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The Goodreads Editors Share Their Top Book Picks For February

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Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our­ monthly Readers' Most Anticipated Books feature is exactly that—selections based on the data about the books that Goodreads members are placing on their Want to Read shelves. Essentially, these are the books that your fellow Goodreads regulars are excited about.

 

Of course, the Goodreads editorial staff gets excited about books, too. And we regularly come across specific new releases that we can’t wait to read—or “won’t shut up about,” to borrow a phrase from the colleagues who sit right next to us.

 

As to be expected, there are always way more great books each month than we have time to read, so we're passing our findings along to you, complete with genre tags, our unhinged commentary, and general enthusiasm. Think of this list as our intel on the books you might not be hearing about absolutely everywhere else, from two people who really, really want to help you find a great read.

 

Looking forward to February, keep your eyes open for new books featuring literary metafiction and Victorian psychopaths (and thieves). Bonus pick: century-spanning short stories from the author of The Berry Pickers.

 












Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Maybe it's just me, but I've been noticing a lot of feminist cannibalism folk story/horror novels lately…and weirdly I am all about this trend. In this debut novel, a mother and daughter live deep in the woods where they come to the "aid" of those who get lost. When one stranger seems worth more than an appetizer, things get even more interesting…



Genre: Horror/Folk Story/Weird

 














Cybil can't wait to read this book because: The Scottish have some good words in their vocabulary. "Gloaming" is a favorite. I'm adding in "gliff" now as well, which (according to the interwebs) means a transient moment, a shock, a faint glimpse. In her latest work, literary rock star Smith weaves a story of two children and a horse named Gliff. It's all set in an uncertain future where Smith takes on a Huxley-like Brave New World in a way that only she can. 



Genre: Literary fiction 

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Longtime readers of our editorial coverage know that guest contributor Adriana Herrrera has the most extensive mental Rolodex of romance recommendations. She's also a damn fine author in her own right. I have been dying to get my hands on her newest, a spicy, banter-filled historical romance wherein a courageous female physician providing underground reproductive care meets her match in an unconventional duke.



Genre: Historical romance

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: In the not-too-distant future, two women along with "a wounded bengal tigress, three scheming triplets, and an underground network of rebel tías" team up to save their dystopian town from the industrialist mayor who, among other bad deeds, outlawed reading. I mean, doesn't a book described as "a mordant, gonzo romp through a ruined world" just sound like a great time?!



Genre: Literary fiction/speculative fiction/dystopian

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: In Cristina Rivera Garza's fever-dream of a literary thriller, a professor named Cristina Rivera Garza teams up with a poetry-obsessed detective to investigate a string of murders with seeming ties to the art world. Honestly, it's giving me Foucault's Pendulum vibes, and I'm not mad about that!



Genre: Metafiction/thriller/noir/literary fiction

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: This month, Amanda Peters follows up her hit debut novel, The Berry Pickers, with a short story collection spanning centuries of the Indigenous experience. Early readers are praising Peters' beautiful prose and "raw, from-the-heart storytelling." These sound like the perfect bite-size reads for the shortest month of the year.



Genre: Literary fiction/short stories

 














Cybil can't wait to read this book because: I have been eagerly awaiting Johnson's sophomore novel since she made a splash with her debut, The Kindest Lie. Here she follows a mother and daughter through two pivotal moments of civil unrest in America: 1960s Nashville and 1990s Chicago. Early reviewers are calling this family drama a raw and emotional tour de force. 



Genre: Historical fiction 

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: "A lifetime ago, my family owned yours" is a pretty big bombshell to drop at a funeral you just gate-crashed, in my opinion. That scene opens this multigenerational historical saga wherein two families—one Black, one white—reckon with their shared past during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras.



Genre: Historical fiction

 














Cybil can't wait to read this book because: An icy couple move to a manor in the moors where he'll take up hunting and she'll ponder the secrets in her past. Then a mysterious stranger appears. Weirdly she's pale and weak during the day, but hale as hell during the night. Also—probably unconnected—the villagers start falling ill. 



Genre: Horror/vampires/historical fiction 

 














Cybil can't wait to read this book because: OK, hear me out…a bloodthirsty Victorian governess who jokingly tells bedtime stories about eating children. Wait—are they just stories? See what I mean about this cannibalism trend? Anyhow, sign me up! I mean, just look at how creepy that cover is.  



Genre: Horror/historical fiction 

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Aspiring Black playwright Relebogile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo (Eddie for short) is convinced that she keeps getting rejected by white talent agents due to her name. Handily, her friend Hugo Lawrence Smith has the kind of very white dude name and face to open the right doors. Together, they hatch a scheme to submit Eddie's play under Hugo's name, with the plan to expose the theater world for racism once they've reached a critical level of success. Break a leg, you two young dreamers.



Genre: Contemporary fiction

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Ever go through a breakup so terrible that it caused you to take an ethically questionable job with the United Nations? No? Then you've already come out ahead of Dr. Nadia Amin, a long-suffering lecturer who moves to Iraq with orders to deradicalize ISIS brides. Academia! You publish one paper and suddenly everyone thinks you're an expert!



Genre: Contemporary fiction/satire

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Speaking of academia, the only thing worse than being in a PhD program is having only one friend in said program. But turns out there's something worse than that, which is your only friend dying. When graduate student Sarah's best friend, Nathan, is found dead of an alleged overdose, she knows that can't be the full story. Her investigations lead her toward some dark truths. 



Genre: Mystery/Thriller

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: For those of us who are into the whole phenomenon of a classic book retold from a different perspective—and isn't that pretty much all of us these days?—here's a thrilling dive into the gaslit streets of Victorian London through the eyes of one of Dickens' most notorious villains. A prequel of sorts to Oliver Twist, this historical novel draws a sympathetic portrait of pickpocket Jacob Fagin. 



Genre: Historical fiction

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: Lovers Rachel and Jaime find themselves literally lost in a book when they meet the reclusive novelist Augustus Fame, who somehow traps the couple in his latest manuscript. From there, they move through a dizzying backdrop of settings: Victorian Oxford, utopian Manchester, harsh Siberia, dystopian future. And as the nature of their reality changes, so does the narrative of their relationship. This book sounds like a chewy, dense novel perfect for fans of Cloud Atlas



Genre: Literary fiction/fantasy/metafiction

 














Sharon can't wait to read this book because: The real-life "Code Noir" was a set of historical decrees originally passed in 1685 by King Louis XIV of France defining the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire. Juxtaposing snippets of the original Codes with artwork and fifty-nine short, linked fictions, poet Canisia Lubrin's debut work of fiction is one of those virtuosic books that defies easy categorization.



Genre: Metafiction/Short stories

 














Cybil can't wait to read this book because: When a Pulitzer Prize–winning author writes a memoir, it's always a good idea to take note. When that author is Brooks and that book is a look into her grief at the sudden death of her partner, author Tony Horwitz, you know that this memoir is bound to be one of those works you will return to again and again.  



Genre: Memoir

 














Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Author (American War and What Strange Paradise) and journalist El Akkad examines what it means to be a Black, brown, and indigenous American today. As one earlier reviewer so eloquently put it: "Omar El Akkad’s words are a balm, to carry you through the heart of empire, while simultaneously functioning as a handful of sand that you can toss into the gears of the machine."



Genre: Nonfiction/current events/social justice














Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Here's another nonfiction book from a podcaster (for those keeping track). This time, the host of Normal Gossip takes an in-depth look at our general obsession with getting the inside skinny on, well, everything. Is gossip a sin, a necessary daily distraction, a weapon, or all of the above? McKinney gets into the details in this book that will have you talking.



Genre: Nonfiction

 














Cybil can't wait to read this book because: Oh, I love a witty, humorous essay collection and try to keep a stack of them on hand at all times to crush a reading slump. I can't wait to dig into Madison's take on memoir blurred with pop culture criticism. Madison, host of the podcast Keep It, is regaling readers with tales of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lil' Kim, and of course the formative power of the catchphrase"'a virgin who can't drive."



Genre: Essay collection/humor

 








Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!



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posted by Sharon on January, 30


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