Fine fiction
“Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know: The Fathers of Wilde, Yeats, and Joyce” (Scribner), by Colm Tóibín. Irish novelist and essayist Tóibín (”Brooklyn”) explores how the troublesome fathers of three great Irish writers affected their sons — and how they turn up in their sons’ writings.
“My Sister, the Serial Killer” (Doubleday), by Oyinkan Braithwaite. In this bitterly comic novel, an uptight nurse in Lagos keeps bailing out her gorgeous younger sister, whose strategy for breaking up with boyfriends seems to involve a large knife.
“1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List” (Workman), by James Mustich. A friendly tip sheet: Mustich imagines the books he would stock in a shop that had room for exactly 1,000 different titles.
“There There” (Knopf), by Tommy Orange. In Orange’s unflinching novel, a dozen urban Native Americans converge on the Big Oakland Powwow on a day when violence will occur.
“Thomas Cromwell: A Revolutionary Life” (Viking), by Diarmaid MacCulloch. A detailed biography of Henry VIII’s chief minister, a major figure in England’s version of the Reformation.
“Ball Lightning” (Tor), by Cixin Liu. In Liu’s novel, a young Chinese scientist whose parents were killed by ball lightning devotes his life to understanding the phenomenon, bringing him in contact with people who want to weaponize his research. From the author of the “Three-Body Problem” trilogy.
“The Big Book of Female Detectives” (Vintage Crime / Black Lizard), edited by Otto Penzler. More than 1,100 double-columned pages with scores of stories about female sleuths and private eyes, including ones written by Laura Lippman, Sara Paretsky, Mary Roberts Rhinehart and Carolyn Wells.
“Bryant & May: Hall of Mirrors” (Bantam), by Christopher Fowler. In this new installment in an engaging series, an eccentric pair of London police detectives investigate murder amid the wackiness of the swinging ‘60s. Publishes Dec. 4.
“Death Rides the Ferry” (University of Wisconsin Press), by Patricia Skalka. In this mystery set in Door County, a Washington Island musical festival is disrupted by the arrival of a dead body on the ferry.
“Friday Black” (Mariner / HMH), by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. A highly praised debut story collection that the publisher wittily describes as “‘Black Mirror’ meets Black Lives Matter.”
“The Future Is Female! 25 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women, from Pulp Pioneers to Ursula K. Le Guin” (Library of America), edited by Lisa Yaszek. Stories published between 1928 and 1969 by major names, including Joanna Russ, James Tiptree Jr. and Le Guin, as well as lesser known but worthy writers.
“The Great Believers” (Viking), by Rebecca Makkai. A story of friendship and grief that intertwines the AIDS crisis of the 1980s with today.
“Insurrecto” (Soho), by Gina Apostol. An American filmmaker and her Filipino translator work with and against each other while writing a script about a massacre during the Philippine-American War.
“The Kinship of Secrets” (HMH), by Eugenia Kim. In Kim’s novel, the onset of the Korean War in 1950 separates young sisters. One lives in the United States with her family; the other grows up in Korea.
“Night Train: New and Selected Stories” (Little, Brown), by Thom Jones. A posthumous collection of stories about the kinds of folks who might end up in Tom Waits songs.
“The Sadness of Beautiful Things” (Penguin), by Simon Van Booy. Stories by the author of “The Illusion of Separateness” inspired by anecdotes people have told him.
“Through Darkest Europe” (Tor), by Harry Turtledove. In this novel, a master of alt-history creates a world where cultured Muslims lead the world, but a
militant Christian sect from the backwater of Italy threatens a fragile peace.
“Transcription” (Little, Brown), by Kate Atkinson. A young woman who worked for the British spy service in World War II finds perils from her past returning in peacetime. From the author of the remarkable “Life After Life.”
“Washington Black” (Knopf ), by Esi Edugyan. A young field slave in Barbados is turned over to his cruel master’s eccentric brother, the inventor of an experimental airship.
“The Winter Soldier” (Little, Brown), by Daniel Mason. During World War I, a young medical student joins a solitary nurse in a field hospital, treating shell shock while also getting shocks of his own.
Brain food
“The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature” (Abrams Press), by Viv Groskop. Comedian and genuine Russian studies scholar Groskop turns to Tolstoy, Anna Akhmatova, Solzhenitsyn and their ilk for life coaching, including such tips as “Don’t forget to take your spoon to prison with you.”
“Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction” (Dey Street), by Alec Nevala-Lee. A group biography of central figures in American SF writing.
“Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany” (Chronicle), by Jane Mount. A book of reading suggestions and nifty facts that’s teeming with colorful illustrations. A great gift for bookish teens as well as adults.
“Call to Order: A Miscellany of Useful Hierarchies, Systems, and Classifications” (Black Dog & Leventhal), by Jackie Strachan and Jane Moseley. A delight for fussbudgets and trivia lovers. Want an explanation of the Beaufort Wind Force Scale, or a level-by-level breakdown of “Super Mario Bros”? Here you go.
“The Great American Read: The Book of Books” (Black Dog & Leventhal). Brief articles with illustrations about the 100-ish novels in the recent PBS series, plus friendly essays on such topics as the day jobs of familiar authors.
“Heavy: An American Memoir” (Scribner), by Kiese Laymon. Laymon revisits the abuse he suffered growing up both black and obese in Mississippi, as well as his complex relationship with his mother. A book for people who appreciated Roxane Gay’s memoir “Hunger.”
“Insomnia” (Catapult), by Marina Benjamin. A short book of short meditations and explorations of sleeplessness and its discontents from a well-read writer. Buy two and put one in the guest room!
“Reagan: An American Journey” (Penguin Press), by Bob Spitz. A biography of the actor, governor and president that focuses on the person and character, from a writer who knows show biz.
“The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World” (Ecco), by Sarah Weinman. Weinman explores the story of the real crime that inspired Vladimir Nabokov’s novel.
“The Souls of Yellow Folk” (Norton), by Wesley Yang. Essays on such topics as the Virginia Tech shooter, tiger mothers and “Fresh off the Boat” that often draw on Yang’s nuanced understanding of the complexities of being Asian in America.
“These Truths: A History of the United States” (Norton), by Jill Lepore. Harvard professor and The New Yorker regular Lepore explores how the “truths” expressed in the Declaration of Independence have and have not been realized in the history of this country.
“This Book Will Put You to Sleep” (Chronicle), by Professor K. McCoy and Dr. Hardwick. A book of soporific pieces on such fascinating subjects as “A Few Facts About Roundabouts” and “How Rocks Become Pebbles.” Package this
gem with Marina Benjamin’s “Insomnia” for a distinctive twofer.
“Titans of History: The Giants Who Made Our World” (Vintage), by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Short essays by historian Montefiore and collaborators on towering figures from Rameses the Great and Saladin to Nelson Mandela.
“Unlearning God: How Unbelieving Helped Me Believe” (Convergent), by Philip Gulley. A veteran Quaker pastor shares his spiritual journey, particularly what he has learned through questioning his own assumptions and received ideas.
“The Warner Boys: Our Family’s Story of Autism and Hope” (Little A), by Ana and Curt Warner. A former Seattle Seahawks running back and his spouse share the family journey of raising twin sons on the autism spectrum. Publishes Dec. 1.
“Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves” (Ballantine), edited by Glory Edim. Jesmyn Ward, Tayari Jones, Gabourey Sidibe, Lynn Nottage share early reading experiences and authors who mattered to them. A handy appendix lists all the books mentioned in this book.
Milwaukee and Wisconsin connections
“Cold War Wisconsin” (The History Press), by Christopher Sturdevant. Wisconsin had a large role in the era of nuclear terror and Red scares. Sturdevant’s topics include Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Stalin’s daughter (who settled here), the seizure of the USS Pueblo (a ship built in Kewaunee), and Milwaukee’s legendary Safe House.
“Face Your Fears” (CreateSpace), by Bill Mathis. A coming-of-age novel that intertwines the stories of two gay men, one of whom has cerebral palsy. Mathis is a Beloit writer.
“From the Emerald Isle to the Cream City: A History of the Irish in Milwaukee” (Everything Goes Media), by Carl Baehr. Dozens of bite-size articles on both expected subjects (the Lady Elgin disaster, Tory Hill and Merrill Park) and topics that might surprise you (the rescue of Joshua Glover, the founding of the American League).
“Gus Dorais: Gridiron Innovator, All-American and Hall of Fame Coach” (McFarland), by Joe Niese with Bob Dorais. Niese, a prolific sports biographer, teams up with Dorais’ grandson to give proper attention to Gus Dorais, the Chippewa Falls native who revolutionized the forward pass and established Notre Dame as a football powerhouse.
“Interior States” (Anchor Books), by Meghan O’Gieblyn. Personal essays from a thoughtful Madison writer that look at the secular world, particularly the Midwest, through Christian eyes, and see mixed messages everywhere.
“Madison in the Sixties” (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), by Stuart D. Levitan. A civic and political history, year by year, of a tumultuous decade in the state capital, focusing on such issues as civil rights, antiwar protests and urban renewal.
“Milwaukee: A City Built on Water” (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), by John Gurda. Gurda’s illustrated history of the relationship between the metro area and its waterways has both flow and a pleasing dynamic balance between humans and geology, the lives of regular people and the doings of muckety-mucks.
“100 Things Bucks Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die” (Triumph Books), by Eric Nehm. A Bucks beat reporter’s short, friendly essays on highlights and curiosities of our NBA franchise’s history, including big names (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giannis Antetokounmpo) and players memorable in their day (Paul Pressey). Bango, the NBA’s greatest mascot, and Robert Indiana’s MECCA floor also get love. Browsable during timeouts.
“The Optical Vacuum: Spectatorship and Modernized American Theater Architecture” (Oxford University Press), by Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece.
(ERB Inc.), by Thomas Zachek. In this licensed adventure, the aging Lord of the Jungle and his allies face off against a military dictator in 1970s central Africa. Zachek is a Menomonee Falls writer.
“Walking Backwards: Poems 19662016” (FSG), by John Koethe. A 50-year retrospective, plus new poems, from Milwaukee’s first poet laureate (2000’01), whose ruminations touch a thousand things: Wittgenstein, plastic saxophones, selfie sticks and, of course, death. (Koethe will speak 7 p.m. Nov. 30 at Milwaukee’s Boswell Books, 2559 N. Downer Ave.)
“Wisconsin in Watercolor: The Life and Legend of Folk Artist Paul Seifert” (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), by Joe Kapler. An illustrated study of German immigrant artist Seifert (1840-1921), whose paintings portray farm scenes in our state’s Driftless Region.
Pop culture
“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography” (Crown Archetype), by Eric Idle. The Monty Python’s Flying Circus stalwart’s story is honest, fun and funny, following the Python phenomenon and its afterlife, with a liberal helping of famous-people namedropping to make it feel just a little dishy.
“Bruce Lee: A Life” (Simon & Schuster), by Matthew Polly. This engaging biography of the actor and action star, still considered the standard for martial arts mastery 45 years after his death, is filled with fresh details that flesh out his legend in a way that makes it seem even bigger.
“The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970” (Hamlyn), by Mark Lewisohn. Beatles historian Lewisohn (“Tune In”) charts the Fab Four’s time in the fabled Abbey Road studio in this chronological, super-detailed look at everything they recorded there, from “Besame Mucho” to “Get Back.”
“The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5 and My Life of Impossibilities” (Da Capo), by Wayne Kramer. The 1960s rocker and (sometimes) revolutionary pulls no punches in his autobiography, delivering a detailed look at his life good (leading the rock powerhouse MC5, political activism during the late 1960s and early ‘70s) and bad (drugs, prison) in a voice as clear as the vocals on MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams.”
“Hindsight & All the Things I Can’t See in Front of Me” (Harper Design), by Justin Timberlake with Sandra Bark. A massive photo collage of a book diving into the pop star’s very public private life as well as his pop celebrity.
“I’ll Be There for You: The One About ‘Friends’ ” (Hangover Square Press), by Kelsey Miller. An unapologetic fan of the long-running sitcom dissects the show’s creation, history and role in pop culture, without shying away from its issues (from unbearable whiteness to behind-the-scenes boys’-club sexism).
“Michael Jackson: All the Songs, the Story Behind Every Track” (Cassell Illustrated), by Richard Lecocq and Francois Allard. They’re not kidding; this photo-filled catalog includes Jackson’s “Do the Bartman” from “The Simpsons,” as well as every song from 1967’s “Big Boy” to demos from 2014.
“Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to ‘The XFiles’ ” (Abrams), by Zack Handlen and Todd VanDerWerff. Marking the sci-fi phenomenon’s 25th anniversary, this book dissects every episode and movie in the series, incorporating fresh interviews with some of the stars and screenwriters.
“My Squirrel Days” (Scribner), by Ellie Kemper. The writer and sitcom actor channels the upbeatness of her title character on Netflix’s “Unbreakable
Kimmy Schmidt” in this unwaveringly charming collection of autobiography essays.
“Seduction: Sex, Lies and Stardom in Howard Hughes’ Hollywood” (Custom House), by Karina Longworth. The creator and star of the popular moviehistory podcast “You Must Remember This” tells the story of Hollywood’s treatment of women during the Golden Age through the lives and careers of women connected with aviator-turnedproducer Hughes, from Katharine Hepburn to Jane Russell. Carmela Full of Wishes. By Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson. fantasy for middle grade readers, orphans fighting racism and corruption in 1860s New York have a surprising ally: dinosaurs. 8 to 12 years old.
“A Dreadful Fairy Book” (Amberjack), by Jon Etter. Wauwatosa East High School English teacher Etter delivers a comic fantasy about fairies who, in one or more ways, aren’t very good at being fairies. 8 to 12 years old.
“Oxford Roald Dahl Dictionary” (Oxford University Press). A real dictionary, with definitions and colorful illustrations, of the words, both standard and made up, that Dahl used in such stories as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda.” 8 to 12 years old, but grownup Dahl fans would love this, too.
“The Parker Inheritance” (Scholastic/Levine), by Varian Johnson. Tweens in a small Carolina town try to solve a puzzle that could lead to treasure, against a background of discrimination. Johnson’s novel for 8 to 12 years old salutes and references “The Westing Game” by Milwaukee native Ellen Raskin. A sensitive and artful version of this poignant account of a girl and her family hiding from Nazis in Amsterdam.
Baseball books
For those counting the days until pitchers and catchers report:
“Astroball: The New Way to Win It All” (Crown Archetype), by Ben Reiter. In June 2014, Reiter wrote a story for Sports Illustrated that predicted the Houston Astros’ rebuilding strategy would make them a World Series contender; in 2017, the Astros won it all. Reiter traces the rebuilding and the strategies that turned the team around. (Current Brewers general manager David Stearns, an assistant with the rebuilding ‘Stros, makes cameo appearances.)
“Baseball Cop: The Dark Side of America’s National Pastime” (Hachette), by Eddie Dominguez, with Christian Red and Teri Thompson. Dominguez, a former Boston cop who joined Major League Baseball’s investigative arm during the steroid “crisis,” dishes considerable dirt on baseball’s less-than-sincere efforts to clean up the game. Among those coming out looking particularly bad: Commissioner Bud Selig and Brewers star Ryan Braun.