Explore the latest books of this year!
Bookbot

Karen Russell

    Karen Russell crafts wonderfully strange and imaginative tales that delve into the liminal spaces between the real and the fantastical. Her prose is celebrated for its rich lyricism and its ability to conjure unforgettable characters who navigate the peculiar landscapes of human experience. Russell masterfully balances humor and melancholy, inviting readers to contemplate the whimsical and the profound aspects of life. Her unique voice and inventive storytelling reveal a deep fascination with themes of belonging, identity, and the search for home.

    Karen Russell
    Swamplandia!
    Sleep Donation
    Vampires in the Lemon Grove
    St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves
    The Antidote
    Orange World and Other Stories
    • Set against the backdrop of the Dust Bowl, the story follows five characters whose lives intersect after a devastating storm hits their small Nebraska town. As they navigate the challenges brought on by the environmental disaster, their intertwined fates reveal themes of resilience, survival, and the impact of nature on human relationships.

      The Antidote2025
      3.9
    • Sleep Donation

      • 160 pages
      • 6 hours of reading

      ONE OF BUZZFEED'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR For the first time in paperback, a haunting novella from the uncannily imaginative author of the national bestsellers Swamplandia! and Orange World: the story of a deadly insomnia epidemic and the lengths one woman will go to to fight it. Trish Edgewater is the Slumber Corps' top recruiter. On the phone, at a specially organized Sleep Drive, even in a supermarket parking lot: Trish can get even the most reluctant healthy dreamer to donate sleep to an insomniac in crisis--one of hundreds of thousands of people who have totally lost the ability to sleep. Trish cries, she shakes, she shows potential donors a picture of her deceased sister, Dori: one of the first victims of the lethal insomnia plague that has swept the globe. Run by the wealthy and enigmatic Storch brothers, the Slumber Corps is at the forefront of the fight against this deadly new disease. But when Trish is confronted by "Baby A," the first universal sleep donor, and the mysterious "Donor Y," whose horrific infectious nightmares are threatening to sweep through the precious sleep supply, her faith in the organization and in her own motives begins to falter. Fully illustrated with dreamy evocations of Russell's singular imagination and featuring a brand-new "Nightmare Appendix," Sleep Donation will keep readers up long into the night and long after haunt their dreams.

      Sleep Donation2020
      3.5
    • Orange World and Other Stories

      • 288 pages
      • 11 hours of reading

      "This is a Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf"--Title page verso.

      Orange World and Other Stories2019
      4.0
    • Vampires in the Lemon Grove

      • 256 pages
      • 9 hours of reading

      A collection of stories features a pair of centuries-old vampires whose relationship is tested by a sudden fear of flying, a dejected teen who communicates with the universe, and a massage therapist who heals a tattooed veteran by manipulating the imageson his body.

      Vampires in the Lemon Grove2013
      3.7
    • The Writer's Notebook II

      Craft Essays from Tin House

      • 246 pages
      • 9 hours of reading

      The Writer's Notebook II continues the tradition of its predecessor, featuring essays from craft seminars at the Tin House Summer Writer's Workshop and contributions from Tin House magazine and Tin House Books authors. This collection delves into essential craft elements like humor, suspense, and research while also addressing the creation of fractured and nonrealist narratives and the significance of dreams in fiction. It serves as both a toolkit and a source of inspiration for writers. Aspiring authors will find sixteen insightful essays on the craft of writing by notable Tin House authors and workshop faculty, including Aimee Bender, Steve Almond, and Maggie Nelson. The essays cover a range of topics: from beginnings and the importance of humor to the role of work in prose and poetry. Other essays discuss nonlinear narratives, the process of revision, and the interplay between story and dream. Each piece offers a unique perspective, encouraging writers to explore their craft more deeply and creatively. With contributions from a diverse array of voices, this collection is an engaging and enlightening read for anyone interested in the art of writing.

      The Writer's Notebook II2012
    • Swamplandia!

      • 336 pages
      • 12 hours of reading

      The Bigtree alligator wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Ava, a resourceful but terrified twelve year old, must battle to save it. After the death of her beautiful and legendary mother, Swamplandia, Ava.s island home in the Florida Everglades, is under threat from a nearby competitor.

      Swamplandia!2011
      3.3
    • Here is the debut short story collection from the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Swamplandia! and the New York Times bestselling Vampires in the Lemon Grove. In these ten glittering stories, the award-winning, bestselling author Orange World and Other Stories takes us to the ghostly and magical swamps of the Florida Everglades. Here wolf-like girls are reformed by nuns, a family makes their living wrestling alligators in a theme park, and little girls sail away on crab shells. Filled with inventiveness and heart, St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves is the dazzling debut of a blazingly original voice.

      St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves2007
      3.8