Now this is the kind of week that really takes a toll on the ol' reading backlog. No reader – no matter how foolhardy or flexibly employed – could hope to keep up with every new release worth reading this week.

John Irving's return to the world of The Cider House Rules headlines a publishing calendar so overstuffed with treasures, plenty of them don't even appear below. Those painful omissions include a pair of memoirs from celebrated storytellers and an investigation into big tech .

Hopefully, though, this list of six sterling options will still have some use for any overwhelmed readers looking for a more manageable foothold. Because I hate to say it: That mounting backlog of yours won't be any easier to scale next week.

/ Simon & Schuster / Simon & Schuster

Queen Es

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