The New Books Roundup, Jan. 24: Terry Goodkind and a Olympic Champion
On this week’s new books roundup, we have a memoir from Olympic champion Laurie Hernandez, the start of a new series by Terry Goodkind, and still more.
Now that January’s almost over, it’s probably about that time to look at any New Year’s resolutions, sigh, and adjust them slightly so that they’re more realistic. Maybe you said you were going to read two books a week, and now you’re pulling that down to one a week with the hopes that it will morph back into two books a week. Maybe you instead aimed for a certain number of books on Goodreads, and you’re now adjusting that down. Perhaps you’re instead moving right along with your resolution!
Either way, this week’s new books roundup has titles from all over the spectrum. Title links take you to Amazon, and Goodreads links take you to Goodreads, naturally.
I Got This: To Gold and Beyond
Laurie Hernandez won a gold medal at last year’s Olympics in the team event, an individual silver on the balance beam, and the fall season of Dancing with the Stars, all of which are kind of big deals. She also did all of this at the age of 16. Unsurprisingly, she’s now followed it up with a memoir, I Got This, which details her story. The Amazon description emphasizes that it’s in her own words, which makes us excited because she has a wonderful way of expressing things sometimes, and we’re not just saying that because she’s really cheerful. Goodreads doesn’t have many reviews yet, but things look positive. HarperCollins; hardcover, 240 pages; list price: $17.99.
Passing Strange
Ellen Klages’ latest heads to the actually real Golden Gate Exposition of 1939-40, held in San Francisco, for a novel that namechecks pulp fiction, film noir, and screwball comedy in its description, which sounds like an intriguing crossover anyway. The short novel features six women, promises some romance, and also happens to feature some magic and paranormal activity, so there’s something here for quite a few different audiences. Goodreads reviews in particular praise the strength of the novel’s setting. Tor.com; paperback, 220 pages; list price: $14.00.
Death’s Mistress
The full title of Terry Goodkind’s new novel, which will also start a new series, is Death’s Mistress: Sister of Darkness, and the name of the series is The Nicci Chronicles. Anyway, fans of the Sword of Truth series will recognize Nicci’s name, and this series will focus on her after the events of that series. Still pretty deadly, Nicci heads out to explore the land and set up a new “magical confrontation far from home”, which seems like it might be an excellent way to start a continuing series like this one. Goodreads reviews mention that the book can be read without having read the Sword of Truth series, but don’t necessarily recommend it. Tor Books; hardcover, 512 pages; list price: $29.99.
Next: 12 SciFi and Fantasy Books We Want to Read This Year
Also out today is the second volume of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ run on Black Panther, titled A Nation Under Our Feet.
Which of these books will be first on your reading list?