30 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 June 15.
Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction!
Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction!
The Riva family is one of the most recognizable--and perhaps least understood--in 1980s Malibu. Over the course of one summer night, and one raucous party, their world literally goes up in flames. Delve into their family history, their loves & losses, and all of their tremendously compelling drama as the evening unfolds. Malibu Rising is about as close as you can get to a perfect summer read. --Talia
Register here for our virtual event with Kate Rademacher on Thursday, July 1, at 6:00 PM.
And get your preorder in for Lauren Groff's forthcoming book Matrix! (Publishes September 7.)
A raucous romp through a nearly lawless post-Civil War American West. Ming Tsu’s story is captivating and impossible to put down; the cast of characters are just too odd to forget or dismiss. A blood-crusted gem of a tale. --Jamie
Like Greenwell's first novel ('What Belongs to You -- I highly recommend it), 'Cleanness' fells grey, like it's doused in smoke or covered in thick clay. The harsh, soviet-style industrialism of the novel's stage -- Sofia, Bulgaria -- only serves to highlight Greenwell's exquisitely emotional writing, his ability to find the intricate, bottomless feelings that saturate our lives and relationships (though usually we're not paying attention). For Greenwell, every thought is held captive, every touch has meaning -- there is nowhere, no dark corner of thought, his prose does not illuminate and sanctify. 'Cleanness' is heartwarmingly and heartwrenchingly queer, gesturing towards an ache I recognize in myself so frequently. I am seen, once again -- what a gift this book is. --Ryan
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction!
Jewell at her best! I love her flawed characters and twists. This page-turner features a missing girl with a history of trauma telling her own story, a creepy neighbor who isn't what he seems (or maybe he is) and other fully-realized characters living on a posh street in London, which isn't very safe after all... --Maggie
Trust Exercise was my first Susan Choi but now I can't wait to read her backlist. This book takes an unexpected turn about 130-pages in and really threw me for a loop - honestly, the less you know going in the better. The language is beautiful and flowing and well-suited to the material. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the deep dive into the minds of its characters. --Colin
A wonderfully atmospheric reimagining of gothic horror. Packed with subverted horror tropes and deeply unsettling dream sequences, Mexican Gothic follows one of my new favorite protagonists as she struggles to make sense of the mysteries and madness surrounding her newlywed cousin. A great (and unnerving) new twist on the classic haunted house tale, Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, T. Kingfisher’s The Twisted Ones, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper. -- Zach
In this family history, Wayétu Moore, author of the oh-so-good novel She Would Be King recounts the journey that led her mother from Liberia to the US and back again. An incredibly moving testament to the power of family, love and storytelling. --Elese
And get your preorder in for Anthony Doerr's forthcoming book Cloud Cuckoo Land! (Publishes September 28.)
Oprah's latest book club selection -- Georgia in the days immediately following the Emancipation Proclamation, Harris’ characters display the best and the worst responses to the new order. Brutal yet hopeful, this one’s a slow burn until you realize you’re so caught up in the story you can’t possibly stop reading. --Jamie
We have signed copies!
Little Dog writes a letter to his mother, a letter he knows she will never read. But he has so much to say. Both Little Dog and his mother are outsiders: she, an immigrant, a survivor of the Vietnam war; he, a queer artist, a survivor of the opioid crisis. They are bound together by blood, which is to say, by violence, by trauma--but also by history, by family. In searing, looping prose, Ocean Vuong chips away calcified layers of socialization, culture, and language, exposing the raw, instinctual love and sexuality at the crux of human connection. --Talia
Morningside Heights is the perfect example of a quiet novel done right. Joshua Henkin expertly details the relationships, grief, and lives of one family with just enough detail and emotion to hit you right in the heart. Henkin gets to the heart of each of his characters: flawed, sometimes horrifying, deeply empathetic, and lovable--reminiscent of ourselves and our loved ones. Hopeful, heart wrenching, and tender - it is sure to stay in your heart and head long after its final pages. --Genni
Register here for our virtual event with Annette Gordon-Reed and William Sturkey on Friday, June 18, at 7:30PM.
In a day and age where we can't travel on a whim, People We Meet on Vacation is a perfect escape. This slow burn romance between Poppy and Alex is the perfect blend of humor and emotion. Now estranged best friends, Poppy and Alex take one last summer vacation together, seeing if they can reignite their deep friendship. Of course, their true feelings come to a head. The frequent flashbacks, in which readers see all the couple's almost happily ever afters, are sublime. My heart hurt reading this one, in the best way possible. Much like Emily Henry's Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation is a quintessential summer read. -Genni
Grady Hendrix makes horror charming. His style of writing - unrelenting humanity in the face of real terror, of both the supernatural and everyday varieties - is in top form here. He's one of a handful of authors whose new work I devour as soon as I get my hands on it. Grady Hendrix knows how to terrify you, but more importantly, he knows how to make you feel that maybe we can overcome the thing that scares us the most. --Colin
