What do you mean, I’m writing an article about book releases for March 2017 already? Wasn’t it January, like, yesterday?
Mini time related crisis aside, March is looking great for newly published stuff and it was actually quite hard to narrow it down to only seven. I was astonished to discover that no less than eight (and probably more) video game tie-ins and visual guides are being published this month, so if that’s your sort of thing, you are in luck. For everyone else, here are seven other books to get your hands on ASAP.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Hogwarts Library Book) – JK Rowling
I know what you’re thinking – this isn’t exactly new, is it? I know how you feel – I have quite a lot of HP fatigue myself, right now. However, what this book does offer is a new foreword from Newt Scamander himself (JK, in disguise) and some brand new ‘fantastic beasts’. It also has a beautiful new cover, courtesy of Olly Moss, which will look good in any HP collection. Most importantly for me, a percentage of the profits will be going to Comic Relief and JK’s own charity, the Lumos Foundation. If you were thinking about getting yourself a copy of this book, this edition is one that you can’t really go wrong with.
Buy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Lincoln in the Bardo – George Saunders
This is the hot new thing that bookish Twitter has been raving about since at least December, and March finally sees it released to the salivating reader. Seriously, I cannot emphasise enough how many people have been going nuts about this book. George Saunders is a very successful, prize winning short story writer and essayist, but ‘Lincoln in the Bardo’ is his very first novel. With his credentials, it isn’t really hard to see why everyone is excited. The book, set during the American Civil War, covers the true story that was the death of Abraham Lincoln’s eleven year old son, and then moves into what sounds like a battle for the soul of that boy. It probably tells you all that you need to know if I explain that the ‘bardo’ is the Tibetan concept of the state of being between two lives, the one you just left and the one you will be reborn into. Honestly, it does sound like a fascinating read.
Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls – Elena Favelli and Francesca Cavallo
This book looks like it is going to do exactly what it says on the cover, and what a great idea that is. It tells the snapshot stories of 100 inspirational women and their awesome lives. I’ve had a look at some previews and it certainly reads like you could share it with the rebel girl (and boys, of course) in your lives, but don’t let lack of a kid stop you. Everyone should know more about Ada Lovelace, Frida Kahlo, Malala and Amelia Earhart, to name but a few. It is also illustrated by more than seventy artists, so it promises to be a pretty great feast for the eyes too – the samples look amazing.
Buy Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls
Strange the Dreamer – Laini Taylor
This is the book that Goodreads is freaking out about, easily the most anticipated book of March 2017 amongst those readers. Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of the ‘Daughter of Smoke and Bone’ trilogy, so it’s no surprise really that her new book is going to be big. Lazlo Strange is obsessed with the lost mythic city of Weep, so when the chance comes for him to travel with a band of adventurers to find the city, like all good heroes he answers the call. Goodreads seems to be suggesting to me that this is the first book in a series, which we all know is Taylor’s strength, so hopefully it lives up to the hype and makes for an exciting wait for the next one.
Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy Seals and Maverick Scientists are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work – Stephen Colter and Jamie Wheal
Stephen Colter is the best-selling author of ‘The Rise of Superman’, and here he teams up with Jamie Wheal, who is described as a ‘productivity expert’, which sounds like someone I need in my life, to be honest. In this book, they’re looking at the scientists and innovators who have been pushing the boundaries of what is possible, boosting performance in what they call ‘the biggest revolution you’ve never heard of.’ This is all sounds a bit vague to me but one thing you can guarantee with a topic like this is that you’ll come away from it with a lot to think (and possibly rage) about.
The Kingdom – Emmanuel Carrère
Carrère is a big name and prolific novelist in the world of French fiction, although he has been making a name for himself in the wider reading community too. He has a lot of novels to his name already, but some of the sources I have been exploring are saying that ‘The Kingdom’ is going to be his masterpiece. It’s a novel that explores the beginning of Christianity and all of the political turmoil and destruction of older traditions that came along with that. Carrère is a man of faith himself, so you can probably expect some interesting introspective writing. I don’t think it will be an easy novel to read, but it might be the one on this list that is really worth the effort.
We’re All Wonders – RJ Palacio
This book is kind of my wildcard, the one that I am most interested to see by far. In 2012, Palacio wrote a children’s book, ‘Wonder’, that was a giant success in the realms of children’s writing. A story about a disfigured boy, August, and the fight he puts up with the world that sometimes can be very cruel, ‘Wonder’ is a book that everyone should read. This new release, ‘We’re All Wonders’, is in fact a picture book, but it is a brand new story about August and his faithful dog, with the message of the novel distilled down for very little ones to read and enjoy. If this book is anything like the novel, I can say with absolute certainty that if you have a small person in your life, this could be one of the most important books that you buy for them this year.
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