Books Briefing: Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land”

November 17, 2020

Barack Obama at his first inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20, 2009.Damon Winter/The New York Times

Hi readers,

Here’s your weekly catch-up on everything you need to know going on in the book world.

The news:

Today, one of the most anticipated books of the year comes out: former President Barack Obama’s new memoir, “A Promised Land.” Readers have been eagerly awaiting the memoir — and so have booksellers, who say the book could be a lifeline at a precarious economic moment.
One of the last comedic frontiers for Steve Martin was cartoons: He had the ideas, but he can barely draw stick figures. So he teamed up with the cartoonist Harry Bliss, and together they created a new book, “A Wealth of Pigeons.”
We spoke to Rachel Bloom, the co-creator and star of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” about her new memoir.
Michael J. Fox has a new book, “No Time Like the Future,” and a newfound, uniquely upbeat brand of pessimism. As he told us in an interview, he used to be a believer in making lemonade out of lemons, but now, he writes: “Screw it — I’m out of the lemonade business.”
Maaza Mengiste spent years on her novel “The Shadow King,” learning Italian, living in Rome and amassing an archive of historical photography that informed the book, which has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. But it’s not just research, she tells us: “It’s detective work that you have to do.”
And another Booker finalist: Tsitsi Dangarembga’s debut novel, “Nervous Conditions,” made her part of the African literary canon. Decades later, “This Mournable Body” has made her a contender for broader global literary recognition.
Nonfiction out today: “A Promised Land,” by Barack Obama; “Oak Flat,” by Lauren Redniss; “The Moth and the Mountain,” by Ed Caesar; “Waste,” by Catherine Coleman Flowers; “The Nine Lives of Pakistan,” by Declan Walsh; “Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds,” by Paul Farmer; “This Is Not My Memoir,” by André Gregory and Todd London.
Fiction out today: “The Orchard,” by David Hopen; “The Doll,” by Ismail Kadare; “V2,” by Robert Harris; “Nights When Nothing Happened,” by Simon Han; “Stillicide,” by Cynan Jones; “A Million Aunties,” by Alecia McKenzie.

The critics:

Jennifer Szalai reviews former President Barack Obama’s new book, “A Promised Land,” the first of two planned volumes about his years in the White House. “At a time of grandiose mythologizing, he marshals his considerable storytelling skills to demythologize himself,” Szalai writes.
Dwight Garner revisits the work of one of his Covid-era heroes. “Jacques Pépin Quick & Simple,” an updated cookbook, offers useful lessons in economy for trying times. “With people out of work, and others fearful of joining them, and still others shellshocked and instinctively practicing thrift,” Garner writes, “Pépin’s recipes speak to this moment.”

On Monday, the Book Review will announce this year’s 10 Best Books — and Times subscribers will hear it first. Join us for our third annual celebration, hosted by Pamela Paul and the Book Review team. The actor and author Mindy Kaling, an avid bookworm, will kick things off with a special welcome. R.S.V.P. here.

That’s all for now. Please stay in touch and let me know what you think — whether it’s about this newsletter, our reviews, our podcast, our literary calendar, our Instagram or what you’re reading. We on the Books desk read all of it, and I’ll make every effort to write back. You can reach me at books@nytimes.com.

All my best,

Joumana Khatib

Books at The New York Times

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