What to read next: Buzzy new January books, old favorites, and New Year’s resolution helpers
The first full week of January has ushered in those back-to-work/back-to-school feelings, so its no surprise the Amazon Editors are recommending books that will simultaneously catapult your affection for literature and encourage your New Year’s resolutions. From buzzy new books that you’ll be hearing about to those that won awards last year and a decade ago, here are the books that the Editors are recommending.
Out this week (and one of our Best Books of the Month), I haven't been able to stop thinking about this quietly beautiful novel. The story follows an estranged mother and son as they confront the defining moment that drove them apart. Peter is an immigration lawyer adrift in life until a gay teenage boy seeking asylum forces him to wrestle with a violent act from his youth. Ann, Peter’s mother, is proud of the life she’s built running a women’s retreat center but is wounded and confused by Peter’s distance. As Peter struggles with the memories he hasn’t allowed himself to revisit for decades, he’s drawn to the one person he’s spent his adult life avoiding. At its core, this book is about how we’re shaped by the narratives we tell about ourselves, and how others bear witness to them. It explores the past’s power over the present, and the courage it takes to face it for a better future. Exceptional writing with emotional depth that took my breath away, this book is both intimate and profound. —Abby Abell, Amazon Editor
I typically only have one thought when it comes to exercise: please no. But Bill Hayes’ latest, Sweat: A History of Exercise, changed my mind. Not just a book that will make you want to dust off your legwarmers and get to steppin,’ it’s a fascinating study of movement. No, really. While I am a big fan of Hayes’ work, especially his memoir Insomniac City, I was initially dubious to take a deep dive into the cultural and scientific origins of a subject that is complicated for many, particularly those who are already abandoning certain New Year’s resolutions and repurposing newly-gifted exercise apparatuses as expensive drying racks for laundry. But Hayes could write about underwater basket weaving and it would be interesting, and Sweat is no exception. —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor
Movies squeeze complex stories into just two hours, so, though I loved Netflix’s The Six Triple Eight, I felt I needed to turn to a book to get more depth. It’s a reminder to be thankful to books for telling stories that need to be told. Both the movie and the book center on the years long delay of mail delivered to the front during World War II. In fact, by late 1944, over 17 million pieces of undelivered mail sat in hangars in England. When the connection between the mail embargo and low morale among US troops was realized, action was needed. Enter the Six Triple Eight, 855 members of the only all-Black battalion in the Women’s Army Corps, which, despite objections from the Army brass, was deployed to Europe, and given six months to clear the backlog. Despite heinous conditions (even German POWs enjoyed more creature comforts than the 6888th), ugly racist treatment, and a lack of support, they did it in less than 90 days. Best of the Month pick Sisters in Arms is a great read, a warm, inspiring fictionalized account of what the 6888th accomplished and a tale of love, bravery, and camaraderie. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
Now’s your chance to get one of the Amazon Editors’ Best Books of 2024 in paperback. Martyr! tells the story of Cyrus Shams, who is struggling to find himself after the shocking death of his mother at a young age, which ricocheted throughout his family as they immigrated from Iran to America. Full of heart and struggle, joy and striving, you’ll want to wrap your arms around Cyrus as he makes a life-altering journey to New York City’s Brooklyn to find closure in expected ways. This addictively readable novel by poet Kaveh Akbar is full of twists and turns, and contains some of the most creative writing I’ve read in years (which is not entirely surprising, given that Akbar is a poet). I read the entire book on a single flight. Shortlisted for the National Book Award and named one of the Amazon Editors’ definitive books of 2024, this coming-of-age tale is one you don’t want to miss. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
I ended up reading this in a day and it might not be what you expect—which is why we named it one of the Best Memoirs of January. Kari Farrell wasn't a glamorous con woman buying designer clothes and living the high life. Kari Farrell wrote bad checks, stole from friends and strangers alike, lied her way into jobs at places like Gawker and VICE, and became known as the “Hipster Grifter” along the way. This is more than a true crime memoir—it’s also about transnational adoption, being 'other,' and the extra level of degradation imposed on women who are incarcerated. You’ll Never Believe Me is also about a woman who feared that she is somehow irreparably broken, finding her way out of the darkness and onto the path of redemption, one step at a time, told with humor and a lot of heart. —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
With the New Year upon us, and the Winter and Spring most anticipated fiction and nonfiction books of 2025 set, I'm getting excited for one of my favorite authors publishing in March, Column McCann. Twist is his new novel, but until it's available, I'm returning to his National Book Award Winning Let the Great World Spin. Set during the 70s, this kaleidoscopic novel follows myriad characters in New York City, all reckoning with their own personal lives and the freedom, roiling energy, and loss of innocence that the decade ushered in. I remember being utterly absorbed in the story and walking around New York seeing everything just a little bit differently after reading this exquisite novel. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
Just this morning, I handed this book to my colleague and urged him to read it. His response: "This is perfect, I've been looking for a good necromancy book." What other recommendation do you need? From Korean author Sung-il Kim and translated by Anton Hur, Blood of the Old Kings is a wildly imaginative epic fantasy that hits all the right beats. Right from the first chapter, the reader is thrust into a world under tyrannical rule of an expanding empire—an empire whose war machines are powered by magic harvested from the corpses of dead sorcerers. A dragon lays in chains in the heart of a volcano. A woman who has lost everything seeks vengeance for those the empire took from her. And so, they strike a deal—an eye for an eye, power in return for sacrifice. What follows is a quest for redemption and revenge that pulls you in and keeps you glued to the page with surprises around every corner. —Ben Grange, Amazon Editor
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