The Best Books to Read This November

This coffee-table book is a celebration of some of Old Hollywood’s most familiar and formidable women. Film stills, photos, and a foreword by Jane Fonda celebrate the likes of Lauren Bacall, Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Gloria Grahame, Katharine Hepburn, Veronica Lake, Anna May Wong and more, making this an ideal gift for the movie lover in your life.

What began as a profile of television legend Johnny Carson for Esquire—the first Carson had granted since his retirement—eventually became this sprawling biography of one of the biggest-ever names in showbiz, which follows Carson from his childhood in Nebraska to his perch on The Tonight Show—and was completed by Mike Thomas after Bill Behme’s death.

In its golden age, the grand manors and palaces of the English countryside were strictly reserved for the wealthy and blue-blooded. That began to change by the end of the 19th century with the influx of nouveau riche arrivistes, who ushered in a radical change in social mores and expectations. Historian Adrian Tinniswood brings us back to that period before World War I, when Britain was a global power and these estates were at their height of refinement—before war and modernity forever altered the landscape.

Nobody spins a New York City tale quite like Richard Price. In his latest novel, the author of Lush Life and Clockers tells the story of a 2008 fire in an East Harlem building, and how the aftermath changes forever the lives of a disparate group including a survivor of the tragedy, a detective investigating the scene, and a local business owner whose priorities are shifted by the mayhem. As always, Price writes about characters who feel like they’ve been ripped from the headlines, but does it with grace and an encyclopedic knowledge of this town and the people who live here.

There’s a Prada store in the middle of West Texas you may have seen on Instagram. Only, it’s not really a boutique but an installation by Elmgreen & Dragset. That’s just one of the more recognizable byproducts of Ballroom Marfa, the dynamic cultural incubator and contemporary art museum founded 20 years ago by Virginia Lebermann and Fairfax Dorn. A new book from Phaidon chronicles those first two decades, which has taken everyone from John Waters and Joanna Newsom to Agnes Denes and Rashid Johnson to the far reaches of the desert in the name of radical artistic expression.

One of Jamaica’s most iconic hotels celebrates its 50th year with this charming book that charts the people and events that made it legendary—including turns on screen and some very notable guests—and reminds us all that what might be one of today’s most Instagrammed properties was painfully cool long before social media was around, and remains a bucket-list destination.

A woman as formidable as Cher deserves more than one memoir. Part 1, which comes out a month after she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, begins with Cher’s childhood and details her difficult relationship with her mother, her chaotic upbringing, and how she turned her dreams of becoming famous into a reality. The story charts the Goddess of Pop’s life up until her fateful meeting with Sonny Bono and the highs and lows, both professional and personal, of their legendary partnership. Part 2 is slated to follow next year.

The David Yurman brand is not just a great American success story. It’s also a great American love story. The couple, whose creative roots are in painting (for her) and sculpture (for him), met in 1969, in the studio of artist Hans Van de Bovencamp. In 1980, they launched their jewelry brand, fusing their artistic sensibilities and deep understanding of craftsmanship. Details of the couple’s story—and of their decades-long creative partnership—are woven throughout this 350-page monograph, which also features never-before-seen artwork, family photos, sketches, BTS images, and portraits of house jewelry icons.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was no greater art flex for the superrich than to sit for a portrait by John Singer Sargent. No one understood this better than British art dealer Asher Wertheimer, who commissioned 12 works from the painter, his largest private commission. This new book not only delves into the close friendship that developed between Sargent and the Wertheimer family (Asher and his wife Flora had 10 children), but also explores the greater cultural and historical context behind these works, from the decline of the British aristocracy at the turn of the 20th century, to the rise of fascism in the ’30s, to the birth of the modern art market.

If you’re one of those people for whom “not too sweet” is the best compliment a dessert can earn, Jessica Seinfeld’s latest book is definitely for you. The bestselling author is back with this guide to 100 dessert recipes—including lemon bars and blackberry buckle, in case you’re interested in what we’d like to try first—that work for a variety of dietary restrictions without ever skimping on flavor.

Haruki Murakami’s much anticipated new book, his first full-length novel in six years, is based in part on a short story he wrote in 1980. It follows a young man as he searches for a former classmate who has disappeared into a city that exists in her own imagination. Along the way, Murakami explores some of his favorite subjects— jazz, books, and the creative space found in between dreams and reality.

Lili Anolik established herself as the Eve Babitz whisperer with her unforgettable magazine stories about the then-mostly-forgotten-but-now-celebrated L.A. author and her book Hollywood’s Eve. Her new release further explores Babitz’s friendship and rivalry with that other California girl, Joan Didion—and while Anolik’s own allegiance is clear, her book is a captivating look into the way two very brilliant, very different writers maneuvered around one another, and the starry, messy world they inhabited. Someone get Ryan Murphy a copy, we smell a new season of Feud.

Wine wordsmith Dan Keeling does his part to demystify drinking in this fun, useful guide following his travels to some of the world’s best known vineyards, explains what does and doesn’t matter when it comes to the good stuff, and offers advice to experts and newbies alike on how to build a collection that they’ll truly enjoy.

Unbelievably, the photographer Peter Hujar, who chronicled the downtown demimonde of pre-AIDS New York City with devastating clarity, only published one monograph of his work before his death at 53 in 1987. The book, Portraits of Life and Death, has been mostly out of print for 50 years but it’s being reissued at a time when artificial intelligence and algorithmic hegemony threatens the kind of fearless creative originality that flourished in Hujar’s day, and that, thankfully, he captured beautifully for posterity.

Juhea Kim’s sophomore novel enters the world of contemporary Russian ballet—”where cutthroat ambition, ever-shifting politics, and sublime artistry collide,” per the publisher—following former prima ballerina Natalia Leonova, attempting a comeback in St. Petersburg. It’s a mesmerizing page-turner—and exactly the type of book we want to get lost in this November.

Assouline latest, Fifth Avenue, makes for the perfect holiday present this year. The luxurious book follows the history of the storied New York City shopping destination—from a quiet residential street to its current global icon status.

Martha Stewart’s 100th book is worth celebrating. In the aptly titled Martha: The Cookbook, she shares 100 treasured recipes, photos from her archives, and more. “It’s hard to believe that I have created 100 personal, beautiful, and educational books in the last 42 years since the publication of my first Clarkson Potter book, Entertaining,” Martha said. “Compiling 100 favorite recipes is difficult, but I think this collection will be useful and very well-liked by all readers.”

Romantasy is still having a moment, and Carissa Broadbent continues her #BookTok hit series Crowns of Nyaxia in a new installment that follows vampire Mische as she must journey into the underworld with Asar, a bastard prince.

In Sarah Jost’s The Estate, Camille is an art historian who can enter the world of any piece of artwork. She’s used her magical talent to build a career specializing in 19th-century sculptor Constance Sorel; when a lost piece of Sorel’s is discovered, however, she is immediately suspicious it’s a fake. Her proclamation makes her lose her job, and finds her in the path of Maxime Foucault, an enigmatic aristocrat who invites her to a grand chateau.