USA TODAY International Edition
Rapinoe’s ‘ One Life’ leads the hot list
In search of something good to read? USA TODAY's Barbara VanDenburgh scopes out the shelves for this week’s hottest new book releases.
1. “One Life,” by Megan Rapinoe ( Penguin Press, nonfiction, on sale Nov. 10)
What it’s about: The Olympic gold medalist and two- time Women’s World Cup champion also is an activist icon and tireless fighter for LGBTQ rights. She shares her story, and in so doing urges readers to stand up for justice and equality.
The buzz: “Rapinoe’s passion for inclusion and equality shines throughout this appealing book, and her hard- won take on the intersection of sports and activism isn’t to be missed,” says Publishers Weekly.
2. “The Office of Historical
Corrections,” by Danielle Evans ( Riverhead, fiction, on sale Nov. 10)
What it’s about: The award- winning author of “Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self ” releases a hotly anticipated new story collection, exploring the subjects of race, American history and grief with her signature insight.
The buzz: A eeee review for USA TODAY calls the new collection “so smart and self- assured it’s certain to thrust her into the top tier of American short story writers.”
3. “We Keep the Dead
Close,” by Becky Cooper ( Grand Central, nonfiction, on sale Nov. 10)
What it’s about: In 1969, 23- year- old Harvard graduate student Jane Britton was found bludgeoned to death in her apartment in a murder that long went unsolved. This true- crime opus keeps the victim centered, reflecting on a young life lost.
The buzz: A eeeg review for USA TODAY calls it “an engrossing, monumental work.”
4. “The Arrest,” by Jonathan Lethem ( Ecco, fiction, on sale Nov. 10)
What it’s about: The author of “Motherless Brooklyn” and “The Fortress of Solitude” turns postapocalyptic, imagining a world in which television, computers, airplanes and all the modern conveniences we take for granted are wiped out by a major disaster called the Arrest.
The buzz: “As a writer gifted at playing with genre forms and riffing on popular culture, ( Lethem) enjoys tweaking dystopian- novel conventions,” says a eeeE review for USA TODAY.
5. “First Principles: What America's Founders Learned From the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country,” by Thomas E. Ricks ( Harper, nonfiction, on sale Nov. 10)
What it’s about: Ricks seeks to answer the questions: “What kind of nation do we have now? Is this what was designed or intended by the nation’s founders?”
The buzz: “Ricks masterfully documents how examples of city- states like Athens and the Roman Republic ( before Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon) informed the … Founding Fathers and their fellow travelers,” says a eeeE review for USA TODAY.