21 new books to buy from your local indie today.

November 10, 2020, 2:44pm

You know what they say: November is the new December! When’s the best time to support your local bookstore and get holiday gifts? Well, there’s no time like the present. (Get it?) (I’m sorry.) (But seriously, support your favorite indie and check out these new books!)

Jonathan Lethem, The Arrest
(Ecco)

“Told in short, breezy chapters, The Arrest vibrates with sharp, satiric observations and layers upon layers of strange, often funny mashups of popular 1970s and ’80s end-of-the-world books and movies.”
–BookPage

João Gilberto Noll, tr. Edgar Garbelotto, Harmada
(Two Lines Press)

“[A] provocative and outlandish story of a washed-up actor drifting through the fantastical city of Harmada.”
–Publishers Weekly

Ellen Cooney, One Night Two Souls Went Walking
(Coffee House Press)

“Cooney has no trouble turning this tall tale of a flying chaplain into a wonderful and memorable novel that lingers long and deep in the mind of readers, making us reconsider our concepts of faith, kindness, and what exactly a soul is, anyway.”
–The Star Tribune

Margaret Atwood, Dearly
(Ecco)

“…this whole collection stands as a mighty demonstration of how great poetry can embody and celebrate the sheer vibrancy and beauty of life, in the face of the most profound sorrow and terror.”
–The Scotsman

Dorothy West, The Living Is Easy
(Feminist Press)

“West’s essential classic continues to endure.”
–Publishers Weekly

Mia Kankimäki, The Women I Think about at Night
(Simon & Schuster)

“A thought-provoking blend of history, biography, women’s studies, and travelog, this should appeal to readers interested in any of these subjects, and those who love eclectic narrative nonfiction.”
–Library Journal

Peter Godfrey-Smith, Metazoa
(FSG)

“The book is enlivened by the wit and affection with which the author often regards his subjects of study … An astonishing range of creatures are considered and a fascinating argument advanced about how evolutionary innovations can give rise to animal minds.”
–Library Journal

Becky Cooper, We Keep the Dead Close
(Grand Central)

“Cooper’s resolve to excavate the truth about Britton’s murder will keep a reader engaged enough to want to follow this case to its unexpected conclusion.”
–NPR

Jo Nesbø, tr. Robert Ferguson, The Kingdom
(Knopf)

“Writers like Nesbo have that knack for instilling just enough humanity in their miscreants that we keep hoping they might, if not repent, then at least acknowledge their moral scuzziness.”
–The Washington Post

Danielle Evans, The Office of Historical Corrections
(Riverhead)

“Slices of life, each piece in Corrections captures its own mood, hums to distinct rhythms, and locates unique spaces for empathy and pain and catharsis.”
–Entertainment Weekly

Ben Wilson, Metropolis
(Doubleday)

“Reading this book is like visiting an exhilarating city for the first time—dazzling, frazzling, sometimes both simultaneously.”
–The Wall Street Journal

Paulo Coelho, The Archer
(Knopf)

“Coelho (The Alchemist) returns with the jaunty story of a master archer who dispenses philosophical advice.”
–Publishers Weekly

Jacqueline Winspear, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing
(Soho Press)

“An engaging childhood memoir and a deeply affectionate tribute to the author’s parents.”
–Kirkus

Liz Nugent, Little Cruelties
(Gallery/Scout Press)

“The much-decorated writer again displays a flair for plot and an uncanny ability to get under the skin of characters in the dysfunctional family drama.”
–The Times

Michael Connelly, The Law of Innocence
(Little, Brown)

“Nobody writing today has more range than Michael Connelly, who is in top form here, delivering not only the best legal thriller of the year, but perhaps the best legal thriller to hit bookstores in the last decade.”
–The Real Book Spy

Megan Rapinoe, One Life
(Penguin Press)

“As much as sports fans will enjoy career anecdotes, it’s her refreshingly frank details of self-discovery as a lesbian that will prove equally inspirational and sure to help break down stereotypes.”
–Booklist

Ruth Gilligan, The Butchers’ Blessing
(Tin House)

“Thoroughly lovely. Cattle have never been so riveting.”
–Kirkus

Hideo Yokoyama, tr. Jonathan Lloyd-Davies, Prefecture
(MCD x FSG)

“There’s more politics than mayhem here, but fans of hard-boiled fiction will enjoy seeing how Japanese cop shops work.”
–Kirkus

Celia Paul, Self-Portrait
(New York Review of Books)

“Self-Portrait illuminates what Freud’s long shadow obscured: Celia Paul herself, and an altogether different way of being an artist.”
–The New Republic

Deborah Madison, An Onion In My Pocket
(Knopf)

“Madison is a prolific cookbook author, and this latest offering presents an intriguing and insightful look into how her upbringing influenced both her professional and private life.”
–Library Journal