November can be an ideal month for thought and reflection. Maybe it’s the longer nights; maybe it’s the fact that another year is almost over. If you’re looking to do some deep thinking, our book recommendations for this month have plenty to offer — covering everything from insightful looks at musicians Dr. John and Taylor Swift to a fictionalized take on a sports tragedy. Throw some tactile trips into true crime history into the mix and you have an array of memorable reads — ideal books for a chilly night and a long conversation once you’re done.
Amy Helen Bell, Under Cover of Darkness: Murders in Blackout London (Nov. 5)
Over the course of several books, historial Amy Helen Bell has explored countless facets of what it was like to live in London during the Blitz. Her latest book finds Bell, as she phrased it, delving into “the best source we have for people’s secret wartime lives: the archived records of murder cases.” It’s a powerful reminder that Londoners during this period faced threats in addition to those posed by German bombs.
David Peace, Munichs (Nov. 12)
Many of David Peace’s novels have been immersive crime fiction — some set in England, others in Japan. But he’s also written incisively about soccer and the world around it, books that I’ve written about admiringly in the past. His latest book, Munichs, tells a fictionalized version of a real-life event: the 1958 plane crash that killed eight Manchester United players and brought a community together.
Lili Anolik, Didion & Babitz (Nov. 12)
In the span of less than a week in 2021, two major American writers died. One was Joan Didion; the other, Eve Babitz. In this new book, Lili Anolik — author of an acclaimed biography of the latter — explores the connections between these two writers who were known for, among other things, their memorable chronicles of life in Los Angeles. Anolik’s new book is a thoughtful exploration of the often-conflicted relationship between two literary legends.
Amedeo Feniello (translated by Antony Shugaar), Naples 1343: The Unexpected Origins of the Mafia (Nov. 26)
Where and when should one look in order to find the roots of organized crime? The book Naples 1343, now published in Antony Shugaar’s English translation, makes an impassioned case that 14th-century Naples is where the Mafia got its start. Here, academic Amedeo Feniello looks at the parallels between the early days of organized crime and the early days of modern nations, and finds some unexpected links between the two.
David Toop, Two-Headed Doctor: Listening for Ghosts in Dr. John’s Gris-Gris (Nov. 26)
Reading David Toop’s books is like taking the most wide-ranging cultural studies course you’ve ever experienced. In books like Ocean of Sound, Toop makes incisive connections between seemingly disparate musicians and offers a kind of secret history of pop culture. His new book has an ostensibly narrower focus — Dr. John’s 1968 album Gris-Gris — but through that lens, Toop is able to explore everything from jazz history to the unsung heroes of American music.
Richard Price, Lazarus Man (Nov. 12)
Richard Price specializes in detailed, complex stories of cities in flux and lives at a crossroads. Novels like Clockers and Freedomland blend intricate stories of interwoven lives with meticulous looks at the everyday aspects of urban life. For his new novel Lazarus Man, he’s chronicling the aftermath of a building collapse in Harlem — just the sort of jarring moment that brings people together and changes them in fundamental ways.
Nicole Gelinas, Movement: New York’s Long War to Take Back Its Streets from the Car (Nov. 5)
What’s the best way to get people around a city? In the case of New York, that’s a question that’s sparked plenty of political debate lately — as well as creating opportunities to rethink streetscapes across the five boroughs. Nicole Gelinas, who has long written about urban planning and transit issues, here chronicles decades’ worth of history in this exploration of the debates and policies that reshaped the city’s streets.
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Yáng Shuang-zi (translated by Lin King), Taiwan Travelogue (Nov. 12)
Taiwan Travelogue is one of this year’s finalists for the National Book Award for Translated Literature. In Lin Kang’s translation, Yáng Shuang-zi tells the story of the evolving dynamic between a Japanese writer making her way across Taiwan on the eve of World War II. The result is a powerful tale about language, landscapes and long-hidden secrets — one with plenty of surprises in store along the way.
Lucy Sante, Six Sermons For Bob Dylan (Nov. 22)
This one’s going to require a little context. In 2017, a deluxe box set of Bob Dylan’s Christian period titled Trouble No More — The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 / 1979-1981 was released. Among the components of that set was a series of sermons written by Lucy Sante and performed by Michael Shannon. And now, this new print edition collects Sante’s writings along with an afterword by Greil Marcus. It’s another fascinating addition to Sante’s already-impressive bibliography.
Rob Sheffield, Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music (Nov. 12)
One of the things that’s made Rob Sheffield’s writings on music compelling to so many readers is his attention to the ways music can become a part of one’s life. His memoir Love Is a Mix Tape is a moving chronicle of his own shifting relationship with music; he’s also tackled the likes of David Bowie and The Beatles in standalone volumes. His latest, Heartbreak Is the National Anthem, explores the cultural impact of another musical juggernaut: Taylor Swift. It looks to be both a welcome addition to Sheffield’s own catalog and a memorable look at Swift’s music.
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