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November 2025

November's Books on Screen roundup includes the films The Running Man, Train Dreams, Wicked: For Good, Hamnet, Karen Kingsbury's The Christmas Ring and Eric Jerome Dickey's Friends and Lovers; the series premieres of "Death by Lightning" on Netflix and "All Her Fault" on Peacock; the season premieres of Apple TV+'s "WondLa" and Netflix's "Unicorn Academy"; the season finales of "The Morning Show" on Apple TV+ and "Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order" on AMC; the continuation of CBS's "Tracker" and "Watson," HBO's "IT: Welcome to Derry" and Apple TV+'s "Down Cemetery Road"; and the DVD/Blu-ray releases of The Long Walk, The Roses, Caught Stealing, Looking Through Water and Freakier Friday.

November 4, 2025

In this newsletter, you will find books releasing the weeks of November 3rd and November 10th that we think will be of interest to Bookreporter.com readers, along with Bonus News, where we call out a contest, feature or review that we want to let you know about so you have it on your radar.

This week, we are calling attention to our very special 25th Anniversary Feature on ReadingGroupGuides.com, which includes a BIG contest. We looked back and created a list of some of the most discussed books each year since Reading Group Guides launched in 2000. One lucky reader will win ALL 25 books, while five others will win five of these books. The deadline for your entries is Monday, December 1st at noon ET.

Sue Monk Kidd, author of Writing Creativity and Soul

When Sue Monk Kidd was in high school, a home economics teacher wrote a list of potential occupations for women on the blackboard: teacher, nurse, librarian, secretary. “Writer” was nowhere to be found. On that day, Kidd shut the door on her writerly aspirations and would not revisit the topic until many years later when she announced to her husband and two children that she was going to become a writer. And so began her journey into the mysteries and methods of the writerly life. In WRITING CREATIVITY AND SOUL, Sue Monk Kidd pulls from her own life and the lives of other writers --- including Virginia Woolf, Maya Angelou and Harper Lee --- to provide a map for anyone who has ever felt lost as a writer.

Megha Majumdar, author of A Guardian and a Thief

In a near-future Kolkata beset by flooding and famine, Ma, her two-year-old daughter, and her elderly father are just days from leaving the collapsing city behind to join Ma’s husband in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After procuring long-awaited visas from the consulate, they pack their bags for the flight to America. But in the morning they awaken to discover that Ma’s purse, containing their treasured immigration documents, has been stolen. Set over the course of one week, A GUARDIAN AND A THIEF tells two stories: the story of Ma’s frantic search for the thief while keeping hunger at bay during a worsening food shortage; and the story of Boomba, the thief, whose desperation to care for his family drives him to commit a series of escalating crimes whose consequences he cannot fathom.

Zadie Smith, author of Dead and Alive: Essays

In this eagerly awaited collection, Zadie Smith brings her unique skills as an essayist to bear on a range of subjects that have captured her attention in recent years. She takes an exhilaratingly close look at artists Toyin Ojih Odutola, Kara Walker and Celia Paul. She invites us along to the movies, to see and to think about Tár, and to New York to reflect on the spontaneous moments that connect us. She takes us on a walk down Kilburn High Road in her beloved North West London and welcomes us to mourn with her the passing of writers Joan Didion, Martin Amis, Hilary Mantel, Philip Roth and Toni Morrison. She considers changes of government on both sides of the Atlantic --- and the meaning of "the commons" in all our lives.

Harper Lee, author of The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays

THE LAND OF SWEET FOREVER combines Harper Lee’s early short fiction and later nonfiction in a volume that offers an unprecedented look at the development of her inimitable voice. Covering territory from the Alabama schoolyards of Lee’s youth to the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury Manhattan, the book invites still-vital conversations about politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American South, and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life. This collection comes with an introduction by Casey Cep, Lee’s appointed biographer, which provides illuminating background for our reading of these stories and connects them both to Lee’s life and to her two novels, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and GO SET A WATCHMAN.

Louise Penny, author of The Black Wolf

Several weeks ago, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team uncovered and stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montréal, arresting the person behind it. A man they called the Black Wolf. But their relief is short-lived. In a sickening turn of events, Armand has realized that plot was just the beginning. Perhaps even a deliberate misdirection. One he fell into. Something deeper and darker, more damaging, is planned. Did he in fact arrest the Black Wolf, or are they still out there? Armand is appalled to think that his mistake has allowed their conspiracy to grow, to gather supporters. To spread lies, manufacture enemies, and feed hatred and division. Still recovering from wounds received in stopping the first attack, Armand is confined to the village of Three Pines, leading a covert investigation from there.

Editorial Content for The Last Death of the Year: A Hercule Poirot Mystery

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

Sophie Hannah’s Hercule Poirot mysteries are magnificent tributes to the legendary detective introduced by Dame Agatha Christie. The sixth and latest release, THE LAST DEATH OF THE YEAR, is no exception. Read More

Teaser

New Year’s Eve, 1932. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool arrive on the tiny Greek island of Lamperos to celebrate the holiday with what turns out to be a rather odd community of locals living in a dilapidated house. A dark sense of foreboding overshadows the beautiful island getaway when the guests play a New Year’s Resolutions game after dinner, and one written resolution gleefully threatens to perform “the last and first death of the year.” Hours later, one of the home’s residents is found dead on the terrace. In light of the shocking murder, Poirot reveals to Catchpool the real reason he’s brought him to the island --- the life of another community member has been threatened. Now both men resolve to ensure that the first murder will be the last.

Promo

New Year’s Eve, 1932. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool arrive on the tiny Greek island of Lamperos to celebrate the holiday with what turns out to be a rather odd community of locals living in a dilapidated house. A dark sense of foreboding overshadows the beautiful island getaway when the guests play a New Year’s Resolutions game after dinner, and one written resolution gleefully threatens to perform “the last and first death of the year.” Hours later, one of the home’s residents is found dead on the terrace. In light of the shocking murder, Poirot reveals to Catchpool the real reason he’s brought him to the island --- the life of another community member has been threatened. Now both men resolve to ensure that the first murder will be the last.

About the Book

The brilliant Belgian detective rings in the New Year with a chilling murder investigation on a Greek island in this all-new holiday mystery from Sophie Hannah, author of HERCULE POIROT'S SILENT NIGHT.

New Year’s Eve, 1932. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool arrive on the tiny Greek island of Lamperos to celebrate the holiday with what turns out to be a rather odd community of locals living in a dilapidated house. A dark sense of foreboding overshadows the beautiful island getaway when the guests play a New Year’s Resolutions game after dinner, and one written resolution gleefully threatens to perform “the last and first death of the year.”

Hours later, one of the home’s residents is found dead on the terrace.

In light of the shocking murder, Poirot reveals to Catchpool the real reason he’s brought him to the island --- the life of another community member has been threatened. Now both men resolve to ensure that the first murder will be the last.

Audiobook available, read by Julian Rhind-Tutt

Editorial Content for Photograph

Book

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Ray Palen

A new novel from Brian Freeman is always a reason to celebrate. This time, he steps away from the Jason Bourne series that he has taken over to present us with a stand-alone thriller featuring completely original characters. PHOTOGRAPH is full of plot twists and surprises, in addition to a good deal of dangerous situations. Read More

Teaser

Shannon Wells is a private investigator who helps women with nowhere else to go. Last year, a woman named Faith Selby came to Shannon with a strange request: Find out who I really am. Shannon soon discovered that Faith was hiding a whole other life, but was unable to penetrate the web of mystery the woman had built around her past. Now Faith is dead. The only clue to who she was and why she was murdered is an old photograph of a little girl in the rain outside a Midwestern motel. The hunt for answers takes Shannon from the hot beaches of Florida to a remote small town in Michigan as she peels away layer after layer of a shocking cold case that has rippled violently into the present. With each secret she uncovers, the danger around her grows --- and forces Shannon to confront the demons hiding in her own past.

Promo

Shannon Wells is a private investigator who helps women with nowhere else to go. Last year, a woman named Faith Selby came to Shannon with a strange request: Find out who I really am. Shannon soon discovered that Faith was hiding a whole other life, but was unable to penetrate the web of mystery the woman had built around her past. Now Faith is dead. The only clue to who she was and why she was murdered is an old photograph of a little girl in the rain outside a Midwestern motel. The hunt for answers takes Shannon from the hot beaches of Florida to a remote small town in Michigan as she peels away layer after layer of a shocking cold case that has rippled violently into the present. With each secret she uncovers, the danger around her grows --- and forces Shannon to confront the demons hiding in her own past.

About the Book

From New York Times bestselling author Brian Freeman, PHOTOGRAPH is an emotional cold case mystery of hidden identities and startling twists --- perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Mary Kubica and Freida McFadden.

Shannon Wells is a private investigator who helps women with nowhere else to go. Last year, a woman named Faith Selby came to Shannon with a strange request: Find out who I really am.

Shannon soon discovered that Faith was hiding a whole other life, but was unable to penetrate the web of mystery the woman had built around her past. Now Faith is dead. The only clue to who she was and why she was murdered is an old photograph of a little girl in the rain outside a Midwestern motel.

The hunt for answers takes Shannon from the hot beaches of Florida to a remote small town in Michigan as she peels away layer after layer of a shocking cold case that has rippled violently into the present. With each secret she uncovers, the danger around her grows --- and forces Shannon to confront the demons hiding in her own past.

Audiobook available, read by January LaVoy

Editorial Content for The Everlasting

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Rebecca Munro

Alix E. Harrow, the bestselling author of STARLING HOUSE and THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES, returns with her most epic, ambitious novel yet. THE EVERLASTING is an Arthurian time-travel romp about a legendary swordswoman with the power to develop nations, erase histories and unite municipalities, all with the draw of her sword and the cut of her blade. It is also about Owen Mallory, the historian charged with making sure her story does all that and more. Read More

Teaser

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters. But her life as it truly happened has been forgotten. Centuries later, Owen Mallory --- failed soldier, struggling scholar --- falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives --- and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs. But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend --- if they want to tell a different story --- they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

Promo

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters. But her life as it truly happened has been forgotten. Centuries later, Owen Mallory --- failed soldier, struggling scholar --- falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives --- and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs. But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend --- if they want to tell a different story --- they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

About the Book

From Alix E. Harrow, the New York Times bestselling author of STARLING HOUSE, comes a moving and genre-defying quest about the lady-knight whose legend built a nation, and the cowardly historian sent back through time to make sure she plays her part --- even if it breaks his heart.

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters. But her life as it truly happened has been forgotten.

Centuries later, Owen Mallory --- failed soldier, struggling scholar --- falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives --- and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs.

But that story always ends the same way. If they want to rewrite Una’s legend --- if they want to tell a different story --- they’ll have to rewrite history itself.

Audiobook available, read by Moira Quirk and Sid Sagar