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Means of Escape

Need a break from the headlines? Whether you want to retreat into light memoir, deep lit, or something a little scary, Writer’s Block co-owner Drew Cohen recommends these new releases

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell. Bythell is the owner of Scotland’s largest used bookstore, and his irascible memoir captures the hilarity and agony of operating an independent bookstore in the age of Amazon. Read this as a personal favor to booksellers the world over. (Melville House; September 4; $25.99)

The Bus on Thursday by Shirley Barrett. Described as Bridget Jones’ Diary meets The Exorcist … do I need to say anything else? This humorous and affecting horror novel follows a young woman, a recent cancer survivor, taking a teaching job in the Australian outback. From there, things get weird, and they get dark. (MCD x FSG Originals; September 18; $15)

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Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. Another massive novel by Murakami — the sort of book that you can crawl into and inhabit for weeks at a time, a literary cabin in the woods (or bomb shelter). Details are scant on this highly anticipated novel, but I’ve been told that it involves a painter staying in a famous artist’s house, where he discovers a mysterious painting in the attic. (Knopf; October 9; $30)