7 of the Best New Books to Read in January

The desperately optimistic among us foretold that 2021 would be as good as 2020 was bad. If the best new books in January are any kind of sign, then the future is bright—this year is going to be beautiful. 

These are the kind of books that you can read on your couch with just a steaming mug and a good-smelling candle and feel transported. Every party you missed, every vacation you gave up, every adventure that you’re dreaming of, seem miraculously captured between their pages. We’re still waiting to see what 2021 becomes, and what becomes of us—who we’ll be, when the history that has happened to us finally recedes. As we wait, the unspeakable pleasure of a good hardcover in our hands with a compelling story on its pages will take us from the cold, dark days of winter into the welcoming warmth of spring. 

Here are just a few of the best new books in January, for escapism, for learning, for using literature as a tool for survival: