Looking Forward: 39 Pre-Orders for Your TBR Pile

Happy 2022, readers! We don’t normally do staff picks in January because not many books come out in the month leading up to the holidays, but we’ve all been through a lot over the past couple of years, and we found ourselves searching for things to look forward to. We figured you might be, too. So this month’s staff picks are dedicated to the books coming out in 2022 that we’re most excited for! We’ve read advance copies of some and are eagerly anticipating others. All of these titles are available for pre-order now, so give yourself something to look forward to. You deserve it!

FICTIONRecommended by Ann Thank You, Mr. Nixon: Stories

By Gish Jen

These connected stories explain the relationship between Chinese and Americans with intelligence, elegant nonchalance, and wicked humor. Gish Jen should have a diplomatic post, or rule the world.

Release date: Feb. 1

Recommended by Ann Horse: A Novel

By Geraldine Brooks

The story of the Lexington, one of the greatest racing horses of all times, goes from pre-Civil War Kentucky to the Smithsonian in present day D.C. Beautifully researched and perfectly written, this book engulfs the reader.

Release date: Jun. 14

Recommended by Ann The Candy House: A Novel

By Jennifer Egan

It’s early to say that this is the novel of the year, but here I am, saying exactly that. Jenny Egan’s brilliance is pyrotechnic, and this book is as complex and masterful and true as anything I can imagine.

Release date: Apr. 5

Recommended by Karen This Time Tomorrow: A Novel

By Emma Straub

Meet Alice. She is celebrating her 40th birthday while dealing with a dying father and an unsatisfying romantic relationship. After a long evening she passes out and wakes up the next morning in her childhood bedroom on her 16th birthday. This is a fresh take in the time travel genre. You won’t want it to end. Emma Straub’s best book to date.

Release date: May 17

Recommended by Karen Lessons in Chemistry: A Novel

By Bonnie Garmus

This debut was a delight from start to finish. Elizabeth Zott was born just a decade too soon to forge the career in science she was destined for, so when she stumbled into a job as the host of a 1960s TV cooking show, she could not help but bring chemistry into her recipes. This book is filled with fabulous characters and is alternately touching and laugh out loud funny.

Release date: Apr. 5

Recommended by Lindsay Four Treasures of the Sky: A Novel

By Jenny Tinghui Zhang

In 10 years, when Jenny Tinghui Zhang is the most famous author in America, you’ll want to say that you pre-ordered her debut novel, Four Treasures of the Sky. Who doesn’t love bragging rights? Bonus, you get to read the best book of 2022 the week it comes out.

Release date: Apr. 5

Recommended by Rae Ann In the Face of the Sun

By Denny S. Bryce

A woman in 1960s Chicago takes off for Los Angeles to solve a mystery from 1920 Black Hollywood in the upcoming historical novel from Denny Bryce. I can’t wait to read it!

Release date: Apr. 26

Recommended by Lindsay Our Wives Under the Sea

By Julia Armfield

I’ve been watching this book build the most exciting buzz in the UK and waiting (patiently!) for its arrival in the US. Domestic drama? A freak submarine accident? I’m in.

Release date: Jul. 12

Recommended by Elyse Mercy Street: A Novel

By Jennifer Haigh

Storms are raging in the Boston area, both literally and figuratively, in this insightful novel that delves into current issues. The opposing passions and intersecting lives of Haigh’s desperate characters create a story that keeps you in its grip until the last page. A great read!

Release date: Feb. 1

Recommended by Lindsay Woman of Light: A Novel

By Kali Fajardo-Anstine

I get that the word “transportive” is overused in blurbs, but I don’t how else to describe this gorgeous novel from Kali Fajardo-Anstine. I got completely lost in the world of 1930s Denver and fell so love in with every one of these characters.

Release date: Jun. 7

Recommended by Ben Nobody’s Magic

By Destiny O. Birdsong

Birdsong’s triptych novel follows three black women from Shreveport, Louisiana who each have albinism. Yet it’s their unique griefs and struggles, their singular decisions and strivings for self-actualization that had me glued to the pages. The region is vividly portrayed, the voices so startlingly real you’ll think the characters are sitting right next to you. Sexy, gritty, unapologetic, this one will be talked about all year.

Release date: Feb. 8

Recommended by RJ Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

By Ashley Herring Blake

Ashley Herring Blake, not content to simply amaze us with her middle grade and YA titles, is making her adult debut. Reviews are already raving about this heartfelt, steamy queer romance!

Release date: Feb. 22

Recommended by Sissy The Paris Apartment: A Novel

By Lucy Foley

Foley’s last thriller, The Guest List, set on a a stormy island off the coast of Ireland, had me guessing until the very end. I cannot wait to sink into her next setting with a blanket and a glass of wine.

Release date: Feb. 22

Recommended by RJ I’m So (Not) Over You

By Kosoko Jackson

Fake dating + second chance romance = a match made in romcom heaven. One of my most anticipated romances of the year, and we don’t even have much longer to wait!

Release date: Feb. 22

Recommended by Hannah Book Lovers

By Emily Henry

Henry’s much anticipated new rom-com centers around a literary agent and an editor – folks, if you love books about books and/or enjoyed Beach Read or People We Meet on Vacation, this is a must.

Release date: May 3

Recommended by Sydney Lapvona: A Novel

By Ottessa Moshfegh

Profound and peculiar, Ottessa Moshfegh never disappoints me. Her newest novel, written at the height of the pandemic, may be her best work yet.

Release date: Jun. 21

Recommended by Ben The Books of Jacob: A Novel

By Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft

I often get sucked into literary historical fiction, and I love books that explore religion in nuanced ways. So a sweeping novel about a charismatic 18th-century Polish Jew who converts to both Islam and Catholicism, and is thought to be a heretic one minute and a Messiah the next? Consider me intrigued.

Release date: Feb. 1

Recommended by RJ Siren Queen

By Nghi Vo

I fell in love with Nghi Vo’s writing after recently devouring both of her Singing Hills novellas in a single sitting. This monstrous take on old Hollywood looks just as hard to put down.

Release date: May 10

Recommended by Sissy The Pallbearers Club: A Novel

By Paul Tremblay

Tremblay writes a fabulous thriller – but not the gross-out kind. I always form a deep emotional attachment to his protagonists.

Release date: Jul. 5

Recommended by RJ The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer

By Janelle Monáe

I have been listening to Janelle Monáe’s music for over a decade with a burning question in my mind: Are we ever going to get a book full of her sci-fi stories? The answer is, at long last, yes! Monáe’s bottomless creativity across every medium always amazes me, and I can’t wait to see what form it takes next.

Release date: Apr. 19

Recommended by Marcia One Italian Summer: A Novel

By Rebecca Serle

A gorgeously written story about the loss of a mother and the daughter’s realization (was it a fantasy?) that her mom’s life was much more than she ever considered. After the recent loss of my own mother, this hit exactly as I wanted it to and I could not put it down.

Release date: Mar. 1

Recommended by Sydney Cult Classic: A Novel

By Sloane Crosley

Blending the line between psychological thriller and romantic comedy, I can’t wait to get my hands on this title. If you like Grady Hendrix, give Sloane Crosley a shot!

Release date: Jun. 7

Recommended by Erin The No-Show

By Beth O’Leary

The latest from the author of The Flatshare isn’t a rom-com, no matter what the flap copy tells you. And that’s okay, because it delivers an unexpectedly moving trio of intricately plotted stories that may or may not be related.

Release date: Apr. 26

Recommended by Sissy Tracy Flick Can’t Win: A Novel

By Tom Perrotta

I just miss Tracy Flick from Election, to be honest.

 

Release date: Jun. 7

Recommended by Ben Pure Colour: A Novel

By Sheila Heti

This slim novel is set in a “first draft of Creation” and centers around the bond between Mira and Annie, the former of whom is at one point turned into a leaf on a tree. It looks to be deeply emotional, funny, philosophical, and totally original. I can’t wait to dive into it!

Release date: Feb. 15

Recommended by Sissy How to Sell a Haunted House

By Grady Hendrix

Grady is my favorite hilarious horror writer. I certainly hope the pandemic wanes this summer so he can visit Parnassus!

Release date: Jul. 12

Recommended by RJ A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

By Becky Chambers

A Psalm for the Wild-Built was the serene, gentle, contemplative balm I needed last year (and from the amount of time it’s spent back-ordered, I am far from alone in that.) I am so eager for this sequel to return to the beautiful world Becky Chambers built.

Release date: Jul. 12

Recommended by Chelsea Booth

By Karen Joy Fowler

A family saga set in pre-Civil War America that seems to draw startling comparisons between the past and the present.

Release date: Mar. 8

Recommended by RJ The Spear Cuts Through Water: A Novel

By Simon Jimenez

Simon Jimenez’s debut, The Vanished Birds, has been stuck in my mind since I read it two years ago. It was such an ambitious story, one of the few books I felt the need to truly slow down and savor. His follow up is taking a fantasy direction, and I can’t wait to see how this one unfolds.

Release date: Aug. 30

Recommended by Marcia The Wedding Veil

By Kristy Woodson Harvey

Fans of Woodson Harvey will not be disappointed. Set amongst Biltmore House, a novel that spans four generations and is centered around, you guessed it – a wedding veil! Grab a glass of wine (Biltmore House label would be my suggestion) and settle in for some of her signature romance!

Release date: Mar. 29

Recommended by Ben Tell Me an Ending: A Novel

By Jo Harkin

The word that jumped out to me from the back cover is “memory.” As a poet, I often write about memory, so the thought of following four very different characters as they each decide whether to have a painful event erased or recalled in the search for answers and meaning is a journey I’ll gladly take.

Release date: Mar. 1

NONFICTIONRecommended by Karen Bomb Shelter: Love, Time, and Other Explosives

By Mary Laura Philpott

Mary Laura Philpott’s new collection of essays is even better than her first. There are serious topics here, but these personal stories are told with a light touch that highlight her sense of humor and irony.

Release date: Apr. 12

Recommended by Sissy Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times

By Azar Nafisi

Nafisi, who wrote Reading Lolita in Tehran, once walked to our store from her hotel by Vandy. Bear and I drove her back afterwards. Anyone who’s seen the news recently knows why this new book will be a must-read!

Release date: Mar. 8

Recommended by Chelsea Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases

By Paul Holes

From the detective who rocketed to fame during the arrest of the Golden State Killer, this is the perfect read for true crime fans.

Release date: Apr. 26

Recommended by Ashby The Wok: Recipes and Techniques

By J. Kenji López-Alt

His first cookbook, The Food Lab, explained the science behind cooking and included better, simpler ways to do things at home. This cook book should change the way many of us approach using the wok from keeping it in a cabinet to keeping it on the stove. It should be a great way to change up our cooking routines.

Release date: Mar. 8

Recommended by Patsy Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction

By David George Haskell

One of Haskell’s finest talents is in encouraging his reader to carefully consider the natural world. His gift lies in awakening our senses to what’s been here since the dawn of creation. In his latest work, he examines sound, its evolution and the loss of natural sound with lyrical prose.

Release date: Mar. 1

Recommended by Sydney In the Margins: On the Pleasures of Reading and Writing

By Elena Ferrante, Ann Goldstein

This genius collection, coming from one of the most beloved novelists of our time, explores the dichotomy between reading and writing. It’s Elena Ferrante, need I say anything else?

Release date: Mar. 15

Recommended by Sissy Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole

By Susan Cain

Cain’s book Quiet changed my life. This introvert is eager to hear what she says next.

Release date: Apr. 5

Recommended by Ben The Life and Death of a Minke Whale in the Amazon: Dispatches from the Brazilian Rainforest

By Fábio Zuker, Ezra Fitz (Translator)

Milkweed Editions consistently delivers on genre-bending works that weave together themes of nature, environmentalism, memoir, and sociology. I can already tell these essays will make me feel more connected to the people and land of Brazil, and will give me much to ponder after the pages are through.

Release date: May 10

First Editions Club: January Selection Mouth to Mouth: A Novel

By Antoine Wilson

 

Dear friends,

We’ve made it to 2022. Let’s be honest–it was a bit of a rough year. When our booksellers got together to talk about potential First Edition selections for January, we had a lot of discussions about how to kick off the new year. We read a lot of great books, but, wow, were some of those books depressing! So, you can imagine how delighted I was to come across Antoine Wilson’s Mouth to Mouth. A psychological mystery? Plot twists? Under 200 pages? Count me in.

As a Patricia Highsmith superfan, I’m always drawn to a sleek novel about the harrowing secrets and misdeeds of the upper class–I’m pleased to say that Antoine Wilson absolutely delivers. Mouth to Mouth is a compact tour-de-force featuring an intoxicating antagonist with a level of self-delusion that would make Highsmith proud.

This is the sort of book that you can squirrel away with for an afternoon and forget the outside world. I recommend that you grab your favorite blanket, make a warm beverage, and find a cozy chair. Trust me, you’ll want to prepare to read this fabulous novel in one sitting.

Yours in reading,

Lindsay Lynch

More about our First Editions Club: Every member receives a first edition of the selected book of the month, signed by the author. Books are carefully chosen by our staff of readers, and our picks have gone on to earn major recognition including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Plus, there’s no membership fee or premium charge for these books. Build a treasured library of signed first editions and always have something great to read! Makes a FABULOUS gift, too.