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The new year brings new books, and new books to eagerly anticipate — for instance, Thomas Pynchon's upcoming book from Penguin Press, which has not a pub date (yet) but already is getting press. Or blogger Kelly Oxford's memoir, out in April from It Books, Everything Is Perfect When You're a Liar. Or the late, wonderful David Rakoff's Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish: A Novel, forthcoming in July. It's unknown whether this will be the year that we also see that Monica Lewinsky memoir we started talking about last year (don't hold your breath), but there are plenty of worthy novels, short story collections, memoirs, and nonfiction books books that we're pretty excited about. In terms of themes, it's shaping up to be a pretty big year for short stories, and for books from some notable, big-name authors who are returning after long sabbaticals with new fiction. Herewith, the list of the winter books we can't wait for.
JANUARY
Daddy Love, by Joyce Carol Oates. (Mysterious Press, January 8). Oates' latest novel deals with a family torn apart by a kidnapper who takes their young son and runs over the boy's mother in the process, "mangling her body nearly beyond repair." Robbie, the boy, is brainwashed and tortured by his captor, "Daddy Love," but there's a spark of rebellion in him and an intense desire to survive as well. Meanwhile, his mom slowly recovers, hoping there might be a chance he's still alive. Haunting, terrifying, disturbing, and a totally engrossing read.