9 Books You Should Read This Winter

Strand book buyers pick the hottest new arrivals

Photo by Brandi Redd on Unsplash

Winter new arrivals are coming in HOT 🔥! With so many great books to choose from, how will you know what to add to your to-be-read pile? This season, Strand book buyers selected 8 of their favorite new releases from an eclectic array of genres — plus one classic for old time’s sake. We’ve added all of these selections to our Book Hookup subscription box, so you can enjoy each hand-picked new book with a special selection of goodies from our store, and from partners like Socksmith, Good Company Magazine, Woven Pear Socks, and Night Owl Paper Goods.

Featured in our December Fiction Book Hookup Box

1. Insurrecto by Gina Apostol

Histories and personalities collide in this literary tour-de-force about the Philippines’ present and America’s past by the PEN Open Book Award–winning author of Gun Dealers’ Daughter.

Featured in our December Young Adult Book Hookup Box

2. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most demeaning. This year, there’s a ninth. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.

Featured in our December Art Book Hookup Box

3. Ryan McGinley: Mirror Mirror by Ryan McGinley

Ryan McGinley, one of the most important photographers of his generation, asks his friends and colleagues to take the camera into their own hands. Following instructions given to them by the artist, a group of individuals explore their own image.

Featured in our December Political Nonfiction Book Hookup Box

4. The Souls of Yellow Folk by Wesley Yang

Inspired by The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois’s classic collection of essays on race and American society, Wesley Yang’s debut book marks a fresh contribution to the conversation about race in America today.

Featured in our December Feminist Book Hookup Box

5. Bringing Down the Colonel by Patricia Miller

In Bringing Down the Colonel, the journalist Patricia Miller tells the story of Madeline Pollard, an unlikely nineteenth-century women’s rights crusader. After an affair with a prominent politician left her “ruined,” Pollard brought the man―and the hypocrisy of America’s control of women’s sexuality―to trial. And, surprisingly, she won.

Featured in our December Mystery & Suspense Book Hookup Box

6. The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem

Jonathan Lethem’s first detective novel since Motherless Brooklyn, The Feral Detective is a singular achievement by one of our greatest writers.

Featured in our December Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Hookup Box

7. How Long ’Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

N. K. Jemisin is one of the most powerful and acclaimed speculative fiction authors of our time. In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption.

Featured in our December Little Readers Book Hookup Box

8. Harold Loves His Wooly Hat by Vern Kousky

In this sweet picture book that celebrates selflessness and the joy of helping others, a little bear named Harold loses his beloved woolly hat–only to discover that others need it more.

Featured in our December Timeless Favorites Book Hookup Box

9. A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

A stimulating exploration of wandering, being lost, and the uses of the unknown from the author of Men Explain Things To Me.

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