Person
Every book Joumana Khatib recommended on podcasts
Joumana Khatib’s most recommended books
- Erasure by Percival Everett
- Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
- Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
- Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- The color of water by James McBride
- Convenience store woman by 村田沙耶香
- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
- A Passage to India by E. M. Forster
Joumana Khatib is a book critic and podcast contributor who frequently discusses upcoming and notable literature on The Book Review. During a fall book preview episode, Khatib previewed and recommended several prominent new works and upcoming releases across various genres. She praised Ayad Akhtar's autofictional novel The Radiance and discussed Min Jin Lee's upcoming book American Hagwon. Khatib also highlighted filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun's debut horror novel, Public Access Afterworld, as well as Yiyun Li's historical novel Music Against the Night, which follows two eighteenth-century musicians. Turning to Irish literature, she offered a glowing recommendation for Louise Kennedy's upcoming novel Stations and praised Kennedy's previous debut novel, Trespasses, calling it a beautiful, heartbreaking romance. Furthermore, Khatib kicked off a lightning round of recommendations by expressing her admiration for Patrick deWitt, whose writing she praised as intelligent without being overly clever, while discussing his upcoming book Dodge City. Finally, she introduced R.F. Kuang's quieter coming-of-age novel Taipei Story, noting the author's previous works. Throughout the episode, Khatib provided listeners with detailed insights and personal enthusiastic commentary on a diverse array of anticipated literary fiction and genre releases.
Books recommended by Joumana Khatib
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Erasure
Erasure by Percival Everett is a sharp satirical novel that explores identity, the publishing industry, and the commodification of Black trauma.
Discussed“I was reading eraser over the weekend which is of course the novel that the screenplay for American fiction is based on and the epigraph for that novel 20 years ago is from Mark Twain”
Where to get it
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Chain Gang All Stars
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is a gripping futuristic dystopian novel that explores institutionalized violence and the American prison-industrial complex through a high-stakes gladiatorial combat program.
Recommended“and it's for Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame AJ Brena it's incredible”
Where to get it
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Dream Count
Dream Count is a work of fiction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Recommended“yes so this is dream count by chimamanda and adicha it's been a long time since we've seen a work of fiction from her”
Where to get it
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Great Big Beautiful Life
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry is a contemporary romance novel by a prominent author widely regarded as a major figure in the romance genre.
Recommended“so I am going to talk about Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry who is somewhat of a actually not somewhat no qualifier needed romance Superstar right now this is her sixth romance”
Where to get it
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Asymmetry
Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday is a structurally innovative and critically acclaimed novel exploring power dynamics, ambition, and global politics through two seemingly distinct narratives that ultimately interconnect.
Recommended“hypothetically speaking I also really like Lisa halliday's novel asymmetry which I think is a fictionalized account”
Where to get it
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The Secret History
The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a psychological thriller that follows a tightly knit group of eccentric classics students at a Vermont college who become morally corrupted after committing murder.
Recommended“this time I'm reading the secret History For the First Time by Donna tart I'm in the middle of reshuffling my books and this came into my hands right before I was going to the beach”
Where to get it
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The color of water
The Color of Water by James McBride is a celebrated memoir about growing up in Red Hook as one of twelve children born to a Black father and a white mother who grew up Jewish, converted, and started a church.
Discussed“I love his Memoir called the color of water which is about growing up in Red Hook as one of 12 born to a black father a white mother who grew up Jewish and converted and literally started a church with her first husband a wild story”
Where to get it
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Convenience store woman
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata is a contemporary novel that explores societal pressures and nonconformity through the life of a thirty-six-year-old unmarried woman working in a Japanese convenience store.
Recommended“but I picked up recently convenience store Woman by Saka marada which is her English language debut”
Where to get it
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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride is a rich, character-driven novel that explores community, race, and humanity within a tight-knit Pennsylvania neighborhood during the mid-twentieth century.
Book club“and all of that is here in the Heaven and Earth grocery store”
Where to get it
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A Passage to India
A Passage to India by E.M.
Recommended“A Passage to India I mean I like all Forester”
Where to get it
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A Tale for the Time Being
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth L.
Recommended“so I just started Ruth ozeki's novel a tale for the time being because I realized I needed some levity”
Where to get it
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A World Appears
A World Appears by Michael Pollan is a non-fiction journey into consciousness that explores meditation, psychedelics, and the nature of the self.
Recommended“So, this is a world appears, a journey into consciousness by Michael Pollen.”
Where to get it
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All the Sinners Bleed
All the Sinners Bleed by S.
Recommended“it's called all the Sinners bleeds by ESS Cosby”
Where to get it
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American Hagwon
American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee is a sweeping novel exploring the complexities of education, upward and downward mobility, and the Korean diaspora within the United States, serving as part of a planned four-part thematic series.
Recommended“This is American Hagwan by none other than Minjin Lee of Pachinko fame.”
Where to get it
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An Honest Woman
An Honest Woman by Charlotte Shane is a candid and incisive memoir that examines intimacy, autonomy, and the complexities of sex work through a deeply critical lens.
Recommended“yes I would like to talk about Charlotte Shane's Memoir called an honest woman the author she's a really incisive critic”
Where to get it
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Audition
Audition by Katie Kitamura is a compelling and deeply psychological contemporary novel that explores identity, performance, human relationships, and the subtle tensions underlying everyday social interactions.
Recommended“One is Audition by Katie Kamura. I'm always interested in what she publishes.”
Where to get it
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Book of Lives
Book of Lives is a memoir by Margaret Atwood.
Recommended“This is a book of lives by Margaret Atwood.”
Where to get it
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Clutch
Clutch by Emily Nemens is a contemporary novel that explores intricate human relationships and narratives through a distinct literary lens.
Recommended“So, the first one I'm going to talk about is a novel called Clutch by Emily Nemans.”
Where to get it
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Colored Television
Colored Television by Danzy Senna is a satirical novel exploring identity, ambition, and the entertainment industry.
Recommended“this is colored television by Dany Senna It's a Good Morning America book club pick”
Where to get it
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Crook Manifesto
Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead is a gritty, atmospheric crime novel and a direct sequel to Harlem Shuffle, following its protagonist through the turbulent criminal underworld of 1970s New York.
Recommended“he has a new book out called crook Manifesto”
Where to get it
The other 118 books Joumana Khatib recommended or discussed, ranked
- Dangerous, Dirty, Violent and Young by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
- Daughter of the Dragon by Yunte Huang
- Day by Michael Cunningham
- Deacon King Kong by James McBride
- Dodge City by Patrick deWitt
- Dog Days by Emily LaBarge
- Electric Spark by Frances Wilson
- Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson
- Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
- Every Story Is a Love Story by Imbolo Mbue
- Five Weeks in the Country by Francine Prose
- From Life Itself by Suzy Hansen
- Glyph by Ali Smith
- Go Gentle by Maria Semple
- Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
- Happy all the time by Laurie Colwin
- Health and Safety by Emily Witt
- Home cooking by Laurie Colwin
- How to End a Story by Helen Garner
- Innocents and others by Dana Spiotta
- Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
- James by Percival L. Everett
- Joy is Calling by Susan D Elliott
- Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck
- King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes
- King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
- Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
- Life with Picasso by Françoise Gilot
- Lightning Rods by Helen de Witt
- Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
- Mating by Norman Rush
- Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey
- MOBY-DICK; or, THE WHALE by Herman Melville
- Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
- Murder Bimbo: The Unmissable Cult Hit Page-Turner - Perfect for Summer Reading by Rebecca Novack
- Music Against the Night by Yiyun Li
- My search for Warren Harding by Robert Plunket
- Mythologies by Roland Barthes
- Next of Kin by Gabrielle Hamilton
- Next to Heaven by James Frey
- Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery
- Paper Girl by Beth Macy
- Pearl by Sian Hughes
- Pet by Catherine Chidgey
- Prophecy by Carissa Véliz
- Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun
- Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby
- Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh
- Romney by McKay Coppins
- Searches by Vauhini Vara
- Splinters by Leslie Jamison
- Stations by Louise Kennedy
- Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood
- Taipei Story by R. F. Kuang
- Talk by Linda Rosenkrantz
- Territory of Light by Yuko Tsushima
- The Antidote by Karen Russell
- The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
- The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni
- The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
- The Colony by Annika Norlin
- The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
- The Fraud by Zadie Smith
- The Iliad by Homer
- The Keeper by Tana French
- The Neapolitan Novels : My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante
- The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
- The Radiance by Ayad Akhtar
- The Sellout by Paul Beatty
- The Trees by Percival L. Everett
- The Trip Not Taken by Amy Ross
- The Visionaries by Wolfram Eilenberger
- The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez
- Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov
- Transcription by Ben Lerner
- Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
- V13 by Emmanuel Carrère
- Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes
- We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
- Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
- Blood, Bones, & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
- Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
- Dopesick by Beth Macy
- Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
- Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
- Help on way by Katherine G. Helms
- Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood
- Maid by Stephanie Land
- Milkman by Anna Burns
- My Friends by Hisham Matar
- My Pathology by Lisa Tuttle
- No Land to Stand On by Mahmoud Khalil
- Norwood by Charles Portis
- Out by Natsuo Kirino
- Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus
- Peek a Boo with Petal by Bonnie Misha Sleep
- Playworld by Adam Ross
- Raising Lazarus by Beth Macy
- Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami
- The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
- The Brightness by Chad Harbach
- The friend by Sigrid Nunez
- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
- The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
- The hours by Michael Cunningham
- The Hunter by Tana French
- The Last Samurai by Helen Dewitt
- The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
- The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
- The Searcher by Tana French
- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
- Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li
- Transactions in a foreign currency by Deborah Eisenberg
- True Grit by Charles Portis
- Weathering Heights by Wendy Dalrymple
Appearances
Other mentions (72: passing, ad reads, own books), the 30 most recent
“If you're a reader, you probably know him for Homeland Elegies, which is one of the book reviews 10 best books of the year in 2020.”
“This is more the sort of like big bustling like social coming of age novel like Clare Massud like the emperor's children or something like that.”
“And this is when I when I started reading this, I was like, "Oh my god, it's going to be like normal people but better."”
“RF Kuang, who you might know for yellowface, babble, or catavistus”
“RF Kuang, who you might know for yellowface, babble, or catavistus”
“RF Kuang, who you might know for yellowface, babble, or catavistus, which I now know how to pronounce.”
“Bonnie Garas, who of course is the author of Lessons in Chemistry, which was astronomically popular.”
“Like I really really need to go reread Like classics in quotes? Class Yeah. Yeah. What What is classics out of quotes? I don't know why I said that. Okay, anyway. So, like I need to go back and reread like Turgenev and all the you know, Anna Karenina.”
“This is Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck who's German. All of her books are great. Go Went Gone, etc.”
“So, this is Transcription by Ben Lerner. Ben is the author of Leaving the Atocha Station, The Topeka School, 10:04.”
“So, this is Transcription by Ben Lerner. Ben is the author of Leaving the Atocha Station, The Topeka School, 10:04.”
“So, this is Transcription by Ben Lerner. Ben is the author of Leaving the Atocha Station, The Topeka School, 10:04.”
“This is from Life Itself by Suzy Hansen. I think she is just like an all-star international correspondent. She's based in Turkey for I think over a decade at this point. And her last book, Notes on a Foreign Country, was a Pulitzer finalist.”
“You know, one of my favorite books by him is The Snakehead. That's the one I haven't read. Yeah, he's he's like a another must-read for me.”
“So, this is the Calamity Club by Katherine Stockett. It's been a long time since we've had a book by Katherine Stockett. She is the author of The Help and Stockett is returning again to the South for this one...”
“I have John of John by Douglas Stuart. You might recognize that name because he is also the Booker Prize winning author of Shuggie Bain.”
“Maria Semple, who is best known as the author of Where'd You Go, Bernadette, has a new novel coming out called Go Gentle.”
“So he's best known for The Omnivore's Dilemma.”
“And then actually his last book, How to Change Your Mind, from 2018 started looking at psychedelics and how they play with our very plastic consciousnesses.”
“It's like Fates and Furies the Lauren Grath book.”
“This was my problem with Creation Lake among other things.”
“The author is the best-selling writer of The Nest and Good Company.”
“The author is the best-selling writer of The Nest and Good Company.”
“You might also have heard of Momento my or a Far Cry from Kensington.”
“You might also have heard of Momento my or a Far Cry from Kensington.”
“Yes, it's that James Fry. the one of a million little pieces, fame, infamy, whatever.”
“She's known for the Poppy War trilogy. She's known for Babel.”
“Her last book, Yellowface, was a total swerve for her. This was a racial satire of the publishing industry.”
“I was a teenage slasher that is a very good book it's a good book”
“people go nuts for her books Book Lovers Beach read”