20 winter books we can't wait to read by Prince Harry, Pamela Anderson, Colleen Hoover and more
Your feelings about 2022, like all years, are probably complicated at best.
There was a midterm election to stress about. Bob Saget, Olivia Newton-John and Queen Elizabeth II died. Oh, and there was that pesky pandemic raging in the background.
So, yeah. It's complicated. But your feelings about this year’s books shouldn’t be: They were as good as they've ever been.
This past year saw the release of killer literary titles, including a surprise pair of novels from 89-year-old master Cormac McCarthy; vulnerable celebrity memoirs from "Friends" star Matthew Perry and former child star Jennette McCurdy; and the meteoric rise of TikTok favorite Colleen Hoover, whose books have dominated this year's bestsellers lists.
And from the looks of things, 2023 is going to be just as full of good stuff. Here’s a glance ahead at 20 winter releases we can’t wait to read – ideally by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa.
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‘Age of Vice’
By Deepti Kapoor
Out Jan. 3 (Riverhead, fiction)
A wealthy playboy’s Mercedes jumps the curb and kills five people, but it’s his impoverished servant who’s made the scapegoat in this action-packed thriller set in contemporary India.
‘Spare’
By Prince Harry
Out Jan. 10 (Random House, nonfiction)
Rarely does a book have us hooked with just its title, but Prince Harry’s evocatively titled memoir, an apparent reference to his being the royal family’s “spare” heir, promises to be a scintillating personal account.
‘In the Upper Country’
By Kai Thomas
Out Jan. 10 (Viking, fiction)
The fates of two women intertwine in 1800s Canada, at the terminus of the Underground Railroad populated by people fleeing enslavement, their stories revealing the interwoven histories of Black and Indigenous peoples in North America.
‘How to Sell a Haunted House’
By Grady Hendrix
Out Jan. 17 (Berkley, fiction)
The horror author of “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” and “The Final Girl Support Group” tries his hand at a haunted house story. When Louise’s parents die, the last thing she wants to do is return to her childhood home to sell it. Some houses, though, don’t want to be sold.
'The Sense of Wonder'
By Matthew Salesses
Out Jan. 17 (Little, Brown, fiction)
Korean American NBA star Won Lee and his girlfriend, producer Carrie Kang, navigate two industries – sports and entertainment – hostile to their identities and fight to be heard.
‘Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone’
By Benjamin Stevenson
Out Jan. 17 (Mariner, fiction)
“Everyone in my family has killed someone. Some of us, the high achievers, have killed more than once.” So starts this clever new whodunit with an unreliable narrator set in the middle of a family reunion at a ski resort.
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‘Decent People’
By De'Shawn Charles Winslow
Out Jan. 17 (Bloomsbury, fiction)
A Black community in the still-segregated town off 1970s West Mills, North Carolina, is left reeling when three sibling are found murdered in their home. But solving the case – and proving one suspect’s innocence – will unearth even more dark secrets.
‘The Faraway World’
By Patricia Engel
Out Jan. 24 (Avid Reader Press, fiction)
The author of “Infinite Country” pens a collection of 10 haunting short stories set across the Americas, from New York City to Miami and Cuba, connected by themes of migration and sacrifice.
‘Love, Pamela’
Out Jan. 31 (Dey Street, nonfiction)
The “Baywatch” bombshell and Playboy cover girl casts aside the glamorous fa?ade to tell her true story of a small-town girl and nature-loving free spirit, interspersed with original poetry.
‘Heart Bones’
By Colleen Hoover
Out Jan. 31 (Atria, fiction)
Beyah Grim comes from poverty and neglect. Samson is the wealthy guy next door. They shouldn’t have anything in common, but their intense chemistry complicates their casual summer fling.
‘Hungry Ghosts’
By Kevin Jared Hosein
Out Feb. 7 (Ecco, fiction)
Two families in 1940s Trinidad – one living in unfathomable luxury and the other in backbreaking poverty – are intertwined by a mystery that will forever change their community in this Caribbean novel exploring class, family and historical violence.
‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’
By Stephen Graham Jones
Out Feb. 7 (Saga, fiction)
In this sequel to “My Heart Is a Chainsaw,” Indigenous serial killer Dark Mill South escapes into the rural lake town of Proofrock to complete his revenge killing for 38 Dakota men hanged in 1862, the same day Jade Daniels returns.
‘Someone Else’s Shoes’
By Jojo Moyes
Out Feb. 7 (Pamela Dorman, fiction)
It’s a simple mix-up when stressed-out Sam grabs the wrong gym bag and ends up with fabulously wealthy Nisha’s Louboutin shoes. But that small mistake triggers a massive change in both women’s lives.
‘Victory City’
By Salman Rushdie
Out Feb. 7 (Random House, fiction)
The Booker Prize-winning author, who in August survived a knife attack as he was giving a public lecture, triumphantly returns with an tale set in a magical India, in which a girl granted power by a goddess gives rise to a fantastical empire.
‘The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions’
By Greta Thunberg
Out Feb. 14 (Penguin Press, nonfiction)
One of the world’s top climate change activists gathers information from over 100 experts including meteorologists, engineers, oceanographers and historians to make the case that there’s still hope to prevent climate catastrophe.
‘I Have Some Questions for You’
By Rebecca Makkai
Out Feb. 21 (Viking, fiction)
From the author of Pulitzer Prize finalist “The Great Believers” comes a new novel about professor and podcaster Bodie Kane, who’s content to forget her past – and the murder of her boarding school roommate – until the flaws of the case she thought was solved begin to gnaw at her.
‘Every Man a King’
By Walter Mosley
Out Feb. 21 (Mulholland, fiction)
In a sequel to the Edgar Award-winning “Down the River Unto the Sea,” Joe King Oliver must investigate a stomach-churning case of a white nationalist who may have been framed for murder.
‘Never Never’
By Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
Out Feb. 28 (Canary Street Press, fiction)
The author of “It Starts With Us” and the author of “The Wives” team up for an original romantic thriller. Charlize Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends forever and in love since they were 14. But when every memory of their romance vanishes, they work to uncover the mystery of what’s happened to them, and begin to question why they were ever together.
‘Birnam Wood’
By Eleanor Catton
Out March 7 (FSG, fiction)
The Booker Prize–winning author of “The Luminaries” returns with a gripping thriller, pitting an activist gardening collective against an enigmatic billionaire who offers the group access to his land – but to what end?
‘What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez’
By Claire Jimenez
Out March 7 (Grand Central, fiction)
When 13-year-old Ruthy disappeared after track practice, it left the Ramirez family scarred. But 12 years later, when oldest sister Jessica sees a woman in a raunchy reality show she thinks might be Ruthy, the Ramirez women go on a road trip to investigate.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince Harry, Colleen Hoover: 20 winter books we can't wait to read
