OPINION

Sedaris' 'Best of Me,' Yang's 'White Ivy' out now

Ready Player Two/A Promised Land/Wuhan Diary
Ready Player Two/A Promised Land/Wuhan Diary

Each of these books on November's list, which range from a much anticipated autobiography to an unsettling diary, look interesting.

A new collection by David Sedaris, "The Best of Me," and Susie Yang's debut "White Ivy" just arrived in bookstores. On the way:

◼️ "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man" by Emmanuel Acho (out Tuesday). This book from the former NFL player and current Fox Sports analyst provides a new voice in the dialogue about racism. "You cannot fix a problem you do not know you have," writes Acho, acknowledging that racism in our nation is a problem that we all have to discuss, ready or not, if we are going to repair its devastating effects.

◼️ "Dearly: New Poems" by Margaret Atwood (Tuesday). From the start of her career, Atwood has been a poet, and she's one of the few contemporary writers whose poetry and prose receive equal amounts of praise. "Dearly," her first new poems in 10 years, covers love and loss, humanity and nature. Also: zombies. She's keeping us on our toes, as usual.

◼️ "We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence" by Becky Cooper (Tuesday). Sometimes investigating a murder becomes about more than that murder. Cooper found that out while an undergraduate at Harvard University in 2009, after she heard about the 1969 death of a graduate student named Jane Britton. As Cooper unraveled Britton's story over the course of a decade, she discovered a great deal about misogyny and silence at one of our nation's most revered institutions.

◼️ "The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories" by Danielle Evans (Tuesday). Evans' celebrated short story collection "Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self" came out in 2010. Unlike some writers, who would follow a collection with a novel, Evans has chosen instead to release a novella and stories, showcasing her continued command of short fiction. The title novella manages to combine George Orwell's bureaucratic chill from "1984" with Toni Morrison's elegant judgments from "Beloved."

◼️ "A Promised Land" by Barack Obama (Nov. 17). The first volume of presidential memoirs from the 44th man to hold that office promises to boost book sales in November. At 768 pages and a list price of $45, it will challenge your shelves and your wallet. Only a few people already know if this volume holds the "intimacy and introspection" claimed in its jacket copy, but given Obama's story, the book looks promising.

◼️ "Ready Player Two" by Ernest Cline (Nov. 24). If you started hoping for a sequel the minute you put down Cline's "Ready Player One" in 2011, you'll be thrilled with "Ready Player Two," which picks up the story of Wade Watts, the winner of OASIS founder James Halliday's fiendishly clever contest. Now, Watts discovers another "Easter egg" from Halliday, a new puzzle and a new quest that might change the world.

◼️ "Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City," by Fang Fang (Nov. 24). With so much about covid-19 still a mystery, this first-person account of how the coronavirus initially spread feels indispensable. The acclaimed poet and novelist blends a knowledge of the virus' ground-zero location — her hometown — with literary talent. Since the virus has already spread everywhere, Fang's book is less a cautionary tale than an important document for posterity.

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