13 New Books Coming This November
It’s hard to believe it’s already Fall. The dark mornings and rainy days have returned to Vancouver, which can only mean one thing: it’s time to cozy up by the fire with a good book. I’ll be honest that I’ve been in a major reading slump lately, but My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is slowly (but surely) helping me find my way back to books.
There’s plenty of new releases to get excited about this month, so let’s get into it.
Here are 13 books hitting shelves this November.
Longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, Seascraper is one of the books I’ve been most looking forward to this month. It follows twenty-year-old Thomas Flett, a character who lives a quiet life scraping shrimp along the northern English coast until a mysterious American filmmaker arrives in town, offering him a glimpse into a different life.
Seascraper has been praised as “short, brilliant” (The Times) and “poignant, authentic, and hopeful” (The Spectator). On sale November 4th.
From debut novelist Grace Walker, a haunting dystopian tale set in a world where Earth and its resources have been pushed to the brink. The story follows Laurie, a sixty-five-year-old woman living with Alzheimer’s, and her daughter, Amelia, who volunteers for an experimental “merging” procedure, which would transfer Laurie’s deteriorating mind into Amelia’s healthy body. The result of which would blend their consciousness into one.
As they prepare to move to The Village, a luxurious rehabilitation centre for other “mergers,” their plan begins to unravel and the cracks start to show. Described by Library Journal as “disturbingly believable and oddly intriguing,” The Merge is sure to be one of November’s most thought-provoking reads. On sale November 11th.
From Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist Stewart O’Nan, a tender and deeply human novel about friendship, aging, and the quiet acts of care that hold us together. Set in Pittsburgh, Evansong follows The Humpty Dumpty Club, a group of older women who rally to support one another and their community through life’s daily challenges.
Warm and funny, Evensong revisits beloved characters from O’Nan’s earlier books, while offering a moving meditation on love, loss, and chosen family. As Susan Straight praised it, “Stewart O’Nan has been one of the best chroniclers of the lives of American women.” Hitting shelves November 11th.
Bestselling author Ann Packer returns with her first novel in over a decade, a tender, deeply affecting story about love, marriage, and the ways we continue to surprise the people we know most intimately.
Some Bright Nowhere follows Eliot and Claire, a couple married nearly forty years, as they navigate the final weeks of Claire’s life after a long battle with cancer. When Claire makes an unexpected request, Eliot is forced to reexamine everything he thought he knew about love. Meg Wolitzer praised it as “a novel that draws you in deeply and holds you there.” On sale November 11th.
Named one of the most anticipated books of the year by Lit Hub, The Millions, and Harper’s Bazaar, this new novel from Aja Gabel is a haunting story of love, loss, and the passage of time.
When quantum physicist Noah joins a secretive project in the Texas desert, he sees a chance to do the impossible, which is to glimpse his daughter, who died years ago. Meanwhile, his wife Maya, an artist, returns to Japan to confront her own past and the love she once lost. Lightbreakers, on sale November 4th, explores how we live and love in a world where time is both a healer and a thief.
National Book Award finalist Bryan Washington returns with one of the most anticipated books of the year, as selected by Time, The Boston Globe, and Harper’s Bazaar. Set between Houston, Jamaica, and Japan, Palaver follows a son and his estranged mother as they navigate love, regret, and forgiveness. When a mother arrives unexpectedly in Tokyo after years apart, she and her son are forced to confront old wounds and rediscover their sense of home.
Written in Washington’s signature prose, Palaver is, what Kirkus calls, “a patient, powerful analysis of the dual devotion required to heal a fractured relationship.” On sale November 4th.
After being discovered at just twelve years old and being cast on a hit reality show, Lucy Gardiner’s life suddenly becomes everything she’s ever dreamed of. When the show’s popstar judge takes an obsessive interest in Lucy's raw talent, she’s pulled into the dizzying world of fame.
But as she becomes more famous, Lucy finds herself drifting further from her family. And when a series of mistakes comes back to haunt her, she finds she must free herself from fame and all its trappings, and eventually, find her way back home. As bestselling author Kiley Reid says, it’s an “absolutely killer debut.” On sale November 11th.
From regular New York Times contributor Brian Schaefer, a heartwarming debut set in the small rural town of Griffin, where a heated congressional race lays bare the divides between lifelong residents and those who have just arrived.
As local pub owner Chip Riley faces off against wealthy newcomer Paul Banks, loyalties are tested, secrets surface, and families are forced to confront what, and who, they stand for. Spanning six months from Memorial Day to Election Day, Town & Country is a sharp, compassionate portrait of a community in transition. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Andrew Sean Greer calls it “big-hearted and true,” while Colum McCann praised it as “powerful and extremely well-written.” On sale November 4th.
USA Today bestselling author Heather Webber returns with another heartwarming tale. The Forget-Me-Not Library, on sale November 4th, follows Juliet Nightingale, who sets off on a spontaneous summer road trip after surviving a freak lightning accident, and Tallulah Byrd Mayfield, a newly single mom starting over in a small town in Alabama.
When a road detour brings these two women together, they discover that happiness, much like a good story, can always be found again.
In her highly anticipated debut, Eshani Surya explores the dark enticements of the beauty industry and how it capitalizes on our desire to be someone we are not. Ravishing follows two Indian American siblings whose lives become entangled with Evolvoir, a beauty-tech company promising transformation at any cost.
For teenage Kashmira, the product offers escape from her father’s abandonment and the reflection she can’t bear to see. For her brother Nikhil, working inside the company, it’s a chance to make a difference, until unsettling truths begin to surface. As Debutiful writes, it’s “a luminous story about learning that we were never broken to begin with.” Hitting shelves November 11th.
From internationally acclaimed author Salman Rushdie, a spellbinding collection of five stories exploring life, death, and what comes into focus as we near the end. Moving between India, England, and America, Rushdie’s unforgettable characters face mortality, legacy, and the question of how we choose to spend our final moments.
From a pair of quarrelsome old men in “In the South” to a gifted musician in “The Musician of Kahani,” these stories blend wit and poignancy in true Rushdie style. Booklist praised it as “enthralling, sagacious, and resounding.” On sale November 4th.
From Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning performer Cynthia Erivo, a vulnerable and inspiring collection of life lessons about embracing your full self and never being afraid to be “too much.”
Told through a series of personal reflections, Erivo shares how she’s learned to chase her deepest desires, build balance, and live unapologetically. She reminds us that it’s never too late to become who we’re meant to be. One of this month’s most anticipated memoirs, Simply More is on sale November 18th.
How does one of the greatest storytellers of our time write her own life? In Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, Margaret Atwood, the legendary author of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, turns her gaze inward in what is being hailed as one of this year’s most anticipated books.
Raised in the wild forests of northern Quebec by scientifically minded parents, Atwood reflects on an unconventional childhood, her lifelong curiosity about the natural world, and the moments that shaped her writing. As Publishers Weekly wrote in a starred review: “Luminous prose, a palpable lust for life, and an invaluable glimpse into the mind of a literary giant make this a must-read.” Hitting shelves November 4th.
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