What to read next: a best seller coming to the big screen, a National Book Award finalist, a book to make you laugh, and more
This week we’re recommending the book behind a movie that’s sure to be a blockbuster, a fascinating biography of a music legend, a book that made us laugh out loud, and more. Fall is turning to winter and it’s a great time to get cozy on the couch with a great book—happy reading!
If you go to the movies over Thanksgiving weekend, you’ll likely see the fantastic trailer for Dog Man and if you’ve got kids, they are going to want to see it (even I want to see it!). The movie looks great, but don’t forget about the graphic novel behind the film—the first of a series that will release its #13 installment on December 3rd, Dog Man: Big Jim Begins. In the first book, a crime fighting half-dog, half-man (Dog Man) takes on Petey, the cat villain, while trying to control his canine instincts with limited success. It’s funny, with important themes of kindness and friendship, and just an absolute delight. It’s no wonder kids have gone crazy for the series, and if you’re trying to choose a gift for a kid in the ages 6-10 range, this is a winner. —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
Known as the “red dirt boogie brother,” Jesse Ed Davis may be the most talented, influential guitarist you think you’ve never heard of (listen to his guitar work on songs like Jackson Browne’s Doctor My Eyes). Of Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, Seminole, and Mvskoke heritage, Davis was also the most influential Indigenous musician of his time. He died at an untimely age, but this biography, that explores his status as the musician’s musician, does an excellent job of restoring him to his rightful place in the annals of rock’s greats. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
One of our top 10 Best Books of the Year, this is one of the most honest and hilarious books I’ve read in ages, and this feels like a good time for laughter. It takes a scalpel to the expectations we place on ourselves and the pressures of being “good,” and celebrates how freeing it is to stop giving a @#$&. Phoebe shows up at the Cornwall Inn in Rhode Island with no luggage and a grand plan. But aside from Phoebe, the inn is completely booked for a wedding, and the exacting bride has accounted for all possible scenarios…except Phoebe. A chance encounter between the two strangers changes everything, and unexpectedly leads Phoebe to become one of the wedding people. What follows is a candid, resonating, and I can’t say it enough, FUNNY, story about how chance encounters can lead to the most surprising outcomes. Phenomenal writing with endearingly flawed characters, this is one of my favorite books of the year so far. I’m recommending it to everyone I know. —Abby Abell, Amazon Editor
In the US, many participate in the great American pastime of awkward conversations around the Thanksgiving table. Arguably as much a sport as flag football, this occasions people of different faiths, political bents, and philosophies, to break bread together, but not break each other. After bonding over the superiority of canned cranberry sauce compared to homemade (the suction it emits as it exits the can is the sound of Thanksgiving!), you really don’t care to. A feeling of conviviality overtakes, and you find that you actually have a few things in common with the person you enthusiastically trolled on social media only a day before—things you can (hopefully) build on. Dinner with the President is a gripping gastronomic history that explores this non-trivial phenomenon on a grander scale, revealing the ways in which savvy POTUS have harnessed the political power of culinary communion. It provides fascinating food for thought (sorry/not sorry). —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor
The 75th National Book Awards--the book industry's Oscars—are being held this week. So many of the Amazon Editors favorites and Best Books of the Year are finalists, including: James by Percival Everett and Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. In the nonfiction department, I'm rooting for Knife by Salman Rushdie and Whiskey Tender. And because this is a year of underdogs, our #1 Best Book of the Year, The Boys of Riverside, is unabashedly that—I'm recommending readers pick up the underdog, debut memoir Whiskey Tender. It's a reminder of just how good memoirs can be: emotional and intense, shocking and quotidian, with wild moments that are rendered with the perfect balance of outrageous intrigue and unfiltered honesty. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
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