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These 10 New Novels Will Make Your Days In Quarantine Fly By

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Are you currently burning through your to-read pile faster than you thought and looking for something new? Well, these new books coming out in spring 2020 are the perfect escape into fantasy, historical fiction, and more.

This spring's releases include something for everyone — mysteries for the problem-solver, novels for the activist, essays for the romantic, you name it. The social network for book readers, Goodreads, curated these top recommendations by pulling from their more than 100 million members’ Want-to-Read shelves, which is essentially like a Netflix queue but for books.

All the titles in this list will be released sometime between March and May of this year. And since you'll likely be spending more time at home than usual in the coming months, due to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation that Americans stay home as much as possible to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, you're probably in need of a new read or 20. A good book can help you escape reality.

So based on Goodreads' data on the most anticipated spring releases, here's a list of 10 titles book lovers from all over the world are excited about. Pencil them in your schedule now.

1

‘The Glass Hotel’ By Emily St. John Mandel

Coming on March 24, The Glass Hotel is a novel with quite a few layers. Per the Goodreads description, there's white-collar crime, ghosts, money, beauty, and moral compromise sprinkled throughout this latest novel by Emily St. John Mandel. It "paints a picture of greed, guilt, fantasy, delusion, art, and the ghosts of our pasts," the description notes. Sounds like a great read to me.

2

‘Code Name Hélène’ By Ariel Lawhon

Code Name Hélène is not only a fascinating piece of historical fiction based on the real-life socialite spy Nancy Wake, but it's a thriller and even a romance to boot. Follow Wake's story through her four code names during World War II and you'll be inspired by her fierce, brave personality. Code Name Hélène will be released on March 31.

3

‘Afterlife’ By Julia Alvarez

For most people, once you retire it's time for rest — not so for Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of the novel Afterlife, per the Goodreads description. She suffers a huge loss, her unstable sister disappears, and then an undocumented teenager shows up. Oh, and this teenager is pregnant.

So not only does Antonia not have time to grieve, but she also doesn't have time to focus on herself after retirement. Follow Antonia's story and you'll be reflecting on your own life choices and relationships. Afterlife will be released on April 7.

4

‘All Adults Here’ By Emma Straub

Families are definitely messy, and Astrid Strick's family is no different. After witnessing a school bus accident, a repressed memory springs forth in Astrid and makes her question what kind of parent she really was for her three children who are now grown. All Adults Here is essentially a story about families, their dynamics, the circle of life, and childhood issues that everyone can relate to, and it's told in a humorous yet thought-provoking way in this novel.

All Adults Here will be released May 5.

5

‘The Jane Austen Society’ By Natalie Jenner

Chawtown was the final home of novelist Jane Austen, and a group of disparate people come together to try to preserve her home and legacy while enduring their own struggles, per Goodreads. Even though this group of people couldn't be more different, they all come together in their love for Austen and form the Jane Austen Society, showing that even the most different of people and their circumstances can still come together. Release date: May 20.

6

‘The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes’ By Suzanne Collins

If you still can't get enough of the Hunger Games series and have always wanted the details of what happened before Katniss Everdeen became a household name, this is the book for you. Suzanne Collins' prequel to the popular series is coming out on May 19 of this year. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes starts on the "morning of the reaping" of the 10th Hunger Games and takes place 64 years in Panem before everything went down at the Capitol and the regime came crumbling down.

7

‘The City We Became’ By N.K. Jemisin

The City We Became is a fantasy novel centered around five New Yorkers who have to defend their beloved city from a "rolling ancient evil" that stirs beneath the earth. On March 24, The City We Became picks up where the author's short story The City Born Great left off.

8

‘The Only Good Indians’ By Stephen Graham Jones

Not your typical horror story, The Only Good Indians by American Indian novelist Stephen Graham Jones is a "dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition," says Goodreads. This book has a crazy mix of social commentary, suspense, drama, and of course horror — which will make it a pretty interesting read to say the least. The story follows four American Indian men who left their culture behind, but there's an entity that's bent on revenge for a mistake they made during their childhood, and they are unwillingly thrust back to face the culture they thought they'd left behind. The Only Good Indians will be released on May 19.

9

‘Wow, No Thank You.’ By Samantha Irby

If you're looking for a fun but still intelligent read, Samantha Irby's book of essays Wow, No Thank You. may just be the book you need. Irby just turned 40 and is living with her wife and two step-children in a white republican town in Michigan, according to the Goodreads description. This sounds very uncomfortable and potentially humorous already, but add in Irby's quick-witted and hilarious writing style and you've got a great book to read this spring. Wow, No Thank You. will be released on March 31.

10

‘The Lady's Handbook For Her Mysterious Illness: A Memoir’ By Sarah Ramey

It's no secret that a lot of women don't get taken seriously when it comes to their health, and many are written off as their feelings and illness "being in their head" if the doctors can't seem to find or fix what's wrong. Part medical drama/mystery, all memoir, The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness: A Memoir follows Sarah Ramey's battle with a mystery illness she's had since college and sheds light on other hidden illnesses, including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain, and more. "Her book will open eyes, change lives, and ultimately change medicine," the Goodreads description says. I hope it's right. Look for it after its release date, March 17.

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