Four books to read this November, according to bestselling author Rumaan Alam
Rumaan Alam, author of the Read With Jenna pick and National Book Award finalist “Leave the World Behind,” stopped by TODAY with Hoda & Jenna Nov. 4 to share a few of his book recommendations for the fall of 2024.
Alam’s latest novel, “Entitlement,” follows some of the themes he’s been interested in throughout his career — proximity to wealth and intersections of race and privilege.
“Entitlement” follows Brooke Orr, a young Black woman navigating her new role as billionaire Asher Jaffee’s assistant.
‘Entitlement’ by Rumaan Alam
His mission is to practice philanthropy with his fortune, while Brooke’s is to establish her independence and make a true difference in the world.
Addressing questions of race versus privilege, philanthropy versus generosity, and much more the conflict at the heart of this novel remains the same throughout: money.
Below, find Alam’s picks for November 2024.
More of Rumaan’s Picks
‘Our Evenings’ by Alan Hollinghurst
Rumaan Alam is reading Alan Hollinghurst’s latest now — and “loves it,” he said.
Hollinghurst is the author of the Man Booker Prize-winning novel “The Line of Beauty.”
His latest, “Our Evenings,” follows Dave Win, an Anglo-Burmese actor, across seven decades of his life. After receiving a scholarship at a young age to one of the top boarding schools, Dave Win has the doors of English society open to him. What comes next explores the limitations of time, issues of privilege and classism, and more broadly: acceptance.
‘Twenty-Four Seconds from Now’ by Jason Reynolds
Will they or won’t they? Jason Reynolds’ latest YA novel explores two teenagers on the brink of a life decision. They’re both questioning how far to take their relationship.
Written in a stream-of-consciousness style, this novel captures the thoughts racing through a person’s head right before major change, and mixes coming-of-age with wisdom.
‘The City and Its Uncertain Walls’ by Haruki Murakami
The legendary Haruki Murukami returns with an epic … one that will particularly appeal to book lovers. A man leaves his life in Toyko behind to become a librarian in a small town in search of what he has been missing, or rather needing, all along.
‘Cher: The Memoir, Part One’ by Cher
Cher’s life story unfolds in a two-part memoir. These books cover everything — from her chart-topping music career to her complicated relationship to Sonny Bono to her childhood.
While Alam has yet to read the memoir, he intends to. In his own words, “what could be cozier” than this starlit memoir.
