cake. Simple ones. Think of this book as delicious self-care. —Emma
As a born and bred New Yorker what I'm about to say is sacrilege: I had fun in a suburban New Jersey mall. That is, THE MALL.
Going back to the 90s was exactly the carefree escapism I needed. Mixtapes. Scrunchies. Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch. And an epic female-friendship scavenger hunt following 1980s relic Cabbage Patch Kids hidden in the mall's nooks and crannies. —Jacque
In my opinion, Marie Lu is the queen of YA and writes books that people of all ages will fall in love with. In The Young Elites (which is the first book in this trilogy), Lu takes the "villain origin story" framework and jam packs it with so much heart and emotion–specifically pain, sorrow, and betrayal–that you won't be able to help but root for the bad guy (or gal in this case). I'm warning you now though, this series may very well wreck you, but in the absolute BEST way possible! —Lindsay
To read Monstress is to immediately fall head-first into a huge, sprawling and fully realized world — complete with a deep historical fantasy background and eldritch beings. Maika Halfwolf, the series protagonist, is trying to figure out what happened to her mother, and why a dark, hungry entity has taken residence inside her, all while navigating a brutal war and those hunting her down. The writing in Monstress takes no prisoners and left me out of breath and on the edge of my seat. (Content warning: graphic violence) —Michael Chin
If 2020 hasn’t made you want to live in a van down by the river, I don’t know what to tell you. I’ve certainly contemplated getting a sweet van and traveling around. But, after reading Nomadland, I realized that it’s not all open roads and fresh air. Most nomads are retirement aged and have seasonal positions at Am*z*n that forces them to work twelve hour grueling days picking products for very little money. Nomadland is a sobering look at the American dream and how tough roads lead to real hardship. It’s also being adapted as a film starring Frances McDormand directed by Chloé Zhao! –Mike FS
A novel split in two halves masterfully blending horror and humor! The first set in a sanatorium in 1900s Buenos Aires. A group of doctors hatch an unusual plan involving guillotines and terminal cancer patients to find out what happens after death. The second half takes place one hundred years later, where an avant-garde artist pushes the boundaries of body art. A captivating, and surprising read full of surrealism and absurdity! —Natalie
I don't know what to tell you... it's There There. If you haven't read it by now you are one of the few and you are missing out. This book is already an American classic. —Nick
Reading this novel is like walking a familiar route, realizing midway through that your surroundings are completely unrecognizable, and then wandering around trying to figure out whether this is reality or a dream. The world Bae Suah conjures is equal parts surreal, alarming, disorienting, and dread-inducing. In other words, Untold Night and Day feels a lot like 2020. —Nika
A bit about me: Sula is my favorite Toni Morrison novel. I love Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John, and her Lucy. I loved Janie Crawford, from Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, and Esch from Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones. I have Helen Ellis’ American Housewife on my TBR. If some, or all, of these things are true for you too, then you, like me, might also feel that Deesha Philyaw is a writer you’ve been waiting for. The women and girls that populate this collection are complex and imperfect, but indelible. Their stories will move you, make you laugh, make you sigh. Philyaw’s voice is striking, memorable, her style: fresh and inventive. A truly remarkable book—and it’s a super quick read, so give it a go and thank me later! —Serena
They burned down the market on the day Vivek Oji died - so begins one of the most beautiful and heart wrenching novels of 2020. Vivek’s mother discovers her child’s body wrapped neatly in a cloth and laid in front of their home. Unable to reconcile the circumstances of his death she embarks on a grief-laden mission to find out how he really died. The explorations of grief, shame, love, and queerness are tenderly rendered and the ending will both break your heart and warm you. —Shulokhana
We choose new staff picks every month, so stay tuned for regular updates.
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