10 New Spring 2017 Books You Can Read at the Airport (or Anywhere Else)

For anyone who's ever longed to leave everything behind and travel the world, this book is all the inspiration you need. Follow Oxenreider and her family as they take a nine-month journey across the world—with three kids under the age of 10.

What People Are Saying: “In this candid, funny, thought-provoking account, Tsh shows that it’s possible to combine a love for adventure with a love for home.” —Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before

Available on Amazon

Follow protagonist Selin's coming-of-age story as she navigates her freshman year of college and preceding summer in Europe. Set in 1985 at the cusp of the digital age, The Idiot is a comical love story and tale of self-discovery.

What People Are Saying: “Wonderful first novel . . . Batuman updates the grand tour travelogue just as she does the epistolary novel and the novel of ideas, in prose as deceptively light as it is ambitious. One character wonders whether it’s possible ‘to be sincere without sounding pretentious,’ and this long-awaited and engrossing novel delivers a resounding yes.” —Publishers Weekly

Available on Amazon

Perfect for the current political climate, Hamid delivers a dark yet powerful love story set in a city on the brink of a civil war. Follow Nadia and Saeed as they try to escape and start over amidst inevitable destruction.

What People Are Saying: “It was as if Hamid knew what was going to happen to America and the world, and gave us a road map to our future… At once terrifying and … oddly hopeful.” –Ayelet Waldman, The New York Times Book Review

Available on Amazon

From the best-selling author of The Lost City of Z comes a nonfiction mystery about the murders of the Osage people in Oklahoma. Dubbed the first major homicide case for the FBI, Grann reveals new evidence and years of research about the terrible crimes.

What People Are Saying: "Disturbing and riveting ... Grann has proved himself a master of spinning delicious, many-layered mysteries that also happen to be true ... It will sear your soul." —Dave Eggers, New York Times Book Review

Available on Amazon

Perfect for a mother-daughter book club or vacation, And We're Off is one of the most anticipated young adult spring 2017 books about a mother-daughter trip taken during a summer in Europe—think Gilmore Girls, but abroad.

What People Are Saying: "Nora’s European adventures, very real fears, and endlessly entertaining narration keep this exploration of what it means to be a creator, a friend, and a daughter firmly grounded, and readers will be happy to come along for the ride." —Booklist

Available on Amazon

The Wild Woman’s Guide to Traveling the World by Kristin Rockaway is a smart, fictional story following an over-stressed Manhattan consultant (Sophie) who takes a much-needed vacation from work to Hong Kong with her best friend. Hours after arriving, her friend bails on the trip and flies home. The book follows Sophie’s adventures around Hong Kong with her new love interest. It’s an easy, fun read that will make you question whether you should throw everything away to follow your own dreams.

What People Are Saying: "Can a novel be smart and loads of fun? Kristin Rockaway's debut is proof that it's possible. Warm, witty, and completely delightful, this book had my inner escapist itching to hop on the next flight out of town." –Camille Pagan, bestselling author of Life and Other Near-Death Experiences

Available on Amazon on June 6

Meet one of the most popular spring 2017 books: Into the Water is written by Paula Hawkins (of The Girl on the Train fame) and it looks to be another suspenseful thriller. You'll finish this murder mystery page-turner in no time.

What People Are Saying: "Contains just as many hair-raising plot twists as [The Girl on the Train]. This time, Hawkins’s absorbing and chilling cast of mothers, daughters, and sisters grapples with the implications of memory, exploring what happens when our conflicting recollections of personal histories collide to destroy the present.” —Harper's Bazaar

Available on Amazon

For any fellow Narcos-binge watchers, this novel is for you. Set over the span of two decades in both Colombia and NYC, The Lucky Ones tells the story of Colombia's brutal history through a diverse group of characters. 

What People Are Saying: “Riveting … Having lived in Colombia until she turned eighteen, Pachico has a firsthand connection to the country’s charms and troubles that shines through on every gripping page.” —Publishers Weekly

Available on Amazon

Kristen Radtke's graphic novel memoir is one of the most critically-acclaimed spring 2017 books in which she tells the story of ruins and personal tragedy. After losing an uncle in college and attending his funeral near an abandoned mining town, Radtke travels, finds captivating abandoned sites, and shares her personal journey.

What People Are Saying: "With elegant writing and arresting drawings, Kristen Radtke’s Imagine Wanting Only This … grapple[s] with the limits of how much understanding our past can help us comprehend our present … Radtke balances the personal—insomnia, failed love, her own heart ills, and loss—with larger historical forces and events. Her atmospheric black and white drawings shift between close-ups of telling details—a pile of mail on the floor, a single hanging bulb in a garage—and powerful full-page illustrations. She is a master of silhouette and shadow, of negative space, evoking a sense of potent isolation." —Nina MacLaughlin, The Boston Globe 

Available on Amazon

Another graphic novel debuting as one of the top spring 2017 books is The Best We Could Do, a memoir about a family's escape from Vietnam in the '70s and the difficulties of immigration and rebuilding their lives. The graphic novel is told from Bui's perspective as a new mother, looking back at her family's struggle 40-plus years ago.

What People Are Saying: “With great mastery of writing and drawing, Thi Bui shows the consequences of war lasting from generation to generation. The Best We Could Do honors Vietnam the way Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis honors Iran. And it’s fun to read too.” –Maxine Hong Kingston, author of The Fifth Book of Peace and I Love a Broad Margin to My Life

Available on Amazon