Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Theater & Performance, Film, Food & Drink, This & That.
Andrew Joseph White: You’re No Better
Nov 12
Andrew Joseph White’s 2022 dystopian fantasy horror young adult novel Hell Followed With Us established him as an author to watch and attracted the notice of The Matrix director Lilly Wachowski, who is currently co-producing an anime-inspired film adaptation. His first book for adults, 2025’s You Weren’t Meant to Be Human, is a gruesome, transgressive trans body horror tale set in Appalachia. White incorporates his experience as a trans bi man with autism into his books and uses fear to plumb the terrors of our present-day existence. His newest book, You’re No Better, is a young adult psychological thriller about Morgan, a 17-year-old autistic trans boy who testified against his own serial killer father, putting him behind bars. He must prove to a predatory true crime documentary crew and his own mother that he is nothing like his dad. Given the relentless demonization of trans teens in the news lately, this novel’s message couldn’t be more timely or urgent. (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm) JULIANNE BELL
Min Jin Lee
Nov 14
New York-based author Min Jin Lee is best known for her sprawling Korean family epic masterpiece Pachinko, which was a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction and spawned a similarly critically acclaimed TV adaptation on Apple TV+ in 2022. Almost a decade after Pachinko, she’s back with her highly anticipated follow-up American Hagwon, which is just as ambitious in its scope. The novel follows the saga of the Koh family, which includes parents John and Helen and their three children—Bo, DH, and Mido. After their peaceful middle-class life in Korea is torn apart, they must leave Seoul for Sydney and then Southern California, where they grapple with a new reality, start over from scratch, and grasp for a better future. “Hagwon” refers to a Korean tutoring center, where students strive for excellence, and the book asks questions about the faith we place in academic institutions and the cost of pursuing success. Like Pachinko, it’s a nuanced critique of the American Dream and a portrait of the Korean diaspora, and the Kohs will root themselves in your memory forever over the 656 pages. (Meany Hall, 7:30 pm) JULIANNE BELL
LeVar Burton
Nov 16
Like many millennials, I grew up religiously watching LeVar Burton’s iconic educational PBS TV show Reading Rainbow, and it helped instill a love of reading in me early on. However, it wasn’t until watching the charming 2024 documentary Butterfly in the Sky: The Story of Reading Rainbow that I fully appreciated Burton’s cultural impact. Besides his work as a fierce literacy advocate, Burton also starred as main character Kunta Kinte in the groundbreaking 1977 ABC miniseries Roots and as Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He’s now telling his own remarkable story in his memoir Take My Word for It, which details his childhood during the Civil Rights Movement and his path to becoming an actor. Burton will join speaker, host, and cultural producer Kiesha B. Free, founder of the community resource directory Hey, Black Seattle!, for a conversation at Benaroya Hall. (Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm) JULIANNE BELL
More
Donna Miscolta with Jennie Shortridge Nov 4, Third Place Books Ravenna, 7 pm
Elsa Sjunneson Nov 4, Seattle Public Library Central Library, 7 pm
Claudia Rankine Nov 4, Town Hall, 7:30 pm
Danielle Krysa Nov 5, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm
Jodi-Ann Burey with Angela Garbes Nov 5, Third Place Books Ravenna, 7 pm
Claudia Castro Luna Nov 6, Third Place Books Ravenna, 7 pm
James Spooner with Kimya Dawson and BLVCK HIPPIE Nov 6, Black & Tan, 7 pm
Lovell Holder Nov 6, Charlie’s Queer Books, 7 pm
Jack Straw Writers’ Annual Showcase Curated by Claudia Castro Luna Nov 7, Seattle Public Library Central Library, 2 pm
Joey Clift with Matika Wilbur and dk Nov 9, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm
Chad Harbach with Thomas Kohnstamm Nov 9, Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm
Stefanie O’Connell with Ruchika T. Malhotra Nov 9, Third Place Books Seward Park, 7 pm
Caleb True, Rivka Clifton, Kara Briggs, and Rats Alice Trujillo Nov 10, Third Place Books Ravenna, 7 pm
Stephan Pastis Nov 11, Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm
Amanda Uhle with Sara Billups Nov 12, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm
R.K. Maril with Matt Baume Nov 13, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm
Bushwick Book Club Presents: Original Music inspired by Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl Nov 14, Royal Room, 7:30 pm, all ages
Elena Dudum with Ijeoma Oluo Nov 15, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm
David Sedaris Nov 15, Benaroya Hall, 7 pm
Paul de Barros with Feliks Banel Nov 16, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm
David Archuleta Nov 17, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm
Michelle Tea with Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore Nov 18, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm
Stacey Abrams Nov 19, Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm
Paul Loeb Nov 23, Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm
Find all these listings and more on our sister site, EverOut Seattle! EverOut.com/Seattle
The post Things to Do in November: Literature appeared first on The Stranger.
