All industries have been affected by the massive economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Publishing and bookselling are certainly not immune, so I thought that one very small thing I can do is to champion the books and authors I’m excited about this year. Books are still being published (and written and represented and acquired and edited), and people are definitely still reading.

Libraries’ physical locations are closed in most places – or if they’re not, they should be – and while some staff are working from home and being paid, others have been furloughed or laid off, or forced to use their PTO or do unrelated (and sometimes risky) jobs (for no hazard pay). If you are in a position to do so, please consider supporting your local library by donating to their Friends group, contacting Town/City management to express your appreciation and support, or donating to the EveryLibrary HALO Fund (or any of the EveryLibrary initiatives).

Okay, on to the books! It’s looking like 2020 might not be the best year (politically, pandemically, planetarily, take your pick), but there are always good books being published. Titles in italics are those I’ve already read and would recommend; the rest are those I’m looking forward to reading in the coming months.

Adult

• 19 Love Songs by David Levithan
• You’re Not Listening by Kate Murphy
• The Genius of Women by Janice Kaplan
• Weather by Jenny Offill
• A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
• Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
• Recollections of My Nonexistence by Rebecca Solnit
• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
• The Illness Lesson by Clare Beams
• Go to Sleep (I Miss You) by Lucy Knisley
• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
• The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey
• Show Them A Good Time by Nicole Flattery
• A Map Is Only One Story, edited by Nicole Chung
• Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell
• Friends and Strangers by J. Courtney Sullivan
• Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld
• Or What You Will by Jo Walton

YA/Middle grade

• On the Horizon by Lois Lowry
• The Thief Knot by Kate Milford (Greenglass House)
• The Night Country by Melissa Albert (sequel to The Hazel Wood)
• Just Breathe by Cammie McGovern
• Go With the Flow by Karen Schneemann
• Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles
• Almost American Girl by Robin Ha
• Chirp by Kate Messner
• Here in the Real World by Sara Pennypacker
• Show Me A Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte
• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park
• We Dream of Space by Erin Estrada Kelly
• The Sisters of Straygarden Place by Hayley Chewins
• Music from Another World by Robin Talley
• Goodbye from Nowhere by Sara Zarr
• Catherine’s War by Julia Billet
• When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Mohamed Omar
• Sal and Gabi Fix the Universe by Carlos Hernandez
• Wink by Rob Harrell
• The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
• Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
• Letters from Cuba by Ruth Behar
• Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
• No Fixed Address by Susin Nielsen
• Folktales for Fearless Girls by Myriam Sayalero

Picture books

• Beehive by Jorey Hurley
• The Only Woman in the Photo by Kathleen Krull
• In A Jar by Deborah Marcero
• World So Wide by Alison McGee (this would make a great gift book for any family with a new baby!)
• My Best Friend by Julie Fogliano
• Charlie and Mouse Outdoors by Laurel Snyder
• Just Like A Mama by Alice Faye Duncan
• The Oldest Student by Rita Lorraine Hubbard
• Only A Tree Knows How to Be A Tree by Mary Murphy
• The Paper Kingdom by Helena Ku Rhee
• One Little Bag by Henry Cole
• I Can Be Anything by Shinsuke Yoshitake
• What About Worms?! (an Elephant & Piggie book) by Ryan T. Higgins
• The Next President by Kate Messner
• Lift by Minh Le
• Nonsense! The Curious Story of Edward Gorey by Lori Mortensen
• Things That Go Away by Beatrice Alemagna
• What If Soldiers Fought With Pillows? by Heather Camlot
• In My Anaana’s Amautik by Nadia Sammurtock
• Under the Lilacs by E.B. Goodale
• You Don’t Want A Dragon! by Ame Dyckman

Looking even further ahead: Alix Harrow’s new novel The Once and Future Witches comes out in October of this year, and Kate Milford’s The Raconteur’s Commonplace Book comes out in 2021. Still waiting on the final chunk of Philip Pullman’s Book of Dust trilogy, and the rest of Alba De Tamble’s story from Audrey Niffenegger…

Remember that you can borrow e-books and digital audiobooks for free from your library, and most indie bookstores are offering local delivery or some sort of contact-less pickup option. Keep calm, wash your hands, and read on.