Uncommon Type: Some Stories
by Tom Hanks
Cinephiles are familiar with Tom Hanks" roles in movies like "Forrest Gump" or "Sleepless in Seattle," so it comes as no surprise that his sensitivity and empathetic nature drive his first collection of fiction. All 17 stories in Uncommon Type offer a humane view of people and their foibles. In a world where the news is often bleak and much fiction tends toward the dark and dystopic, this is a heartfelt, charming kind of storytelling of how people might exist in Utopia. Even when Hanks writes about somber subjects such as the effects of war or immigrants fleeing persecution, he's able to deliver it in a palatable way for the reader. Hanks wrote his entire book on an antique manual typewriter. He's an avid collector.
A Stranger in the House
by Shari Lapena
From the bestselling author of the wildly popular The Couple Next Door comes a well-plotted thriller of a woman who wakes in a hospital after a car accident with no memory of the night before. In A Stranger in the House, police can't figure out what Karen Krupp, upstate New York housewife and bookkeeper, was doing in a sketchy part of town before running a red light and smashing her car into a utility pole. After discovering a murdered man a few blocks from the scene, detectives set in motion an investigation that quickly threatens to expose secrets beneath the suburban life Karen and her husband have created for themselves. Plentiful plot twists make this an engrossing page-turner.
Single State of Mind
by Andi Dorfman
Fans of "Sex and the City" will be ravenous for Andi Dorfman's book, Single State of Mind. Breakout star of "The Bachelorette" and author of New York Times bestseller, It's Not Okay, Dorfman shares her adventures as a still-single gal trying to thrive in New York City. The relatable personality of this Georgia native has inspired intense devotion from her fans as she details her dates on Tinder, watching her ex-fiancé propose to another woman on "Bachelor in Paradise" and finding her first New York apartment. For those who love juicy gossip and brain candy, Single State of Mind fits the bill.
Three Daughters of Eve
by Elif Shafak
Elif Shafak delves into some of the most pressing issues of our time in Three Daughters of Eve. Her new novel begins with a married, beautiful Turkish woman, Peri, and her teenage daughter, Deniz, stuck in a traffic jam in Istanbul on their way to a dinner party at a seaside mansion. A beggar snatches Peri's handbag, and as she wrestles to get it back, an old Polaroid of three young women and their university professor falls to the ground. The rest of the novel is devoted to exploring her estranged relationships with the people in the photo. Shafak successfully navigates the tensions in her country between religious and secular, rich and poor, and East and West.
