David Graeber's 'Pirate Enlightenment,' Patricia Engel's 'Faraway World': 5 new must-read books

In search of something good to read? USA TODAY's Barbara VanDenburgh scopes out the shelves for this week’s hottest new book releases. All titles are on sale Tuesday.

For more must-read recommendations, check out the January pick for USA TODAY's Book Club, Prince Harry's mega-bestselling memoir "Spare"; the 20 books we can't wait to read this winter, including Pamela Anderson's memoir "Love, Pamela," Salman Rushdie's "Victory City" and Colleen Hoover's latest; our favorite books of 2022 that received perfect four-star reviews; and the juiciest celebrity memoirs released last year from Matthew Perry, Tom Felton, William Shatner, Jennette McCurdy and more. 

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‘The Faraway World’

By Patricia Engel (Avid Reader Press, fiction)

What it's about: The author of “Infinite Country” pens a collection of 10 haunting short stories set across the Americas, from New York City to Miami and Cuba, connected by themes of migration and sacrifice.

The buzz: "Engel's multinational update of dirty realism is full of ironic flair, imagination, and empathy," says a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.

'Pirate Enlightenment, Or the Real Libertalia'

By David Graeber (FSG, nonfiction)

What it's about: The final, posthumous work by the anarchist anthropologist and author of "The Dawn of Everything" examines the societies of pirates as experiments in self-governance and democratic, progressive values.

The buzz: "Certain to be controversial, but all the more important for that," says Kirkus Reviews.

'This Other Eden'

By Paul Harding (Norton, fiction)

What it's about: The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Tinkers" returns with a new novel inspired by the true story of isolated Malaga Island off the coast of Maine, one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast.

The buzz: A starred review for Publishers Weekly calls it " a remarkable achievement."

'The World and All That It Holds'

By Aleksandar Hemon (MCD, fiction)

What it's about: In 1914 Sarajevo, Rafael Pinto witnesses the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The world he knows shatters, and the pharmacist finds himself in the trenches of World War I, as the affections of fellow soldier Osman give him reason to live.

The buzz: "Hemon pulls no punches in his most ambitious novel to date," says a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.

'Unraveling'

By Peggy Orenstein (Harper, nonfiction)

What it's about: It's hard to resist a book that's subtitled "What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World's Ugliest Sweater," a bizarre, funny memoir about one woman's quest to make a sweater from scratch.

The buzz: Kirkus Reviews calls it "a charming memoir of a quietly transformative year."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: David Graeber's 'Pirate Enlightenment' and more must-read new books