30 Books to Read Now
Thirty ideas to help you answer the question of what to read next .... click here to see a list of our most eagerly anticipated books of the season.
Last updated May 17, 2023.
UNC's 2023 Commencement Speaker! Limited signed copies available.
This novella is a dark, glittering jewel, encrusted in blood, awash in viscera and gore. The roots of the story may reach back to Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, but the flower that blooms here is fully fanged and hungry. Truth be told, certain scenes made me feel a bit squeamish. But what I felt most was the connection between the two unlikely companions. At its heart, this is the story of pure love and undying devotion. --Tony
Come on down to Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer to try to catch a glimpse of the newest cryptid, the "Everglades Melon Monster." Side note: it's totally not a broke, middle-aged man in a Dora head running around the Everglades to make a quick buck. --Jamie K.
This is not a book, it is an experience. "Part anthology, part poetry collection, part workbook," I was spellbound from the dedication - "to us." With awareness and deep intention, these writers and collectors invite us into a shared meditative space at the intersection of poetry, spell-casting, organizing, and visioning -- for ourselves and our collective future. --RC
If, like me, you've been waiting 14 years since Cutting for Stone for his next one, read & rejoice in these 700 pages of more Verghese magic. If you're new to this author, Verghese is doctor and all of his works have a strong medical narrative; this one is no exception as the mystery of a family curse plays out over generations of one family in Kerala, India. Written with joy and mastery, it is an absolute delight to be swept along for the ride. (Pick up his memoir, My Own Country, next.) --Elese
In this slowly unfolding story of self-discovery in young adulthood, we are invited into Mickey's uniquely Black, queer experience of home in New York City's, and broadly, the Internet's, media industry. Denton-Hurst's spacious writing gives readers opportunity for introspection across difference and similarity. "Time spent in this place allowed her to see herself," writes Denton-Hurst, and time spent in this book feels like sitting in warm sunshine on a perfectly cool spring day. --RC
"Dirty Dancing" meets "Before Sunrise" in this essential summer romance! With second chances, found-family connections, and the sentimental setting of the lakeside Brookbanks resort throughout a hazy summer season, this is exactly what you’re looking for in your next vacation read! --Emma
Now in paperback.
Atkinson's latest novel sparkles with all her brilliance. Featuring deft character studies and a lack of sentimentality, this clever timepiece set in the roaring '20s has an atmospheric mix of criminal and cop, ingenue and madame. Seedy SoHo has been the playground for the infamous Coker family for many years, and they must now defend their nightclub empire from attack by mysterious forces. Witty & wise, moving but never mawkish, this is Atkinson at the top of her game. --Maggie
Now in paperback.
Alex loses her precariously schemed position as girlfriend (escort?) to a wealthy man and is cast out of the bright, carefree Hamptons summer illusion into eddies of dead-ends. Dark, uncomfortable, propulsive. An earworm of a book in the best possible way. --Elese
Now in paperback.
Emma Straub is brilliant at writing drama where every character gets to keep their humanity. No antagonists, just people - the perfect summer read. --Talia
Now in paperback.
I loved these stories. I especially loved the snapshots of lives that hone in on pivotal moments. Moments that might change everything. Some of these moments are huge, some are small. Some of them are left blank for the reader to fill in. Spaces in which to imagine hope or danger or regret or love. --Tony
This books asks, "what if crimes were absolved in blood for sport?" Adjei-Brenyah's answer is brilliantly concocted, delivering a complex future of violence, abolition, and humanity. This story plants seeds of our society's darkest sides in the grounds of hell, urging them to grow into blood-soaked blooms of a carceral-capitalist state nightmare. With expansive yet concise world-building and plot-driving perspective shifts, Chain Gang All Stars is one of the most striking, novel, and immersive stories of the year. --RC
Pultizer Prize co-winner for Fiction & now in paperback!
A literary puzzle: one story told four different ways - a novel (about the accumulation of wealth, a marriage, mental illness), a memoir (by the husband, unfinished, ghostwritten), a memoir (by the ghostwriter), a diary (by the wife) - each adding intricate layers to the narrative. Having read them close together, Trust has become intertwined with To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara: Both are New York stories & contenders for the “great American novel.” Both pull off impressive literary feats of perspective & time & structure. And both novels are pure brilliance.
Now in paperback.
This beautiful adventure about star-crossed young lovers who run away together will break your heart in a thousand ways. Simply gorgeous. --Maggie
This time around, Emily Henry presents us with a summer getaway in Maine with a witty, close-knit friend group desperate for one final happy week together in their beloved beach house. Determined to keep everything perfect and light-hearted for their friends, Harriet and Wyn decide to hide their recent breakup from the rest of the group. As you can imagine, their plan unravels, and their vacation becomes slightly more chaotic than they had hoped, especially once they realize they’re not the only ones with secrets. The seaside cottage setting, the energetic found family dynamic, and the charming rom-com feel-- I loved it! --Emma
Now in paperback.
Reading like a fairy tale mixed with elements of folklore, fantasy, and mystery, Flyaway tells the tale of Bettina, a young woman living in Queensland, searching for her missing brothers and father. With beautiful and spare prose, this short tale by a debut Australian author is not one to miss. --Jennie
Now in paperback.
In the eight stories in this remarkable collection, Sindya Bhanoo intrepidly explores the lives of disconnected families. She writes of bonds that are bent, bruised, and shattered. She uses the power of memory to illuminate these lives, with their layers of pain, regret, grief, and love. And the memories become our own. --Tony
Now in paperback.
A thoroughly investigated and gripping report of organizing in the face of disaster, and an essential read for anyone interested in environmental justice. --Jordan
Pulitzer Prize winner for Memoir
Pulitzer Prize winner for History
Now in paperback.
Reese's Book Club Pick for May
Now in paperback.
Signed copies available
Now in paperback.
Fellowship Point reads like an Edith Wharton novel set in the 21st century. This beautifully-crafted saga of two old friends discovering new facets of each other, and themselves, is completely absorbing, good for the soul, and as bracing as a coastal breeze in Maine. --Maggie