Books to Look Forward to for a New Year

Along with the promise of a brand-new year come new reading challenges to start and winter weekends that are perfect for cozying up with a good book.

- By Juliana Pignataro, Illustrations by Getty; All book jackets courtesy of publisher

Along with the promise of a brand-new year come new reading challenges to start and winter weekends that are perfect for cozying up with a good book. Luckily, Newsweek has recommendations for enticing new reads coming out in the next few months. From crime-solving theater troupe protagonists to a century-spanning Australian epic, and a year in the life of an E.R. doctor during the pandemic to the journals of Alice Walker, reserve these 22 picks at your library or pre-order now so you’ll have a steady supply of great fiction and nonfiction to start 2022 off right.

Fiction

Wahala

By Nikki May | January | Custom House $27.99

An exciting debut likened to Sex and the City for our current moment centers on three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and a fourth woman who emerges onto their scene and roils the group. Exciting and razor sharp, we predict Wahala will be on all this year’s “best of” lists.

Take My Hand

By Dolen Perkins-Valdez | April | Berkley $27

A Black nurse working at a family clinic in ’70s Alabama discovers two poor, young girls are being prescribed birth control in this impressive historical epic. Valdez’s story and characters are deeply affecting and call attention to the importance of recognizing history’s dark moments.