Nonfiction

Motherland

U.S. national security, foreign policy and politics reporter Julia Ioffe makes her literary debut with Motherland, a book that seeks to show how Russia’s history is inextricably linked to its women. Ioffe, whose family escaped the Soviet Union and migrated to New York City when she was 7, puts her formidable journalism skills to use as she braids family memoir with history, illuminating how the country’s treatment of women paved the way to the rise of today’s authoritarian government.

Mark Twain

By Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton may have launched him into mainstream fame with the success of Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical adaptation, but the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer (for George Washington) is not resting on his laurels. Mark Twain is sure to illuminate the eponymous author’s life and times with delightfully excessive research and a brisk narrative pace. Fans of Twain and Chernow best set aside their TBR piles to indulge in this 1,200-page whopper from one of the eminent historians of our time.

Everything Is Tuberculosis

By John Green

Apart from his literary accomplishments (The Fault in Our Stars, Turtles All the Way Down), John Green is a notable philanthropist, having created a string of nonprofit charity projects and a foundation alongside his brother, Hank. Green is an advocate for health care equality and, most notably, has been using his platform to address policies and regulations regarding tuberculosis, a preventable and curable disease that is nonetheless a leading cause of death in Africa, especially among children. Everything Is Tuberculosis asks readers to join the fight to save them.

Pure Innocent Fun

By Ira Madison III

Pop culture maven, TV writer and podcaster Ira Madison III serves his cultural critiques with a side of spit take-inducing humor. His debut essay collection is like a brunch date with your sharpest, most hilarious friend—the one who never holds back their opinions. Here, Madison riffs on everything from the bewildering appeal of Tom Cruise to his identification with Daria to boy bands of yesteryear (err . . . the early aughts). Pure Innocent Fun promises to be a worthy romp.

Black in Blues

By Imani Perry

Imani Perry showed her ability to weave historical research with sharp, sparkling analysis in 2022’s National Book Award-winning South to America. In Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People, she explores how the color blue has been intertwined with Black life: in the dyeing of indigo, the religious traditions of various African cultures, the literature of Zora Neale Hurston, the revolutionary politics of Black freedom fighters and much more.

Three Wild Dogs (and the truth)

By Markus Zusak

Not long before Markus Zusak completed his book tour for his chart-topping novel, The Book Thief, he and his wife decided to adopt a dog languishing at the local pound. Then another. And finally, after the first pair eventually died, a third. All three were so-called “difficult dogs”: “Gangsters, gunmen. Soldiers,” he writes. “ADHD on legs.” In this debut memoir, Zusak tells the story of his writing and family life through these beasts who were indefatigable perpetrators of lawlessness and intimidation—but still worthy of love.