Now that cozy season is in full swing, curling up at the crib with a good book is officially cool again. Here are five new book releases to help you know where to start.
“Rouge” by Mona Awad
Following her two horror hits “Bunny” and “All’s Well,” Mona Awad’s newest novel, which came out on Sept. 12, delves into the borderline cultish mentality fostered by the beauty industry. In this gothic interpretation of Snow White, the main protagonist Belle comes to terms with her mother’s passing, inheriting her debts and her obsession with skincare. When Belle returns to California after the death, she is visited by a mysterious woman with some information on the incident, which includes a curious video about a strange spa experience. As a reader, “Rouge” is a captivating amalgamation of fairy tales, Kubrick films and jokes about Tom Cruise. As someone who just got over her first retinol purge, this novel is tempting.
“Bookshops & Bonedust” by Travis Baldree
“Bookshops & Bonedust” comes out on Nov. 7 as a prequel to Baldree’s popular cozy fantasy book “Legends & Lattes.” The prequel is set to take place in Viv the orc’s world before the events of the last novel, where she opened a coffee shop for the creatures of the city of Thune, after she decides to retire from a life of battle. Baldree aims to devote the prequel to the story of Viv’s recovery from war wounds, all from the inside of a bookshop. The fantasy genre combined with a new different town and relaxing vibe makes this release one to look forward to next month.
“Lady Susan” by Jane Austen
Despite being published a century and a half ago, Jane Austen’s commentary on the absurdity of society and relationships feels just as relatable for modern times. Reprinted for Penguin Random House’s Little Clothbound Classics Collection on Oct.10, her lesser known epistolary novella, “Lady Susan,” explores a different perspective than is typical of her works. Featuring a hedonistic protagonist, Lady Susan Vernon, who has multiple affairs and a twisted family love conflict, “Lady Susan” fits well into the modern craving for morally questionable female characters in literature.
“Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close” by Hannah Carlson
A hyper-specific fashion history, which came out on Sept.12, “Pockets” traces the unexpectedly complex path of a seemingly mundane feature of clothing. From Walt Whitman to fast fashion, Hannah Carlson — a senior lecturer of apparel design at the Rhode Island School of Design — presents an academic, yet personal overview of the power, utility and beauty of working pockets. If you have ever wondered what serious historical basis led to the all-too-real problem of women’s pockets today, this book might be for you.
“One Woman Show: A Novel” by Christine Coulson
In a sort of twist on the classic poetry collection “Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters, Christine Coulson, a former writer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, details the privileged life of Kitty Whitaker through museum labels. “One Woman Show,” which came out on Oct. 17, describes Whitaker’s journey through the twentieth century as if she were a character in a museum artwork. Coulson’s voice is poetic as she writes about the heartbreaks of objectification and womanhood. The brevity of each chapter as a different museum blurb makes the novel especially satisfying to flip through quickly during exam season study breaks.
Contact Teddie Chappell at [email protected].
