A Memoir from Princess Diana's Brother is Among This Season's Best Books (2024)

On the heels of a blockbuster exhibition at the Frick Collection, a new set of fans have discovered the work of the late, great painter Barkley L. Hendricks. In this 300-page new book, Hendricks's work is beautifully reproduced and placed alongside essays by experts and admirers who help underscore the importance of his oeuvre. This collection is not only a visual feast, but also a deep dive into the process and impact of an artist whose influence is unparalleled.

Frances and Kathryn McLaughlin were twin sisters and trailblazing photographers in the 1930s and '40s, shooting for era-defining magazines and helping to shape the way the world saw itself in a time of extreme upheaval. In this deeply researched and fascinating biography, T&C contributor Carol Kino explores the lives and all-too-short careers of both women as well as a lost age among some of the 20th century's most important creative forces.

Recently, Keith Haring's singular style of artwork has been celebrated with major recent retrospectives, and now the late artist's life is the subject of a major biography by Brad Gooch, a noted master of the form. Here, we delve deep into New York City in the 1980s—with appearances, of course, by Andy Warhol, Madonna, and Jean-Michele Basqiuat—to see the world that shaped Haring and discover how he found his singular place within it. Gooch has written an unforgettable portrait of an icon who's as smart, charming, and multifaceted as the masterpieces that he left behind.

Has anyone ever had a sophom*ore slump quite like Pippa Jones? The novelist had a hit with her first book, but now that the second one is due—and her best idea so far went up in flames—she's running out of time to deliver something brilliant. Just when it seems like she'll never make it happen, however, a so-wild-it-just-might-work idea comes her way and Pippa decides to give it her all—despite the way it'll turn her world upside down.

This new book by Gabriel García Márquez, published 10 years after his death, almost never saw the light of day. The novel, among the last pieces the Nobel Prize winning author worked on, was reportedly deemed by Márquez not quite ready for publication and filed in his archive—until now. The story, about a woman who makes an annual pilgrimage to an island where she does something seemingly very out of character—and in doing so, gets closer to her true self—was revisited by Márquez's children, who decided it was in fact something to be shared with the world. Lucky, lucky us.

History, it's often said, is written by the victors. Well, not always. In this remarkable look at the way medicine has approached women's health, the oncologist and medical historian Dr. Elizabeth Comen looks at the way women have been treated and mistreated by doctors over the years, and the impact it's had on the way their health is viewed today. Comen's thoughtful, thorough, and very well written book looks at 11 different organ systems in the body and tells stories from the past and her own practice to shed light on the roles they've played in women's overall health. Consider this book not just good, but good for you.

Nobody does historical fiction quite like Allison Pataki. Some of her previous novels have told stories about Marjorie Merriweather Post and Empress Sisi, and this latest fictionalizes the life of the boundary breaking journalist Magaret Fuller, following her from Boston to New York City and around the world as she masters her craft and meets some of the most fascinating characters of her day. Part of the joy in reading Pataki's books is you learn from them while being caught up in the sweeping action, and this latest is no exception.

What does screen time really do to our kids? You might not want to know—but you need to. In this new book, social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores how the way kids are growing up today impacts their development and mental health, and is creating major problems for society at large. Beyond just identifying the problem, however, Haidt offers solutions to help turn the tide.

Life rarely turns out the way in which we expect, and the three friends at the center of Lisa Ko's new novel are no exception. Growing up together, the women bond over teenage alienation and big dreams of big lives. Some of those dreams come true, but just as often—as the book flashes from the 1980s and '90s into the 2040s—the characters are confronted with the disappointments and mundane disasters of everyday life. Still, Ko's book is a moving, sharply observed portrait of friendship and discovering what it means to live a worthwhile life—whether or not it's anything like what we'd hoped.

What's the price of unconditional love? What begins as a story of a family in Upstate New York during the 1950s follows the Larkin children through their lives, watching as each strives, with varying degrees of success, to find their place in the world. One of these kids, however, is different than the others. And while he drifts (or is pushed; depends on who you ask) from his family, who he becomes will be an issue that impacts them all. Rapp's novel is at once a big, bold story of where we come from and how we get where we're going and also a fascinating look at coping with evil in the places that are supposed to keep us safe.

For a long time, Candy Darling has been a fascinating footnote to other people's stories: a Warhol superstar, the inspiration for a Lou Reed hit, a muse to the Rolling Stones. Now, thanks to this biography from the remarkable Cynthia Carr (who wrote a stellar 2012 biography of David Wojnarowicz), Darling gets her turn as a main character in a book that tells her story as well as one about American culture, New York City, and the beginnings of a movement that would still be brewing 50 years later.

Princess Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, turns his attention to his time at Maidwell Hall boarding school growing up. "I spent five years of my childhood in this school, trying to crack the code by which it lived. Now, forty-five years on, I think I’m finally there. I’m writing this book before my memories of half a century ago tip over into that chasm of forgetfulness that shadows old age," Spencer said in a statement. More on his memoir, here.

Things are not going well for Victoria Stevens. The tech billionaire has disappeared in the hours before a story will drop exposing her entire operation as fraudulent, and it seems as though she's left her husband holding the bag. In this funny, observant novel, Ryan Chapman follows the pair in their very different ways of dealing (one goes off the grid, the other goes wild on a private island where the world's richest people have convened) and in doing so, looks closely at the state of wealth and the world today. Pick this one up with Dorothy Parker's immortal words in mind: "If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to."

In 18th-century New England, keeping up appearances is paramount—especially in a place like Cana, a religious community founded by Reverend Nathaniel Whitfield. But what lurks beneath the surface for Whitfield is something he'd never want to share with those neighbors. His relationship with the local doctor isn't only a secret, but something both men fear might be a sign of evil creeping into their utopia. In this moving and powerful novel, Garrard Conley follows the men and their families as the tension between their piety and desires becomes impossible to ignore.

This latest from the author of All the Pretty Places and The Grand Design follows Belle Newbold, a young woman at the turn of the 20th century who thinks she knows what it is she wants, but finds herself surprised and changed by what fate has in store. When a trip brings Belle and her soon-to-be-husband—practically a stranger–together in the mountains, a terrain she's attempted to avoid since a tragedy years before, everything she thought she knew about love and the life she desired is changed forever.

A mysterious inheritance, a decades-old murder, and a trip halfway around the world collide in this compelling new novel and a young woman whose unexpected windfall is just the beginning of a thrilling and dangerous adventure. When Sara Marsala returns to her ancestral homeland of Sicily, she has no clue that her trip will uncover a family secret and set her on a path that will change her life—and perhaps those of all the women who come from the same small village. Jo Piazza's book is a charming page turner packed with wit and wicked twists that will keep readers engrossed—until, of course, they set it down to plan their own trips abroad.

Nell Freudenberger's latest is a globe-spanning epic that tackles questions of family, faith, and the fate of the world. When teenager Pia leaves her scientist mother behind in Tahiti to spend time with her father (and his new wife) in New York City, she had no idea what would lay ahead for her. But as she tries to find her place in this new family dynamic, the world comes grinding to a halt, what's important to Pia—and a cast of other unforgettable characters—shifts dramatically, revealing the true desires that drive a seemingly disparate but ultimately intertwined group of people across the world.

In August of 2022, Salman Rushdie—the writer of books including Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses—survived a vicious attack a lecture in New York State. Here, he shares for the first time his recollections of the event and also his thoughts on life and art in the wake of it.

What can we learn if we sit still and take in the world around us? Amy Tan's latest asks this question, as the author compiles writing and her own artwork (as well as a foreword by David Allen Sibley) inspired by birding and discovers there are still lessons to be learned from the natural world, and great takeaways from observing instead of participating.

This delightful book takes readers inside the annual Westminster Dog Show, following the journey of a Samoyed named Striker as his competes with his handler, Laura, in the 2022 edition of the competition. If you're a dog person, have a passing interest in the world of dog shows, or even just really enjoyed the cult classic film from 2000, Best in Show: You won't want to miss Dogland.