21 new books to accompany you on your summer adventures.
You, dear reader of this site, most likely carry a book with you wherever you go. A lot of the time, it’s wishful thinking. How will you read five books on your three-day weekend upstate? Are you really going to sit awkwardly on the sidelines of this house party with your book, you lovable and relatable nerd? When would you actually get the chance to crack the spine on this novel on your two-block walk to the wine store? Well, maybe if the line is really long… Here are 21 new titles to tote around this week. Happy reading!
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Kristen Radtke, Seek You
(Pantheon)
“Radtke is an engaging and thoughtful guide through our fear of being alone … Superb.”
–Kirkus
Matt Bell, Appleseed
(Custom House)
“[A] breadth of vision, taking in America’s wilderness genesis as well as looming nightmares of environmental collapse.”
–The Boston Globe
Sunjeev Sahota, China Room
(Viking)
“China Room is the most personal of Sahota’s novels so far, a beautifully realized blend of fiction and memoir.”
–The Times Literary Supplement
Thora Hjörleifsdóttir, tr. Meg Matich, Magma
(Grove Press)
“Hjorleifsdottir’s fresh prose disturbingly evokes the young woman’s unmoored state. The burnished micro-chapters form a narrative necklace of gems.”
–Publishers Weekly
Shiori Ito, tr. Allison Markin Powell, Black Box
(Feminist Press)
“This unflinching, heavily researched book shimmers with vulnerability, introspection, and purpose as the author skillfully lays the facts alongside the physical and emotional tolls they had on her.”
–Kirkus
William Gardner Smith, The Stone Face
(NYRB)
“While there is much to improve in how we support each other at home and across the globe, Smith’s novel reminds us of the immense power in solidarity and our duty to always rise up for justice and freedom.”
–Ploughshares
Anuk Arudpragasam, A Passage North
(Hogarth)
“Long, contemplative passages make this best suited for those who relish lovely writing and philosophical musings, who will thoroughly enjoy it.”
–Booklist
Katie Crouch, Embassy Wife
(FSG)
“Crouch does an excellent job of bringing her characters to life and conveying the beauty and challenges of life in Namibia through their eyes.”
–Library Journal
Mike Gayle, All the Lonely People
(Grand Central)
“With a winning main character, this absolutely heartwarming story unfolds with just enough surprises and heft to keep readers engaged.”
–Booklist
Genevieve Plunkett, Prepare Her
(Catapult)
“Plunkett’s striking debut puts a series of women’s interior lives in stark relief … Plunkett’s keen observations will pique readers, and the stories pay off with dividends.”
–Publishers Weekly
Beth Morgan, A Touch of Jen
(Little, Brown)
“In this bizarre debut novel, Morgan masterfully brings dark comedy and psychedelic horror together at a slow-burning pace.”
–Booklist
Pik-Shuen Fung, Ghost Forest
(One World)
“Seemingly spare yet undeniably dense with so much unsaid, Fung’s polyphonic first novel is a magnificent literary triumph.”
–Booklist
Sophia Benoit, Well, This is Exhausting
(Gallery)
“Benoit’s engaging writing style invites laughter while she sparks serious contemplation on a variety of topics.”
–Booklist
Jonah Mixon-Webster, Stereo(TYPE)
(Knopf)
“Jonah Mixon-Webster’s Stereo(TYPE), is a recent favorite of mine . . . One of the most inventive and necessary books I’ve ever read.”
–Orion Magazine
Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington, Sword Stone Table
(Vintage)
“There isn’t a bad story in the bunch, and the anthology offers such a variety of style, theme, and genre that die-hard Arthurian fans and more casual readers will be equally delighted. This is a must-read.”
–Publishers Weekly
Yan Ge, tr. Jeremy Tiang, Strange Beasts of China
(Melville)
“The overall effect of Yan’s storytelling is dreamy and hypnotic, sometimes opaque but always captivating. These cryptic but well-told tales offer much to chew on.”
–Publishers Weekly
Esther Freud, I Couldn’t Love You More
(Ecco)
“With poignant symbolism and heartbreaking empathy, Freud lays bare the fraught relationships between men and women, parents and children, and the holy bond between mother and child.”
–Booklist
Helen Ellis, Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light
(Doubleday)
“[A] baker’s dozen of sharply funny essays.”
–NPR
Rachel B. Vogelstein and Meighan Stone, Awakening
(PublicAffairs)
“A fresh perspective on continued challenges to women’s lives.”
–Kirkus
Adam Stern, Committed
(Houghton Mifflin)
“This book is a fascinating look at the inside of a medical residency, and it offers a glimpse of many of the often-understated personal costs involved.”
–Library Journal
Shirley Jackson, The Letters of Shirley Jackson
(Random House)
“A vivid, engaging, and engrossing collection from one of American literature’s great letter writers.”
–Kirkus
