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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Never-Before-Published Harper Lee Stories Coming This Fall
Big book season just got bigger. A new collection of Harper Lee’s writing is coming on October 21. The Land of Sweet Forever will present eight previously unpublished short stories from Lee’s pre-Mockingbird career, along with eight pieces of nonfiction that were originally published between 1961 and 2006. The stories, which Lee tried and failed to have published before she hit the big time, were among the papers her executor discovered after her death in 2016.
Set in both the American South, where Lee grew up, and New York City, where she worked as a young adult, the stories explore the themes that would later define To Kill a Mockingbird: “small town gossip and politics, tender and tense relationships between fathers and daughters, race relations.” Two of the stories reportedly offer insight into how Lee created the character of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Among the nonfiction selections are a profile of Truman Capote, with whom Lee was close friends, a letter to Oprah (yes, really), and a cornbread recipe. The collection will also include scans of some of the original papers with Lee’s working notes.
Having significantly underestimated readers’ excitement and interest in Go Set a Watchman, which sold more than a million copies in its first week when it was published in 2015 (that was a really big number in the days before Onyx Storm), I’ll be very curious about how this collection will be received and by whom: are rank-and-file readers still invested in Lee’s increasingly complicated legacy, or is this one for the historians?
How to Get Your Reading Groove Back
If the <waves hands> of the world right now has you in a reading slump, you are sooooo not alone. Here are 11 ways to fall back in love with reading, including a few tips from yours truly. I’ll say it again for the people in the back: DNFing is the way.
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Read This Book With Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti
Sir Anthony Hopkins has announced that he will publish his first memoir, a “raw and passionate” recounting of his life, this fall. We Did OK, Kid, due out November 4, presents the celebrated actor’s “illustrious film and theater career, difficult childhood and path to sobriety.” Because the folks at his publisher, Summit Books, know what they’re doing, Hopkins will read the audiobook edition himself. Put that right into my veins.
7 Must-Read Books About Immigration and Refugees
Sharifah wrote a terrific piece reflecting on her identity, her evolving understanding of what it is to be an immigrant in America, and essential books about immigration and refugees. Added bonus: they help you complete a task in this year’s Read Harder Challenge. It’s never too late to jump in.
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