Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
100 Books to Look For in 2025
It’s always a good day when the folks at The Millions drop their winter books preview, and this year’s is no exception. Among the 100 most anticipated books of winter 2025 are, yes, many titles that have appeared all over most-anticipated lists this season (Death of the Author, We Do Not Part, Stag Dance), but they’re accompanied by under-the-radar selections that are virtually guaranteed to introduce you to forthcoming releases you haven’t heard of yet. Among the new additions to my TBR are an investigation into Spotify’s origins and influence on music, an essay collection about Y2K, and a dystopian story set in Texas in 2038 described as “a mash-up of Olivia Butler, Ray Bradbury, and John Steinbeck.” Sold.
Grady Hendrix Keeps It Weird
The life-as-performance-art is one of my favorite flavors of author profile, so I ate up Travis M. Andrew’s new profile of Grady Hendrix with a spoon. Described by his manager as “the P.T. Barnum of the horror world,” Hendrix seems to keep it as weird and zany in real life as he does on the page. Fresh off my first experience reading his work—Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, out today, is a hell of a ride—I don’t care whether the schtick is authentic or put on, but I’m inclined to think the former. Either way, I’m never going to turn down a reporter’s tale of running around with an author for a few days and trying to figure out what makes them tick.
Now Playing
TV and film fans have likely noticed that this season is light on new releases (the impacts of the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes have a long tail), but there are still plenty book-to-screen adaptations to keep an eye on. Me? I’ll be biting my nails until Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun adaptation gets a release date and some early reviews.
The Best New Books Out This Week
Today is the first big new release day of the season—Feb 4, Feb 21, and March 11 are the next ones that’ll bust your TBR—and Erica Ezeifedi is here to help you narrow down the options with a look at the best new books of the week. I’ve already vouched for Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, and I’d hasten to add Aflame by Pico Iyer. Whatever your current reading vibe, there’s something new for you this week.
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