21 excellent books out in paperback this month

Grid of book covers: Verge by Lidia Yuknavitch, My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell, Deacon King Kong by James McBride, Amnesty by Aravind Adiga, It's Not All Downhill From Here by Terry McMillan, You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall, My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell — and more of our favorite 2020 books that you can now read in paperback.

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Read Receipts:

Texting with Catherine Cohen

Comedian, cabaret star, writer, and general Renaissance woman Catherine Cohen has been sharing her raw, stream-of-consciousness poems on her Instagram since 2016. Now they're gathered in God I Feel Modern Tonight — an unflinching collection that explores sex, ego, art, bodies, millennial ennui, and longing. I chatted with Cohen via text message about earnestness, comedy, and the reasons we fight to survive, in a conversation as free-flowing and unaffected as her poetry. Here's a snippet.

AR: True, living for the honesty

CC: hahaha
CC: Too honest for my own good vibes
CC: No but things are looking up I just watched the finale of Bling Empire on Netflix
CC: Sooo good
CC: How r u?

AR: Same more or less, I discovered this British show called Rosemary & Thyme and it's about gardeners who solve murders, which I can't recommend enough. So that's been a real highlight.

CC: Omg sign me up
CC: I famously love British

AR: Let's talk about the book!! How does it feel to (almost) have it out in the world?

CC: I'm so excited
CC: Love that girl
CC: (My book)
CC: She's rly good

AR: I am, full disclosure, a big fan

CC: Eeee !
CC: Honored

AR: I suppose we should probably say what it is — God, I Feel Modern Tonight, a poetry collection. For people who might not be aware already, can you tell us about it, how it came to be, etc.?

CC: Yes! Its a collection of lil poems I wrote, some are funny some are
CC: Dare I say…earnest?
CC: Heartwarming etc
CC: I've always loved poetry because I'm Too Emotional For My Own Good (TM) and started writing and posting lil funny poems to insta in 2016
CC: then I started reading them on stage during my act and that evolved into me bravely thinking I should have a book

AR: Knopf agreed!

CC: LOVE Knopf
CC: Working with them has been a dream

AR: What was it like integrating something more earnest into your act/"brand" (sorry) — were you nervous about it?

CC: Hehe yes!!
CC: It's mortifying
CC: But I will be dead one day (annoying) so might as well share the things I'm proud of !

AR: True! Solid advice
AR: I'd love to hear about how you approach comedy vs poetry, how they feel similar or different
AR: I know you do a lot of songwriting too, which feels sort of between the two

CC: ya sometimes I'll have an idea that could be a poem or a song or a joke and I have to decide what feels right
CC: All of it is very stream of consciousness
CC: Writing poems and songs is easiest for me. Jokes are hard and boring lol
CC: I've come up with most of my standup bits from just being on stage every night and now that we famously can't do that, poetry has been a good outlet for whatever I'm feeling in the moment

[Keep reading.]

This week in virtual book events: Feb. 8–12

Monday, Feb. 8

Robbie Arnott discusses The Rain Heron with Jeff VanderMeer — hosted by Books & Books, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Kevin Barry discusses That Old Country Music with Susan Orlean — hosted by Prairie Lights, 6 p.m. CT. More info.

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Suleika Jaouad discusses Between Two Kingdoms with Elizabeth Gilbert — hosted by Book Passage, 5:30 p.m. PT. More info.
Lauren Oyler discusses Fake Accounts with Naomi Fry — hosted by Skylight Books, 6:30 p.m. PT. More info.
Namina Forna discusses The Gilded Ones with Kym Whitley — hosted by Mysterious Galaxy, 6 p.m. PT. More info.

Wednesday, Feb. 10

Brandon Hobson discusses The Removed with David Heska Wanbli Weiden — hosted by Elliott Bay Book Company, 6 p.m. PT. More info.
Randa Jarrar (Love Is an Ex-Country) and Brontez Purnell (100 Boyfriends) discuss their new books with Victor I. Cazares — hosted by Books Are Magic, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Melissa Broder discusses Milk Fed with Ryan O'Connell — hosted by Skylight Books, 6:30 p.m. PT. More info.

Thursday, Feb. 11

Ethan Hawke discusses A Bright Ray of Darkness with Isaac Fitzgerald — hosted by Books Are Magic, 7 p.m. ET. More info.
Robert Jones, Jr. discusses The Prophets with Maurice Carlos Ruffin — hosted by Politics & Prose, 6 p.m. ET. More info.

Friday, Feb. 12

R.O. Kwon and Garth Greenwell, co-editors of the short story anthology Kink, discuss the book with contributors Carmen Maria Machado and Alexander Chee — hosted by Politics & Prose, 6 p.m. ET. More info.
Maisy Card discusses These Ghosts Are Family — hosted by Book Soup, 6 p.m. PT. More info.