PEOPLE’s best books to read in November 2023.
From murder in 18th-century Maine to the perks and perils of growing up royal — here are PEOPLE’s picks for the best new books of November 2023.
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Buy it:Amazon,Bookshop.org
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What’s it like to grow up in Britain’s royal family? The author interviewed everyone from nannies to kitchen staff and concluded that pomp and protocol still take precedence over close bonds between parents and children—not much has changed in 500 years. An eyeopening and deliciously juicy account. —Caroline Leavitt
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Algonquin Books
Teacher Adam Paskow is a grieving young widower when he’s forced to move to the Warsaw Ghetto in 1940. His Jewish identity has never been central to him, but he agrees to join a resistance effort documenting the experiences of the imprisoned. Grodstein expertly weaves the tale of this lonely storyteller, his students and the families he lives with into the true history of the Oneg Shabbat project. Gripping, emotional and, against all odds, hopeful. —Mary Pols
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Atria Books
Writing his memoirs as death approaches, Ulysses S. Grant looks back on his Civil War triumphs, the loss of his fortune and the private joys of life with wife Julia and their four children. An intimate, vividly rendered portrait of a towering figure and his complex legacy. —Wadzanai Mhute
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Pc
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Balance
The Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor teamed up with psychologist Dr. Robin L. Smith to create this powerful guidebook on healing and mental health for Black men.
“We have to find a way to [experience] joy,” Vance told PEOPLE. “It’s a part of life, that death is a part of life, and pain is a part of life, and suffering is a part of life. The question is, what are we going to do?”
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Flatiron Books
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Random House
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This gripping and propulsive book provides a look at the British monarchy following Queen Elizabeth II’s death, and the “internal fractures” the royal family is facing.
“There’s a real chance here to learn and adapt to modern society and also make up for mistakes of the past,” author Scobie tells PEOPLE. “It’s their move.”
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In her long-awaited autobiography, the EGOT-winning singer and actress delves into her life and career, from her acclaimed music to her famous friendships.
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A trio of brilliantly polished stories about the way men and women interact, with a heavy emphasis on women who make accommodations for men (or not, defying expectation) and the consequences. In Keegan’s expert hands, even a minor skirmish—between a pushy older man and the writer who grudgingly lets him interrupt her solitude at an artist’s residency— illuminates how the sexes so often seem to navigate the world on completely different operating systems. —Mary Pols
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Nell is not your typical damsel in distress: She’s pregnant, traveling with her 4-year-old son Tot, and before Ben ever meets her properly, she’s gunned down an outlaw who may be her husband. Who can blame a country boy for falling in love? A wonderfully transporting tale of the Old West. —Marion Winik
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During the pandemic an older writer finds herself parrot-sitting and smoking joints with a handsome young screwup in a friend’s apartment—and that’s just one of the interesting tales she has to tell. With the intimacy and humor of a great conversation, this novel makes you feel smarter and more alive. —Marion Winik
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Harper Select
TheNCISstar teamed up with the show ’s technical advisor — and former NCIS special agent — to write a story straight out of the police procedural. This riveting account of American and Japanese intelligence agents details the moral conflict many Japanese American officers faced at war time, as well as the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), which impacted the real-life NCIS.
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As children on the Portuguese island of Madeira in the 1850s, John and Mary form a magnetic bond. Religious persecution forces them to flee, but they meet again as immigrants in Illinois, and their paths continue to cross and diverge through America’s convulsive history, from the Civil War to the Jazz Age. Will their love prevail? Vaz explores the complexities of duty, passion and sacrifice in an engrossing narrative that celebrates life’s abiding beauty. —Robin Micheli
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Dutton
The Wilco frontman delves into his inspiring relationship with music through 50 songs (from “Gloria” to “Free Bird”) and adds heart-wrenching memories of childhood friendship, gun-wielding tour bus drivers and more. If life’s a movie, Tweedy’s has a pretty great soundtrack. —Theo Munger
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Atria/One Signal Publishers
In this sequel to the mega-sellingMaid, single mom Land struggles to fulfill her lifelong dream of getting an MFA to build a writing career, even as she battles poverty and — worse — people’s judgement that she’s being self-indulgent and impractical. Raw and inspiring. —Caroline Leavitt
source: people.com
