5 thought-provoking books to read in March

It's March already, which means we're almost a quarter of the way through this year's book releases. (Where does the time go?) If you're prepping your spring reading list, consider bringing these March releases along to enjoy the warming weather.

'Anita de Monte Laughs Last' by Xochitl Gonzalez (March 5)

Author and journalist Xochitl Gonzalez follows her debut novel, 2022's "Olga Dies Dreaming," with the upcoming "Anita de Monte Laughs Last," which she teased in The Atlantic in February. The story follows Raquel, a first-generation Ivy League art history major, as she discovers the work of Anita de Monte, a Cuban American artist who mysteriously died in New York City in the eighties. Raquel begins to see parallels between herself and de Monte, forcing her to question her relationships and place on campus. Much like her bestselling debut novel, Gonzalez's latest is a "dissection of social status and privilege," said Time. Pre-order here.

'Help Wanted' by Adelle Waldman (March 5)

Adelle Waldman’s "zeitgeist-y" debut "The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.," about the troubled love lives of "Brooklyn’s publishing intelligentsia," defined a "certain type of 2010s literature," Dilara O’Neil said for Vulture. Waldman's much-awaited second novel, "Help Wanted," finally comes out this year, a full decade later. This time, Waldman focuses on the conflicts between warehouse workers and management at a big-box store in the Hudson Valley. She incorporates "19th-century pastiche," which was refreshing after the "rise and wane of the autofiction boom," O'Neil added. Kirkus Reviews called it the "workplace dramedy of the year." Pre-order here.

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'Until August' by Gabriel García Márquez (March 12)

Nearly a decade after the death of Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez, a rediscovered novel he wrote is being released. Set in the Caribbean, "Until August" story follows a married woman who takes on a new lover whenever she visits her mother's grave. What emerges is a "powerful narrative about love and freedom," Time said. 

Best known for his books "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Love in the Time of Cholera," the Colombian writer died in 2014 from pneumonia at 87 years old. Toward the end of his life, he was working on "Until August" while simultaneously struggling with dementia. Ultimately, he decided the book should not be published after his death, so it was locked away with his other papers in a University of Texas archive for a decade, where few knew it existed. Last year, his sons Rodrigo and Gonzalo García Barcha announced that they had decided to publish the book, calling it the result of their father's "last effort to continue creating against all odds." Pre-order here.

'James' by Percival Everett (March 19)

Critically acclaimed author Percival Everett reimagines Mark Twain's classic "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from the point of view of Finn's enslaved companion, Jim, as they journey down the Mississippi River together. The novel was pitched as a "harrowing and ferociously funny retelling" of the original, said Literary Hub. Many of the events of "Huckleberry Finn" happen the same way, but they are narrated from Jim's perspective as he looks for a way to free his wife and daughter. His "wrenching odyssey" ends with "remarkable revelations, violent showdowns and insightful meditations on literature and philosophy," said Publisher's Weekly, adding that Everett has "outdone himself." The 2021 Pulitzer Prize finalist is also the author of "Erasure," the source material for last year's film "American Fiction," which got several Oscar nominations. Pre-order here.

'Who's Afraid of Gender?' By Judith Butler (March 19)

Gender studies scholar Judith Butler, author of 1990's "Gender Trouble," unpacks the anti-gender ideology that has been used by authoritarian regimes and fascist movements to "distract from globally destructive forces like war and climate change," said Time. Butler's work feels especially pertinent now, as "anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans rhetoric is being weaponized by right-wing extremists around the world." Butler takes particularly pointed aim at "transexclusionary feminists," and argues that opposing this incendiary rhetoric requires solidarity amongst everyone who cares about equality. "Thoughtful and powerfully assured, this is an essential take on an ongoing political battle," Publisher's Weekly said. Pre-order here.