A Dozen Books You Need to Know About for November 2025

This month, and especially its first Tuesday, November 4, sees a bumper crop of books, where the holiday book market really gets going. Check out below for books by Margaret Atwood, Michelle Obama, Louis CK, Salman Rushdie, Patti Smith and Sir Paul McCartney.

 

• Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood
  Her long-awaited memoir offers insight into the life behind major works like The Handmaid’s Tale. One of the biggest literary events of the year.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

 

• Star of the Show: My Life on Stage by Dolly Parton
  A celebration of her life as a performer with lots of photographs. Do buy if you love a bit of Dolly and are happy to enjoy a hagiography: don’t buy if you want a critical look at her career and relationships.
  November 11, 2025

 

 

• Bread of Angels: A Memoir by Patti Smith
  A deeply personal account from the poet and punk icon about her upbringing and a series of traumatic losses — her most intimate work yet.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

• The Eleventh Hour by Salman Rushdie
  His first fiction since the 2022 stabbing attack that nearly took his life while he was lecturing on stage in New York. This collection of five stories about what comes into focus in the “last hour” is a momentous literary return.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

• The Weekend Crashers by Jamie Brenner
  Feel-good women’s fiction with heart and healing set in New Hope, Pennsylvania, which, apart from having an evocative name, is a fun vacation town and the author’s home town. Great for fans of Elin Hilderbrand or Emily Giffin.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

• Like Family by Erin O. White
  This debut novel — from a 51-year-old! — explores contemporary family structures and queer identity, drawing early acclaim.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

• Women in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters edited by Adriana Trigiani & others
  This anthology from eight different authors, reimagines side characters from Austen’s novels in new feminist lights.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

• The Look by Michelle Obama
  The former first lady releases a  coffee table book of her evolving look. Because of our political moment this is a culturally charged nonfiction book reflecting on personal presentation, fashion, and identity.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

• Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run by Paul McCartney
  Part memoir, part band history—McCartney revisits the highs and lows of Wings in this lavish release.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

• Queen Esther by John Irving
  Irving’s new novel explores faith, abortion, and human connection. It will not resonate like The Cider House Rules but it will be necessary reading.
  November 4, 2025

 

 

• Ingram by Louis C.K.
  A darkly comic and strange debut novel from the controversial comedian, set in small-town Texas.
  November 11, 2025

 

 

• Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America by Sean Sherman
  A cookbook-meets-cultural history rooted in Indigenous foodways and land stewardship.
  November 11, 2025