Winter Preview 2023

I’ll be honest, I’m constantly debating with myself whether or not to keep this blog going. I love books and reading as much as ever, but the blog is a lot of work. Instagram is so much easier and Sarah’s Bookshelves Live podcast so much more fun. But, I just cant seem to say goodbye to it, so I’m in for another year. Let’s kick it off with Winter Preview 2023! I always have fun pulling these previews together and they really keep me on top of my own reading. I’ve twenty potential best books here, so I hope you can find a few to add to your own 2023 “to be read” lists. And, if you stop back by on Wednesday you’ll find me sharing my Best Books of 2022.

January Releases

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (debut)
Publisher: Ballantine Books (1/3)
Length: 352 pages

The Draw.
– “Widow” with an unearned reputation
– Women taking control of their lives.
– A debut with a lot of humor.

Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Publisher: Random House (1/3)
Length: 368 pages

The Draw
– A history lesson the Sri Lankan civil war.
– A sister must persist when brothers vanish.
– Coming-of-age in an uncertain landscape.

Small World by Laura Zigman
Publisher: Ecco Press (1/10)
Length: 304 pages

The Draw
– Recently divorced sisters move in together.
– Family secrets come to light.
– Written with both sensitivity and humor.

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Publisher: Mariner Books (1/17)
Length: 382 pages

The Draw
– That title!
– Narrator writes books on “how to write books.”
– Family reunion at a ski resort.

Vintage Contemporaries by Dan Kois
Publisher: Harper (1/17)
Length: 256 pages

The Draw
– Em arrives in NYC in 1991 with nothing.
– By 2004 she’s a successful book editor.
– Story of friendships across time.

Margot by Wendell Steavenson
Publisher: W.W. Norton (1/24)
Length: 288 pages

The Draw
– 1950’s/60’s NYC & Boston settings.
– Caustic mother-daughter relationship.
– Daughter forging her own path after tragedy.

Daughter In Exile by Bisi Adjapon
Publisher: HarperVia (1/31)
Length: 400 pages

The Draw
– Ghanian woman falls for U.S. Marine.
– Arrives in the U.S. an undocumented immigrant.
– Much for book clubs to discuss!

February Releases

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
Publisher: Knopf (2/7)
Length: 336 pages

The Draw
– Sophomore novel from the author of Stay With Me.
– Differences between the haves and have-nots in Nigeria.
– Wealth, power, romantic obsession, and political corruption.

Stealing by Margaret Verble
Publisher: Mariner Books (2/7)
Length: 224 pages

The Draw
– Motherless girl befriends neighbor.
– Cherokee child sent to Christian boarding school.
– 1950’s coming-of-age story wrapped in a history lesson.

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Publisher: Harper (2/7)
Length: 384 pages

The Draw
– I love those Greek mythology retellings!
– The story of Medusa reimagined.
– One of the earliest women injured by a powerful man.

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2/7)
Length: 160 pages

The Draw
– Widower pushes his daughter on the squash court.
– A life reduced to the sport.
– It’s a debut and SO short!

The Applicant by Nazli Koca
Publisher: Grove Press (2/14)
Length: 304 pages

The Draw
– The 2007 Berlin setting.
– Story of an immigrant whose also an emerging writer.
– “…an original and darkly funny debut.”

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel
Publisher: Knopf (2/14)
Length: 464 pages

The Draw
– Inspired by a true story of six women gone missing.
– Twin sisters can’t escape the chaos of their lives.
– I still haven’t read Betty, so it’s time to read McDaniel.

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Publisher: Viking (2/21)
Length: 400 pages

The Draw
– The Great Believers was my Best Book of  2018.
– A woman who’s content to forget her past.
– Campus novel, mystery, a woman’s reckoning mash-up.

Early March Releases

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (3/7)
Length: 432 pages

The Draw
– A “guerrilla” gardening group trying to do good.
– A billionaire with a very different outlook.
– I like the sound of this twisty psychological thriller.

Women Are the Fiercest Creatures by Andrea Dunlop
Publisher: Zibby Books (3/7)
Length: 272 pages

The Draw
– Loved Dunlop’s last book, We Came Here to Forget.
– Three women taking revenge on a tech CEO.
– That title!

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Publisher: Dial Press (3/14)
Length: 400 pages

The Draw
– Really enjoyed her last book, Dear Edward.
– A story of families, both damaged and hopeful.
– A young couple, trauma from his past threatens to divide her family.

A Likely Story by Leigh McMullan Abramson
Publisher: Atria Books (3/14)
Length: 352 pages

The Draw
– Isabelle, the only child of a famous novelist.
– Struggling at 35, she stumbles on a shocking secret.
– Its book-within-a-book structure.

Our Best Intentions by Vibhuti Jain (debut)
Publisher: William Morrow & Company (3/14)
Length: 352 pages

The Draw
– Immigrant family involved in criminal investigation.
– The lengths families will go to to protect their own.
– It’s a debut told from multiple perspectives.

Rootless by Krystle Zara Appiah (debut)
Publisher: Ballantine Books (3/14)
Length: 368 pages

The Draw
– A man comes home and his wife is gone.
– The then and now of a marriage collapsing.
– “…a heartrending love story about motherhood and sacrifice.”

What books are you most excited about this winter?

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