For The Maverick Reader Type (or formally known as Dissenters)
Enjoy fall's collection of top books recommended specifically for you!
For the mavericks out there—the ones who live by their own rules and aren't afraid to challenge the status quo—this fall's new releases offer a bold collection of thought-provoking reads. October through December brings an array of books that speak to your desire for unique perspectives and unflinching truths. Whether you’re seeking a deep dive into the social sciences, captivated by the twists and turns of true crime, or drawn to nonfiction that dares to ask the hard questions, these books will resonate with your independent spirit.
From controversial takes that push against mainstream narratives to stories that uncover the darker side of human nature, these fall releases are not for the faint of heart. Expect a lineup of authors who aren't afraid to speak their minds and reveal the uncomfortable realities that others shy away from. Perfect for readers who crave intellectual stimulation and narratives that challenge conventional thinking, these selections will keep you hooked from cover to cover.
december new release books
The Sustainability Class: How to Take Back Our Future from Lifestyle Environmentalists
by Vijay Kolinjivadi - Aaron Vansintjan
An original argument that environmental sustainability has been co-opted by the urban elite, along with examples from around the world of ways we can save our planet
"Caring for the environment means reclaiming ecology for everyone." --from the introduction
A sustainability apartheid is emerging. More than ever, urban residents want to be green, yet to cater to their interests, a green-tech service economy has sprung up, co-opting well-intentioned concerns over sustainability to sell a resource-heavy and exclusive "lifestyle environmentalism." This has made cities more unsustainable and inaccessible to the working class.
Neverland: The Pleasures and Perils of Fando
by Vanessa Kisuule
The debut work of non-fiction by award-winning slam poet Vanessa Kisuule, this is a love letter to the musicians we adore and an unflinching look at the costs of hero worship
Why do famous musicians mean so much to us? How does the pop culture industry both mirror and magnify the worst aspects of human nature? Why is it so hard to accept that the people we love, famous or not, can be capable of doing terrible things?
Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know
by Mark Lilla
"Mark Lilla is always a challenging, fascinating mind - alert to all the power, paradox, and dangers of ignorance." --Rory Stewart, author of Politics On the Edge and co-host of The Rest Is Politics
A dazzling exploration of our wish to remain innocent and ignorant--and its consequences.
Aristotle claimed that "all human beings want to know." Our own experience proves that all human beings also want not to know. Today, centuries after the Enlightenment, mesmerized crowds still follow preposterous prophets, irrational rumors trigger fanatical acts, and magical thinking crowds out common sense and expertise. Why is this? Where does this will to ignorance come from, and how does it continue to shape our lives?
Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive
by Eliot Stein
A vivid look at 10 astonishing people who are maintaining some of the world's oldest and rarest cultural traditions.
Eliot Stein has traveled the globe in search of remarkable people who are preserving some of our most extraordinary cultural rites. In Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive, Stein introduces readers to a man saving the secret ingredient in Japan's 700-year-old original soy sauce recipe. In Italy, he learns how to make the world's rarest pasta from one of the only women alive who knows how to make it. And in India, he discovers a family rumored to make a mysterious metal mirror believed to reveal your truest self. From shadowing Scandinavia's last night watchman to meeting a 27th-generation West African griot to tracking down Cuba's last official cigar factory "readers" more than a century after they spearheaded the fight for Cuban independence, Stein uncovers an almost lost world.
november new release books
Believe: The Untold Story Behind Ted Lasso, the Show That Kicked Its Way Into Our Hearts
by Jeremy Egner
From The New York Times's Jeremy Egner, the definitive book on Ted Lasso.
When Ted Lasso first aired in 2020, nobody--including those who had worked on it--knew how a show inspired by an ad, centered around soccer, filled mostly with unknown actors, and led by a wondrously mustachioed "nice guy" would be received. Eleven Emmys and one Peabody Award later, it's safe to say that the show's status as a pop-culture phenomenon is secure.
Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit
by Henry a Kissinger - Eric Schmidt - Craig Mundie - Niall Ferguson
USA TODAY BESTSELLER LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER J.P. MORGAN NEXTLIST SELECTION
In his final book, the late Henry Kissinger joins forces with two leading technologists to mount "a profound exploration" (Walter Isaacson) of the epochal challenges and opportunities presented by the revolution in Artificial Intelligence: a breakthrough that dramatically empowers people in all walks of life while also raising urgent questions about the future of humanity.
As it absorbs data, gains agency, and intermediates between humans and reality, AI (Artificial Intelligence) will help us to address enormous crises, from climate change to geopolitical conflicts to income inequality. It might well solve some of the greatest mysteries of our universe and elevate the human spirit to unimaginable heights.
Growing Up Urkel
by Jaleel White
An incisive and insightful memoir by one of the most beloved icons of nineties television Jaleel White, the actor who portrayed Steve Urkel on the hit sitcom Family Matters.
DOES IT BOTHER YOU WHEN PEOPLE STILL CALL YOU URKEL?
"This is a question I get all the time and it's an interesting one--because the question lands differently from different people. Over the years, I've trained myself to hear their tone when saying the name or asking the question. If it's an older grandmother who hasn't seen me in a while she'll say, 'Oh baby, it's Urkel!' with genuine enthusiasm, and I'll greet her with love and give her a hug.
Let's Make Things Better: A Holocaust Survivor's Message of Hope and Celebration of Life
by Gidon Lev - Julie Gray
"To me, hard times are like hide-and-seek--where is the solution, where is the hope? We can never give up looking for these things because they are just waiting to be found." --Gidon Lev
On May 8, 1945, when he was just ten years old, Gidon Lev was liberated from a Nazi concentration camp after four nightmarish years. Twenty-six family members, including Gidon's beloved father and grandparents, were murdered in the Holocaust. Only Gidon and his mother survived.
From the depths of despair, a little boy who had lost so much was determined to build a life filled with adventure and love. And that is exactly what he did. Today, a spritely and cheerful octogenarian and father of six, Gidon speaks to celebrities and diplomats all over the world and has taken social media by storm--all with his signature candor, charm, and wisdom.
Treekeepers: The Race for a Forested Future
by Lauren E Oakes
"A frank, probing, but ultimately hopeful book" (Elizabeth Kolbert) that shows how the path from climate change to a habitable future winds through the world's forests
In recent years, planting a tree has become a catchall to represent "doing something good for the planet." Many companies commit to planting a tree with every purchase. But who plants those trees and where? Will they flourish and offer the benefits that people expect? Can all the individual efforts around the world help remedy the ever-looming climate crisis?
What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World's Most Familiar Bird
by Sy Montgomery
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A charming and eye-opening exploration of the special relationship between humans and chickens from Sy Montgomery, "one of our finest chroniclers of the natural world" (The New York Times).
For more than two decades, Sy Montgomery--whose The Soul of an Octopus was a National Book Award finalist--has kept a flock of chickens in her backyard. Each chicken has an individual personality (outgoing or shy, loud or quiet, reckless or cautious) and connects with Sy in her own way.
In this short, delightful book, Sy takes us inside the flock and reveals all the things that make chickens such remarkable creatures: only hours after leaving the egg, they are able to walk, run, and peck; relationships are important to them and the average chicken can recognize more than one hundred other chickens; they remember the past and anticipate the future; and they communicate specific information through at least twenty-four distinct calls.
OCTOBER NEW RELEASE BOOKS
Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao's Soul
by Rowan Jacobsen
From James Beard Award-winner Rowan Jacobsen, the thrilling story of the farmers, activists, and chocolate makers fighting all odds to revive ancient cacao and produce the world's finest bar.
When Rowan Jacobsen first heard of a chocolate bar made entirely from wild Bolivian cacao, he was skeptical. The waxy mass-market chocolate of his childhood had left him indifferent to it, and most experts believed wild cacao had disappeared from the rainforest centuries ago. But one dazzling bite of Cru Sauvage was all it took. Chasing chocolate down the supply chain and back through history, Jacobsen travels the rainforests of the Amazon and Central America to find the chocolate makers, activists, and indigenous leaders who are bucking the system that long ago abandoned wild and heirloom cacao in favor of high-yield, low-flavor varietals preferred by Big Chocolate.
Position of Spoons: And Other Intimacies
by Deborah Levy
A feast of observations about everything from the particular beauty of lemons on a table, to the allure of Colette, to the streets of Paris, by the inimitable Deborah Levy.
Deborah Levy's vital literary voice speaks about many things.
On footwear: "It has always been very clear to me that people who wear shoes without socks are destined to become my friends and lovers." On public parks: "A civic garden square gentles the pace of the city that surrounds it, holding a thought before it scrambles." On Elizabeth Hardwick: "She understands what is at stake in literature." On the conclusion of a marriage: "It doesn't take an alien to tell us that when love dies we have to find another way of being alive."
Levy shares with us her most tender thoughts as she traces and measures her life against the backdrop of different literary imaginations; each page is a beautiful, questioning composition of the self. The Position of Spoons is full of wisdom and astonishments and brings us into intimate conversation with one of our most insightful, intellectually curious writers.
Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World
by Tiffany Yu
Tiffany Yu takes readers on a revelatory examination of disability--how to unpack biases and build an inclusive and accessible world.
As the Asian American daughter of immigrants, living with PTSD, and sustaining a permanent arm injury at age nine, Tiffany Yu is well aware of the intersections of identity that affect us all. She navigated the male-dominated world of corporate finance as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs before founding Diversability, an award-winning community business run by disabled people building disability pride, power, and leadership, and creating the viral Anti-Ableism series on TikTok.
Organized from personal to professional, domestic to political, Me to We to Us, The Anti-Ableist Manifesto frames context for conversations, breaks down the language of ableism, identifies microaggressions, and offers actions that lead to authentic allyship.
My Pisces Heart: A Black Immigrant's Search for Home Across Four Continents
by Jennifer Neal
With heart, humor, and razor-sharp observation, this intimate and incisive memoir traces the journey of a Black, queer woman as she searches the world for a place of security and acceptance to call home
I've never seen home as a permanent concept; it is an image crafted from untempered glass that threatens to shatter with lack of care.
Jennifer Neal was born in the United States to a family that moved continuously for their own survival and well-being--from the Great Migration to the twenty-first century. As an adult, she has continued to travel the world as a Black queer woman, across two decades and four countries--from Japan to the US and then Australia to Germany, where she has settled for now.
Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
by John Grisham - Jim McCloskey
John Grisham is known worldwide for his bestselling novels, but it's his real-life passion for justice that led to his work with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people who have been wrongly convicted. Together they offer an inside look at the many injustices in our criminal justice system.
A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty, there is very little room to prove doubt. These ten true stories shed light on Americans who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free. In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first place and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and corruption in the court system that can make them so hard to reverse.