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January's Most Anticipated New Books
A brand new month, year, and decade brings a brand new batch of books as we look at the most anticipated titles in January.
Jeanine Cummins' American Dirt has generated tremendous advance buzz with its from-the-headlines story of desperate migrants running for the border. When We Were Vikings channels the ferocious spirit of everyone's favorite Nordic overachievers. Author Anna Wiener tours the dark but remarkably swanky underbelly of Silicon Valley with a new and revealing memoir. Also, drunk dragons, the Spanish Civil War and a cautionary tale regarding racial profiling.
Each month the Goodreads Editorial team takes a look at the books that are being published in the U.S., readers' early reviews, and how many readers are adding these books to their Want to Read shelves (which is how we measure anticipation). We use the information to curate this list of hottest new releases.
Jeanine Cummins' American Dirt has generated tremendous advance buzz with its from-the-headlines story of desperate migrants running for the border. When We Were Vikings channels the ferocious spirit of everyone's favorite Nordic overachievers. Author Anna Wiener tours the dark but remarkably swanky underbelly of Silicon Valley with a new and revealing memoir. Also, drunk dragons, the Spanish Civil War and a cautionary tale regarding racial profiling.
Each month the Goodreads Editorial team takes a look at the books that are being published in the U.S., readers' early reviews, and how many readers are adding these books to their Want to Read shelves (which is how we measure anticipation). We use the information to curate this list of hottest new releases.
Widely heralded as 2020s first must-read novel, American Dirt is a contemporary immigrant story ripped straight from the headlines. Bookseller Lydia Perez and her family once enjoyed a comfortable middle-class life in Acapulco. Then came the drug cartels. Now Lydia and her son are on the road to America, El Norte, just two more terrified people in a river of desperate migrants. Stephen King calls it “an extraordinary piece of work.”
Release date:January 21
Release date:January 21
Chilean-American author Allende turns the clock back to the late 1930s for her new historical fiction novel, another story of migrants and exiles. Civil War has descended on Spain and people are fleeing the country by the thousands every day. A pregnant young widow is forced into a marriage of necessity with the brother of her deceased husband. The two depart for the high seas and emigrate to South America, sponsored by the poet and diplomat Pablo Neruda.
Release date: January 21
Release date: January 21
In a neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other walks those same blocks on her police beat. When one of the sisters goes missing during a string of unsolved murders the search for her—and the killer on the loose—become all-consuming.
Release date: January 7
Release date: January 7
Everybody likes Vikings, right? The horns, the beards, the playful pillaging. But 21-year-old Zelda really likes Vikings, and when her older brother gets into trouble, she finds she must channel their immortal strength. This uplifting debut novel, for adults young and old, is recommended for fans of The Silver Linings Playbook and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Release date: January 28
Release date: January 28
Emira Tucker is a good babysitter. But she gets caught up in the strange eddies of 21st century racism when a security guard sees her out at night with her white toddler ward—and accuses Emira of kidnapping. With cell phone cameras rolling, the incident plunges Emira, her employer, and the kids into a whirlpool of contemporary American weirdness. Such a Fun Age is an ambitious debut novel about race, family, empathy and trust.
Release date: December 31
Release date: December 31
Anna Weiner's fearless memoir details her adventures as a 20-something seeker in Silicon Valley, just as the tech industry descends into unchecked ambition and Wall Street style madness. Her first-person accounts reveal some uncomfortable truths. It's an instantly resonant story for millennials, but also for anyone who remember the Internet dream of the 1990s—before the colossal multinationals, toxic trolls, and misinformation brokers.
Read our interview with Wiener here.
Release date: January 14
Read our interview with Wiener here.
Release date: January 14
From Eoin Colfer, author of the legendary Artemis Fowl series comes a new fantasy adventure for grown-ups. Back in the day, the ferocious wyrm Wyvern—Lord Highfire of the Highfire Eyrie—used to terrorize the kingdoms of man with shadow and flame! Now he's shacked up in a Louisiana bayou fishing shack, drinking vodka, binging Netflix, and dealing with Cajun delinquents and crooked cops. What happened? Where did the dream go wrong?
Release date: January 28
Release date: January 28
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
Check out more recent articles, including:
The Most Read Books on Goodreads...Right Now
Goodreads Staffers' Top Three Books of the 2019
Super Readers Share Their Best Tips to Read More in 2020
Check out more recent articles, including:
The Most Read Books on Goodreads...Right Now
Goodreads Staffers' Top Three Books of the 2019
Super Readers Share Their Best Tips to Read More in 2020
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Cynthia
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Dec 31, 2019 01:02AM
Anything yo do with Vikings though mainly factual this new When we were Vikings book sounds fun
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Why have you included a 31st Dec release?
American Dirt and Highfire look good.
kittykat wrote: "Why have you included a 31st Dec release?"Because unless you read really fast, you won't finish it until January. ;)
What great books! I cannot wait for 2020... I had the luck of getting an ARC of 'When We Were Vikings' it is fabulous and has a wonderful, unusual heroine- truly a must-read!!!
Brianna wrote: "Ariana wrote: "What great books! I cannot wait for 2020... I had the luck of getting an ARC of 'When We Were Vikings' it is fabulous and has a wonderful, unusual heroine- truly a must-read!!!"I'm..."
Brianna- It's not what I usually read either so I know what you mean. Actually, I read it because I met the author and was moved by how he spoke about the story- it is truly brilliant.
I entered a contest and won an Advanced Reading Copy of American Dirt from Flat Iron Books. The story is compelling, beautifully written and timely. You won’t be able to put this American Dirt down. It will stay with you.....forever.
where is the a j finn book ? :( :( :(
I'm really excited to read The Alibi Girl by C.J. Skuse, although I think it's due to be released in February. The first two in the series were amazing.
Alicia wrote: "I can think of plenty better.. The Hand on the Wall Come Tumbling Down A Heart So Fierce and Broken"YES to Come Tumbling Down!
Does anyone here think that the Long Bright River will be the next Barnes and Noble book club pick? Sounds like a good story!
Anca-Daniela wrote: "where is the a j finn book ? :( :( :("AJ Finn has another book coming out? Where did you see that? Love thrillers/mysteries!
Why are they almost all racial? One of Us is Next is supposedly a massively anticipated release, why hasn't that been mentioned?
Ariana wrote: "What great books! I cannot wait for 2020... I had the luck of getting an ARC of 'When We Were Vikings' it is fabulous and has a wonderful, unusual heroine- truly a must-read!!!"This one sounds good to me. Glad you enjoyed it. Always nice to see a positive review before tracking down a book.
"Long Bright River" seems interesting.
Samantha Victorian go back home in time you going back from lunch today
Liam wrote: "Why are they almost all racial?"Racial?
Reading "Such a Fun Age". It's good!
"Prosper's Demon", "Riot Baby", "The Companion", "Pine", "The Thief Knot"...
TheCultureVulture wrote: "Liam wrote: "Why are they almost all racial?"Racial?"
Oh, the trials and travails of the White Man who can't bear to see non-White authors being profiled... Used to a different kind of racial profiling, huh?
So sad for you :)
I think he meant "having to do with racism," not "written by POC". Shall I Download A Black Hole And Offer It To You wrote: "TheCultureVulture wrote: "Liam wrote: "Why are they almost all racial?"
Racial?"
Oh, the trials and travails of the White Man who can't bear to see non-White authors being profiled... Used to a d..."
Liam wrote: "Why are they almost all racial? One of Us is Next is supposedly a massively anticipated release, why hasn't that been mentioned?"
Racial?! I guess everything is racial since we all uh have a race.
Alicia wrote: "I can think of plenty better.. The Hand on the Wall Come Tumbling Down A Heart So Fierce and Broken"I wonder if you need to pay amazon to make these lists...
I’m really looking forward to “When We Were Vikings”!But who else is exited for “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”?
Can't wait to read, "The Split" by Sharon Bolton a true wordsmith"The Degenerates" by J. Albert Mann also sounds interesting
Alice Feeney's new novel, "His & Hers"
Crooked River by Preston n ChildThe Vanishing by Jayne Krentz
The Ancestor by Danielle Trusonni
Journey of the Pharaoh by Clive Cussler
Last Odyssey by James Rollins
Cartiers Hope by MJ Rose
American Dirt by J. Cummins
Night Country by Melissa Albert
Alicia wondered "if you need to pay Amazon to make these lists". Amazong actually owns Goodreads.
I have just finished my first book for 2020. The wall by john lanchester, i know it was out in 2019 but i got it as christmas present, so it is down as my first read for this year. The title gives a clue about the story, with rising waters a wall has been built to keep people referred to as others out of britain,it might be a story of the not to distant future, a great read. I am also looking forward to This tender land by William kent krueger. Because of the cost i always wait on the paperback
Looking forward to Highfire by Eoin Colfer. I hope it will be fun as Artemis Fowl. God i miss those books
The Splendid and the Vile, Erik LarsonAnd Crooked River, Preston and Child, too, of course.
Already read American Dirt, sad and fabulous.
Valerie wrote: "I entered a contest and won an Advanced Reading Copy of American Dirt from Flat Iron Books. The story is compelling, beautifully written and timely. You won’t be able to put this American Dirt down..."I want this so bad and now that you have reviewed it I want it more, thanks for letting us know it is good!!!!
I have just started recursion by Blake crouch, next is Tombland by C.J. Sansom and with nearly 900 pages could take me a while, but having read Dissolution and Sovereign I'm looking forward to a bit of historical fiction again. Having read Valeries comments on American dirt I'm butting it on my list.
Ariana wrote: "What great books! I cannot wait for 2020... I had the luck of getting an ARC of 'When We Were Vikings' it is fabulous and has a wonderful, unusual heroine- truly a must-read!!!"Thanks for the info, Ariana. I've got it on my TBR list.
As a descendant of Vikings, I've got to add When We Were Vikings. And Highfire because Colfer's talent is incredible.
Chelsea wrote: "I have devoured Such a Fun Age in less than 5 hours. And I genuinely want to reread it. ❤❤❤"That's one of the few 2020 releases that I think I'll actually read this year.
I am most definitely looking forward to Eoin Colfer - Highfire. I read Artemis Fowl as a kid and I really want to read the new book now as an adult :D
Pam wrote: "Valerie wrote: "I entered a contest and won an Advanced Reading Copy of American Dirt from Flat Iron Books. The story is compelling, beautifully written and timely. You won’t be able to put this Am..."I just loved this book so much while others hated it, I cried and and cried at what they had to go through, just my thoughts
