From  | | | | (Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan/Washington Post Illustration) | | By this point in the pandemic, you've hopefully found the perfect nook in your home to sink into with a good book. On lazy weekends, you might curl up in it and get lost in the pages of an old favorite or a gripping new crime novel. Maybe a fraught news cycle drew you to topics of race, politics and social justice. Or perhaps books just felt too taxing amid the mental fatigue brought on by stay-at-home orders, leading you to start and stop dozens of titles that didn't immediately grab you. However you describe your relationship with reading these days, chances are the pandemic helped you reimagine it: Print books have seen strong gains since the onset of covid. As the the country enters another pandemic year, we asked The Washington Post's Book World editor, Stephanie Merry, to handpick the 10 most-anticipated titles by women and nonbinary authors dropping early this year. The stories we chose include a gothic tale of doomed love and vengeful spirits, a family saga of Black joy and pain, a woman's quest for stardom, and a widowed artist taking a second chance on love. Whether you haven't been able to pick up a book or it's the only way to escape these days, we hope you'll find something on this list that will reignite your love for the written word. | | | | | Three need-to-know stories | | | (iStock; Washington Post illustration) | 01.The Winter Olympics kicked off with Opening Ceremonies in Beijing on Friday, less than six months after the postponed Tokyo Olympics concluded. There are several notable U.S. athletes to watch, including snowboarder Chloe Kim, skier Mikaela Shiffrin and ice skater Timothy LeDuc, the first openly nonbinary Winter Olympian. Get more updates from The Post here. 02.On Thursday, Lisa D. Cook, a Michigan State University economist, appeared in front of the U.S. Senate for her confirmation hearing for the Federal Reserve's board of governors. Cook, renowned for her research into how racial inequality and violence have stifled economic growth, would be the first Black woman to serve on the Fed in its 108-year history. 03.Last week, after quitting her travel writing job, Victoria Walker tweeted how much people applying to the role should ask for: No less than a $115,000 salary, she advised, adding that her own salary had been $107,000 for the role. The tweet went viral, reigniting conversations about pay transparency and how it can potentially help close wage gaps. | | | | | | | A story to make you smile | | | Dusti Talavera, 23, saved three children who fell into a frozen pond near her apartment. (KMGH) | | Last month, Dusti Talavera was inside her Denver apartment, watching a group of children play on a frozen pond outside her window, when suddenly the icy surface cracked. Then came a splash. Three of the children plunged into the frigid water. "Before I even realized it, I was out there on the middle of the pond, pulling two kids out," Talavera, 23, said. But as she reached for the third child, the ice gave way beneath her and Talavera, too, found herself in the pond. She treaded water to stay afloat as she struggled to hold the unconscious girl's head above the surface, she said. The little girl's teenage cousin soon appeared, tossing Talavera a rope. She managed to get back onto the surface and pull the 6-year-old to safety. The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office and South Metro Fire Rescue lauded Talavera for her "heroic" and lifesaving efforts. Read more from Jaclyn Peiser in The Post. | | | | | But before we part, some recs | | | (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post) | Krissah ThompsonManaging Editor of Diversity and Inclusion, The Washington PostHow are you brightening your days lately?My sister and I live in different states. We both have Peloton bikes, so we get up together early in the morning and video chat while we ride. We see each other, sweat together and it feels great to connect with her at the start of the day. What are you watching right now?I am totally in love with "Abbott Elementary." It is witty, empathetic and rooted in reality. I don't have much time to watch television, so I appreciate a show that lightens my mood and leaves me with good feelings about humanity. What do you love most about your job?I love being able to impact coverage and also impact the careers of colleagues and the culture of our newsroom. | | | | | | |
