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Publishing This Week
Welcome to another issue of our Publishing This Week newsletter in which we cull what we believe to be the best books of the week from the many thousands that will be published.

Among this week's 17 new and notable titles is The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson, a charming, feel-good novel that has unexpected depth, which is why we'll be hosting a book club discussion of it in a few weeks' time. If you're interested in joining us, or just knowing when it opens so you can follow the posts, you can sign up for a one-time notification here.

Enjoy!

Davina Morgan-Witts, Editor


This Week's New and Notable Books
There are too many books published each week for you to read about them all, let alone read them all. So we do the legwork for you, scouring the publishers' catalogs and the pre-publication reviews to pick out what we believe to be among the best and most interesting. For more about our process, click the two right hand links below.
The Narrowboat Summer
by Anne Youngson

On sale Jan 26 from Flatiron Books
Genre: Novels. 336 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
Members' Rating: 3.9/5
 
From the author of Meet Me at the Museum, a charming novel of second chances, about three women, one dog, and the narrowboat that brings them together.

Bride of the Sea
by Eman Quotah

Debut Author
On sale Jan 26 from Tin House Books
Genre: Novels. 312 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
A spellbinding debut of colliding cultures, immigration, religion, and family; an intimate portrait of loss and healing; and, ultimately, a testament to the ways we find ourselves inside love, distance, and heartbreak.

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Burnt Sugar
by Avni Doshi

Debut Author
On sale Jan 26 from The Overlook Press
Genre: Novels. 240 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5
 
Shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, a searing literary debut novel set in India about mothers and daughters, obsession and betrayal.

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A Thousand Ships
by Natalie Haynes

On sale Jan 26 from Harper
Genre: Historical Fiction. 368 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction, a gorgeous retelling of the Trojan War from the perspectives of the many women involved in its causes and consequences - for fans of Madeline Miller.

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Cathedral
by Ben Hopkins

Debut Author
On sale Jan 26 from Europa Editions
Genre: Historical Fiction. 624 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5
 
A thoroughly immersive read and a remarkable feat of imagination, Cathedral tells a sweeping story about obsession, mysticism, art, and earthly desire in gripping prose. It deftly combines historical fiction and a tale of adventure and intrigue.

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Let Me Tell You What I Mean
by Joan Didion

On sale Jan 26 from Knopf
Genre: Short Stories/Essays. 192 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
Twelve early pieces never before collected that offer an illuminating glimpse into the mind and process of Joan Didion.

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Prodigal Son: Orphan X #6
by Gregg Hurwitz

On sale Jan 26 from Minotaur Books
Genre: Thrillers. 432 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
Forced into retirement, Evan Smoak gets an urgent request for help from someone he didn't even suspect existed - in Prodigal Son, the next New York Times bestselling Orphan X book from Gregg Hurwitz.

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Outlawed
by Anna North

On sale Jan 26 from Bloomsbury USA
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History. 272 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
The Crucible meets True Grit in this riveting adventure story of a fugitive girl, a mysterious gang of robbers, and their dangerous mission to transform the Wild West.

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The Mask Falling: The Bone Season #4
by Samantha Shannon

On sale Jan 26 from Bloomsbury USA
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History. 528 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Season and The Priory of the Orange Tree, the stunning fourth novel set in the world of Scion.

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America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present
by John Ghazvinian

On sale Jan 26 from Knopf
Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs. 688 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5
 
An important, urgently needed book--a hugely ambitious, illuminating portrait of the two-centuries-long entwined histories of Iran and America, and the first book to examine, in all its aspects, the rich and fraught relations between these two powers--once allies, now adversaries. By an admired historian and the author of Untapped: The Scramble for Africa's Oil ("he would do Graham Greene proud" - Kirkus Reviews).

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American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadow History of Adoption
by Gabrielle Glaser

On sale Jan 26 from Viking
Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs. 352 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5
 
The shocking truth about postwar adoption in America, told through the bittersweet story of one teenager, the son she was forced to relinquish, and their search to find each other.

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Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian American Buddhists
by Chenxing Han

Debut Author
On sale Jan 26 from North Atlantic Books
Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs. 256 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
A must-read for modern sanghas--Asian American Buddhists in their own words, on their own terms.

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The Mission: A True Story
by David W. Brown

On sale Jan 26 from Custom House
Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs. 480 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5
 
A masterful, genre-defying narrative of the most ambitious science project ever conceived: NASA's deep-space mission to Europa - the Jovian moon where might swim the first known alien life in our solar system - powered by a motley team of obsessives and eccentrics.

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This Is the Voice
by John Colapinto

On sale Jan 26 from Simon & Schuster
Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs. 320 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
A New York Times bestselling writer explores what our unique sonic signature reveals about our species, our culture, and each one of us. Finally, a vital topic that has never had its own book gets its due.

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We See It All: Liberty and Justice in an Age of Perpetual Surveillance
by Jon Fasman

On sale Jan 26 from Public Affairs
Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs. 288 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
An investigation into the legal, political, and moral issues surrounding how the police and justice system use surveillance technology, asking the question: what are citizens of a free country willing to tolerate in the name of public safety?

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The Movement: The African American Struggle for Civil Rights
by Thomas C. Holt

On sale Jan 28 from Oxford University Press
Genre: History, Science & Current Affairs. 176 pages
Critics' Opinion: 4/5
 
The civil rights movement was among the most important historical developments of the twentieth century and one of the most remarkable mass movements in American history.

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Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It
by Ethan Kross

Debut Author
On sale Jan 26 from Crown
Genre: Advice. 272 pages
Critics' Opinion: 5/5
 
An award-winning psychologist reveals the hidden power of our inner voice and shows how we can harness it to live a healthier, more satisfying, and more productive life.

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Publishing This Week is one of BookBrowse's four free newsletters. We also publish BookBrowse Highlights every Thursday; and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly.

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