When I put out the word that I was looking for authors to submit their summer reading lists, I didn’t expect to receive such a strong response. But I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, people love to share their reading plans with other passionate readers (just like people love to know what others are reading, especially writers).

Last week I posted the summer reading lists of 14 authors. Today, I’m happy to share the plans of 15 more authors. I hope you discover some great new books on these lists. Because your TBR is too short and your bank account is too big. Problems solved!

Joanna Rakoff (My Salinger Year, A Fortunate Age)

Here are the books I’m planning on reading this summer:

Exposure by Ava Dellaira: Every summer, I read one true summer book, which for me sometimes means a light romance or mystery, and sometimes means a Big Book, which I missed when it first came out. This summer, I’ll be reading this dark literary thriller set in Los Angeles, involving a lauded young filmmaker who grew up in Chicago’s projects, his adored wife, and episodes from their pasts, which come to haunt them.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach: I’m a sucker for novels set at weddings–going all the way back to Beverly Cleary’s Sister of the Bride!–and I loved Espach’s last novel, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance (also a favorite of my fifteen-year-old, Pearl), so I’m excited for this comedy of manners set in Newport, Rhode Island, about an unexpected wedding guest!

Paper Love: Searching for the Girl My Grandfather Left Behind by Sarah Wildman: Wildman is largely known, now, for her searching, gorgeous New York Times essays chronicling the illness, death, and aftermath of her daughter, Orli, but I first knew her as a brilliant journalist, whose work combed the reaches of history. In her first book, she combines memoir and reporting, taking us with her as she searches for her grandfather’s first love, left behind when he fled Vienna. I’ve read this book before–as you can maybe tell–but I’ll be reading it again in July, as Wildman’s project overlaps with my own new book, and I’m at the point at which I need a dose of her wild genius.

Amphibian by Tyler Wetherall: I’ve been wanting to read Wetherall’s memoir, No Way Home, about her childhood on the run with her fugitive father, but the galley for her debut novel–out in August–landed on my porch, so I’ll be turning to this cool-toned coming-of-age tale. Lily Dancyger called it “haunting and visceral as a fairytale,” which sounds irresistible.

The Critic’s Daughter by Priscilla Gilman: The daughter of a literary legends–agent Lynn Nesbit and critic Richard Gilman–Gilman grew up amidst the great writers of the twentieth century–Toni Morrison was “Aunt Toni”–and I can’t wait to read every single thing about it.

Rilla Askew (Prize for the Fire, Kind of Kin, Fire in Beulah, The Mercy Seat, Harpsong)

Say Anarcha by J.C. Hallman (Holt): I’m midway through this one. It’s a compelling dual biography of an enslaved woman, Anarcha, who was experimented on for her “women’s ailments,” and the white doctor looking to make a name for himself by doing the experimenting. An untold story that casts a sober eye on the ruthlessness of slavery and how, in medicine as in politics and war, the winners shape the story. At least until someone comes along, like J.C. Hallman, to uncover the truth.

The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft (Bloomsbury): I’m well started on this one, too. A delightful, quirky, slyly brilliant novel about translators, their devotion to their craft and their Author, and how much, in the texts they translate and in their lives, is hidden beneath the surface. Set in a translators’ retreat at the rim of an ancient forest in Poland, this novel is often funny, ever illuminating, and always fully unique.

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (Knopf): I bought this prequel to his extraordinary debut novel There, There the week it came out and couldn’t get the chance to read it until now. It’s on my TBR stack for summer for sure! Orange is an incredible stylist, and his compelling storytelling, compassionate heart, and unflinching eye make for some of the best work I’ve read this decade. Can’t wait to dive in!

Erasure by Percival Everett (Graywolf): I’m a big Percival Everett fan. Having just read his magnificent James, and loving, with much discomfort, his satirical novel The Trees, and having recently watched American Fiction, the film based on his 2002 novel Erasure, I knew this was the next Everett novel for me. He’s the author of multiple dozens of novels and books of stories and, in my opinion, he’s one of the most important writers in the country. Prolific as he is, though, I’ve got lots to catch up on!

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler (Grand Central Publishing): I’m also a big Octavia Butler fan. Sci-fi isn’t ordinarily my genre of choice in terms of reading—but this is Octavia Butler! My favorites are the more famous Kindred and Parable of the Sower. Hoping to work my way through her entire oeuvre. Stopping by one of my favorite independents las week, The Floating Bookshop in Oklahoma City, I received this recommendation from the bookseller, Echo Steve. I always listen to booksellers’ recommendations—they’re in the know!—so Fledgling is on the stack.

Sensitive Creatures by Kirsten Reneau (Belle Point Press): This debut collection of essays takes pride of place on top of my “To Be Read” stack. Described as a memoir in essays, the collection investigates the natural world, the pain of loss, and the myriad ways women navigate a world that is often hostile to their basic needs. A quick glance through the pages reveals the pieces stitched together in a type of experimental lyricism that I very much look forward to reading!

Stephanie Gangi (Carry the Dog, The Next)

This summer, I have a full roster of editorial clients and a third novel to finish, so any trips will be working vacations! I read to fill my brain with great sentences, as the poet Jane Kenyon advised, to detach a bit from the current events crises of the day and to peek behind the curtain and learn how other writers work their magic. Here’s my list!

The Godfather by Mario Puzo: I started this oldie in early June and I’m still pushing along. I was surprised upon re-read to revisit all the key plot points and characters of the brilliant film adaptations (1&2, with Coppola and Puzo co-screenwriting), but none of the propulsive momentum of the movies. Still, I’m reading it because I’m finishing up my third novel, I Saw it Happen … and in a crazy departure for me, it’s a Mafia novel with a young woman protagonist. The Godfather is research (along with a whole catalogue of wild YouTube first-hand accounts of “the life”). Grazie, Mario Puzo!

My Best Stories by Alice Munro: Talk about peeking behind the curtain! It doesn’t get much better than the recently departed GOAT, Alice Munro. I’ve read her many times, but was delighted to see she’d collected her personal best stories, with an introduction by Margaret Atwood. I couldn’t resist honoring her passing by owning this edition and learning whatever I can from the finest craftswoman to have ever picked up a pen. It’s already in my travel tote bag.

The Friday Afternoon Club: A Memoir by Griffin Dunne: Literary icons, old-school journalists, Hollywood stars, a famous and infamous family — I mean, say no more! Also, I had a big crush on him in the 80s.

Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park: I follow the great Michael Chabon on Threads, and he loved this secret history of Korea, which was a Pulitzer finalist, is on countless “best” lists, and as it’s described as a “fever dream,” challenges me to read outside the genres I typically gravitate to. Also, it’s over 500 pages and I love a big book.

All Fours by Miranda July: Speaking of the kind of books I’m typically drawn to … this is an almost-too-late-coming-of-middle age novel, I’ve heard, and all my favorite writers have loved it, so I plan to call this my official beach book for the summer of 2024. 

Bonus recommendation. I’ve just inhaled all of Claire Keegan, all of Helen Garner, and The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. So grateful to three writers who helped me reclaim my focus this year in order to read, write, and listen inside myself better and, I hope, write better. All constant challenges in our modern world!

Corie Adjmi (Life and Other Shortcomings: Stories, The Marriage Box)

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Jew by Emanuel Acho and Noa Tishby: Since October 7, I have been consumed with Jewish advocacy. I want to learn as much as I can about Jewish culture, tradition, and history.

The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr: Lisa Barr was put on a list (“Is Your Fav Author a Zionist?”) meant to boycott Jewish authors. I want to support Lisa and her work. Her book is historical fiction and delves into the Holocaust.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride: I loved McBride’s memoir, The Color of Water, and I’ve heard great things about this book. It won the 2024 Jewish Fiction Award from The Association of Jewish Libraries.

The Genius of Israel by Dan Senor and Saul Singer: Again, I’m looking to learn more about Jewish history and Israel.

I’ve Tried Being Nice: Essays by Ann Leary: This book of essays was recommended by someone I trust. And it’s on the Zibby Owens Summer Reading list in the category of books that make you laugh. I’ve got some serious books to read, so laughing a bit sounds like a good idea!

Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer: I love family stories, plus this book has been praised for being very well written.

I Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here by Jonathan Conyers: I went to a book launch party and heard Jonathan read the first two pages of his memoir. I bought a copy of the book immediately.

Splinters by Leslie Jamison: At the same book launch party, I met Molly Winter. She is the author of More: A Memoir of Open Marriage. I read her book and it was a fascinating journey into a world I know nothing about. She recommended Splinters, and since it’s a memoir about what it means to be a woman, a mother, an artist, and a teacher (all the things I am), I had to buy it.

When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others by Elyssa Strauss : The premise of this book is something I believe deeply. I’ve tried to write about similar ideas but found my thoughts difficult to express. I’m curious how Strauss does it.

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Children is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Health by Jonathan Haidt: I am the founder of Safe Parenting, an organization dedicated to providing parents with education, tools, and resources. This current bestseller, which considers the impact of cellphones and social media on our children, is getting a lot of attention and I want to stay on top of what’s happening in the parenting world.

Kelly McMasters (The Leaving Season: A Memoir in Essays, co-editor of Wanting: Women Writing About Desire, co-editor of This is the Place: Women Writing About Home, and Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir from an Atomic Town)

The summer is usually spent playing catch up. In my mind, I will read all of the books I didn’t get to yet this year, as well as all the books I need to read for my own projects before the new semester starts in September. In reality, I end up putting 10 books on hold at the library and read one I nab on impulse from the Hot Reads shelf instead. This summer, my reading hopes are all over the map—in genre, structure, emotion, and topic. Mostly, though, I’m reading for pleasure and to get lost, in narrative and in the beauty of a line.

The Miseducation of a 90s Baby by Khaholi Bailey: I’m halfway through this collection of essays and my god, Bailey is good. I was lucky enough to read with her at the Must Love Memoir series in NYC a few weeks ago and inhaled half the essays on my train ride home. Gentrification, tits, NSYNC, suburbia, and young motherhood are just some of the topics she crosses, and her voice is smart and powerful, each essay a nostalgic warning.

Boymom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity by Ruth Whippman: I’ve been waiting for this book all year. I have two boys and think about this topic A LOT. I have high expectations for this because the title feels hopeful, and I love Whippman’s Substack and other writing work. I’m planning to slot this book next to Sonora Jha’s Raising a Feminist Son on my bookshelf and call on it often.

Elizabeth of East Hampton by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding: Requisite beach read! This rom-com is Jane Austen-themed, of course, and I’m excited to interview the authors for Newsday next week. I am looking forward to chatting with them about family bakeries, townies vs cidiots, and what it is like to co-author a book.

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy: I am a huge fan of this writer’s work, especially The Illusion of Separateness, and I am looking forward to sinking into van Booy’s trademark mix of whimsy, grief, and gorgeous sentence work. Plus, mice!

Hip-Hop is History by Questlove: I bought this as a gift for my son’s middle school graduation and I am stealing it as soon as he is finished. I’m not sure how he made 50 years fit into 300 pages, but I am looking forward to finding out. 

Loving Sylvia Plath by Emily Van Dyne: I am planning this one carefully because I want to read it all in one go and savor every page. Van Dyne, a scholar and fellow Plath fan, resurrects the poet in her own right, making use of newly available archives while holding Ted Hughes accountable, ultimately making space for the woman he tried to hide from view. Out July 9.  

The Body Alone: A Lyrical Articulation of Chronic Pain by Nina Lohman: Beautiful inside and out (the cover is stunning!), this is an inventive hybrid memoir that approaches chronic illness in the most honest way possible: through a fragmented lyricism that follows heart, not logic. I just started the galley and am riveted. Out Jul 3.

The Cheesemaker’s Daughter by Kristin Vukovic: I mean, Croatia + cheesemaking. What else do you need to know?! This novel follows a daughter returning home to help save her father’s failing cheese factory and is the result of years of deep research and obsession on Vukovic’s part. My family is from Slovenia, so I’m particularly excited to visit this landscape and cultural history. Out Aug 6.

Rachel Hall (Heirlooms: Stories)

Summer Reading List: Short Stories!

A Perfect Stranger: Stories by Roxana Robinson: I just finished Robinson’s Leaving and it is one of the best novels I’ve read—gorgeous sentences, compelling characters, and a perfect, if devastating, ending—so I’m eager to dig into her stories.

Displaced Persons: Stories by Joan Leegant: Chicago Review of Books says this: “Deliciously complex character-driven stories that explore exile, belonging, parenthood, and marriage, often with a sharp sense of humor and emotional wallop.” I’m in!

Holler, Child: Stories by Latoya Watkins: My friend Kristen Gentry (author of Mama Said) recommended this, and I always love her recommendations. Mama Said is amazing, by the way.

How to Make Your Mother Cry: Fictions by Sejal Shah: I just got this collection of eleven linked stories at Sejal’s book launch and can’t wait to dig in!

The Best That You Can Do: Stories by Amina Gautier: Excited about this collection about girls and women torn between the Northeast and Puerto Rico by a true short story pro.

The Moons of Jupiter by Alice Munro: Just weeks before Munro’s death, my friend Sarah Freligh gifted me a first edition of this collection, the only Munro collection I don’t own. Though I’ve read many of these stories elsewhere, I’ll read them all together as a tribute to Alice. And speaking of Sarah . . .

Hereafter by Sarah Freligh: I expect this novella in flash to be gorgeous and moving, as all Sarah’s work is.

Elizabeth Benedict (Rewriting Illness: A View of My Own, Almost, and The Joy of Writing Sex) 

Summer reading? What a quaint idea. Mostly what I read all summer are college application essays for my business helping kids apply. I work days, nights, and weekends, so my book reading is limited. When I’m done at night, I often just want to abandon words and watch The Parisian Agency on Netflix. 

I am halfway through the new Miranda July All Fours, which is wonderful and ballsy, and I hope to return in earnest to two novels in translation that I started at different times but had to abandon when deadlines interrupted the flow: Ingeborg Bachmann’s Malinka, which Rachel Kushner calls “a portrait of female consciousness” in language, and Jenny Erpenbeck’s Booker Prize winner Kairos, about a May-December love affair in the waning days of the GDR [East Germany]. Neither is a beach read.

Elizabeth Gonzalez James (The Bullet Swallower, Mona at Sea)

Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma by Claire Dederer: The cover hooked me first, and then when I learned it’s a deep dive into how we, as fans and consumers of art, can come to terms with work we love by men who have done terrible things, I was completely sold. 

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay: I’ve read two of Tremblay’s novels, and I love the way he builds suspense in quiet, frightful little ways. He’s a master of the contemporary horror story, a truly gifted writer, and a really nice guy to boot! 

When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solå: A friend recommended this book to me. It’s translated from Catalan and describes a catastrophic storm from the perspective of people, plants, rocks, and more. I love weird books, so I think I’m going to love this one. 

We Burn Daylight by Bret Anthony Johnston: Like me, Johnston is from Corpus Christi, Texas, and as there aren’t a lot of writers from the area, I’m always very eager to read everything they write. This is Johnston’s first book in a decade, and it’s set in a doomsday cult on the Texas prairie. 

Giant by Edna Ferber: This is an older book, but it’s a Texas classic and one I haven’t yet read. It’s a family saga set on a cattle ranch. And as a bonus, I’ll get to watch the movie starring Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean when I’m done. 

The Burning Plain by Juan Rulfo: University of Texas Press is coming out with a new translation of Mexican writer Juan Rulfo’s only story collection, and I’m eager to see what their new take brings to the table. Rulfo’s writing is strange and sad, but he’s had a bigger impact on Latin American writing than maybe anyone ever, so anything by him is a must-read for me. 

Swift River by Essie Chambers: This is a bit of a cheat since I just finished reading it, but I’m declaring this debut novel the best book of the summer. The novel centers around Diamond, a troubled biracial girl growing up in an all-white New England town, who has to contend with the mess left behind after her father disappears. 

Sarah Seltzer (The Singer Sisters, out from Flatiron Books on August 6)

I’m hoping to read three sizzling books from my fellow Flatiron writers: Rufaro Faith Mazarura’s Olympic-themed rom-com (I love the Olympics!) Let the Games Begin; Ruthvika Rao’s epic literary saga The Fertile Earth, which is going to be so satisfying, I know it; and Yume Kitasei’s new space epic, The Stardust Grail.

Of course, since I’m a woman entering middle age, I want to read Miranda July’s All Fours. Since my novel is about a family of musicians who pass through Greenwich Village, I’m also really looking forward to David Browne’s Talkin’ Greenwich Village: The Heady Rise and Slow Fall of America’s Bohemian Music Capital, a musical history of the neighborhood.

And finally, I’d like to read something a little out of time. Whether it’s a 19th century novel or a more recent classic by someone like Ali Smith or Elena Ferrante, one read that takes me out of the cycle of new books and reviews would be really enjoyable.

Chris Cander (The Young of Other Animals, A Gracious Neighbor, The Weight of a Piano, and Whisper Hollow)

I’m in the early days of a new project about German and Czech immigrants set in 1960s Texas Hill Country, so I currently find myself—somewhat subconsciously, as I didn’t realize it until writing this round-up—drawn to historical fiction and memoir exploring themes of social change, isolation, familial obligations, secrets, and second chances. I’m looking for strong female characters, underdogs, family drama, and maybe even a ghost or two.

Ask the Dust by John Fante: I randomly picked up the 80^th anniversary edition of this 1939 classic at the cute new bookstore in Bastrop, TX called The Painted Porch Bookshop. The New York Times testimonial on the cover reads, “Either the work of John Fante is unknown to you or it is unforgettable. He was not the kind of writer to leave room in between.” Before then, Fante had been unknown to me, but I’m excited to join the party and read about the tempestuous drama between a brooding Italian American writer and his romantic interest, a Mexican-American waitress.

King of the Armadillos by Wendy Chin-Tanner: I can’t wait to dig into this debut, which explores immigration, illness and opportunity through the story of a teenage immigrant in the 1950s with Hansen’s disease, then known as leprosy. If their community finds out about the diagnosis, it could mean ruin for the family.

A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter: A dear friend recently gave me this rediscovered classic memoir, which tells the incredible tale of the painter Christiane Ritter who in 1934, defies society’s expectations by leaving her comfortable life in Austria and traveling to a remote Norwegian island for a year. At first horrified by the conditions, she eventually finds freedom and peace in the adventure of a lifetime.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: I’ve never read Allende’s debut, although it’s been in my library for decades. I’m eager to enter this spirit-ridden world with its fallible human constituents and learn how the three generations of the Trueba family (from 1920 to 1975) overcome their tyrannical patriarch, opposing political allegiances, and turmoil both mundane and magical.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore: In 1975, a teenager goes missing from the Adirondack summer camp her family owns, forcing a working-class community to confront its long-held class issues while an industrial dynasty grapples with its toll on a region.

Shelly Sanders (Daughters of the Occupation and YA novels Rachel’s Secret, Rachel’s Promise, and Rachel’s Hope)

The Goddess of Warsaw by Lisa Barr: A fellow HarperCollins author, Barr writes historical fiction thrillers that are impossible to put down! Barr is also one of the founders of Artists Against Antisemitism, an indomitable group of writers and artists that I’ve recently joined. Their first initiative, an auction, raised $100,008 for Project Shema, which runs programs to combat antisemitism through education and productive engagement.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara: This novel has been on my TBR pile for months, since I read Dua Lipa’s review for The Booker Prizes: “At the centre of this book is an understanding that it is the love inherent in friendship that saves us again and again.” It’s intimidating with its heft, so I’ve been waiting for the summer, when I have time to focus on this Man Booker Prize Finalist.

The Porcelain Moon by Janie Chang: I met Janie at an author event where she and Kate Quinn were promoting The Phoenix Crown, a majestic historical fiction novel they co-wrote. I bought it and Chang’s, The Porcelain Moon, which happens to be edited by my HarperCollins Canada editor, Janice Zawerbny! And I love the fact that I know nothing about the subject of this novel, set during WWI when Chinese workers were brought to Europe as noncombatant laborers.

Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen: This is a National Book Award winner that seems timely and crucial with its exploration of the fall of American democracy in recent years. I’ve been reading Gessen’s work in The New Yorker for years and am inspired by their forthright approach to controversial topics.

Long Island by Colm Toibin: I’m in awe of Toibin’s writing and have just started reading his latest, which focuses on Eilis, the main character from Brooklyn, twenty years later. Toibin is a master when it comes to creating authentic narrative voices and Eilis is no exception, with her stoic Irish decisiveness that has captivated me from the first page.

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner: This looks like a perfect summer read, set in Rome in the 1950’s, with a fascinating cast of characters in the film industry! I attended Jenner’s book launch in the same independent bookstore where I’ve launched my own books, A Different Drummer Books, and she lives in my neighborhood!

Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan: Irish writer Claire Keegan writes evocative short stories and novellas, reminiscent of two of my all-time favorite short-story writers, Flannery O’Connor and Raymond Carver. Foster, the first novella of Keegan’s that I read, left me with chills that lingered for days; I’m certain Walk the Blue Fields will not disappoint.

Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab: This immediately caught my attention, as it’s set in two intriguing places and times, early 20^th century Russia and WWII Soviet Union. Then, I was hooked from the first sentence: “All day, I watched and waited, consumed by one certainty: The fate of the revolution relied on me and the bullets inside my pistol.”

Things That Cause Inappropriate Happiness by Danila Botha: As a longtime fan of short stories, I had to read Botha’s latest, especially since she’s Canadian and Jewish, and the title story, “Sometimes I Like to Shoot Kids,” was nominated for a 2023 Pushcart Prize!

Caitlin Hamilton Summie (To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts: Stories, Geographies of the Heart)

The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman: I received this as a gift – a signed copy! — and have never had a chance to read it.

Liberty Terrace by Madeleine D’Arcy: Madeleine edited one of my stories for Long Story, Short, before the site closed, and I really admire her editing, so I want to read her linked short story collection.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey: Because I work in publishing, I hear a lot about certain books. I have to wait to read them, for all the noise to quiet, so I can approach a book with a blank slate and forge my own opinions.

Who Loves You Best by Marilyn Rothstein: This is her new novel, and I want to read a book with humor in it.

The King Street Affair by Jon Sealy: He is such a fine writer of literary suspense.

Hannah Sward (Strip: A Memoir)

Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution by Rachel Moran

I Kick and I Fly by Ruchira Gupta

Days of Wonder by Caroline Leavitt

When She Comes Back: A Memoir by Ronit Plank

Red Bird: Poems by Mary Oliver

Amanda Churchill (The Turtle House)

Here’s my list, which is a combination of books I have really been waiting for (We Were the Universe and Your Presence is Mandatory) and some titles that have been sitting on my desk!

A Cosmology of Monsters by Shaun Hamill: I had the chance to chat with this wonderful author in Dallas a month or two ago and I can’t wait to dive in. He has a new novel coming out, so I feel like I need to read this one first.

The Astrology House by Carinn Jade: Carinn is my writing group buddy and it’s a fun combo of suspense and astrology! I’m almost through it and have to see how it ends!

Your Presence is Mandatory by Sasha Vasilyuk: This is one that I’ve heard so much about and it was edited by my dear friend at Bloomsbury, Grace McNamee, so I know it’s good.

The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft: Another book that I’ve heard great things about and, bonus, I really love the cover!

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane: This novel has been highly recommended, and I got to hang out with them in Austin, which reminded me that I needed to read this novel. Texas writer, so it’s a must read!

We Were the Universe by Kimberly King Parsons: I adore KKP’s style and devoured her collection that came out a couple of years back. She’s a Texan who now lives in the Pacific Northwest and is just a delightful person.

Same Bed, Different Dreams by Ed Park: I just met Ed and had my copy signed. I stood in line and geeked out and everything. This one is probably next on my list!

My Mother Cursed My Name by Anamely Salgado Reyes. This is coming out in late July and the premise is fascinating. I think this will be everywhere in less than a month!

Leg: The Story of a Limb and the Boy Who Grew From It  by Greg Marshall: This book has been winning awards and I got to meet him last weekend in Austin—what a lovely person! And funny. And kind.

The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoe Schlanger

The Furies: Women, Vengeance and Justice by Elizabeth Flock

These last two books were sent by Harper Books and were highly recommended by my publicist. She knows her books, so I’m excited to dive into some non-fiction. I love science and especially plants, so I’m very happy to receive The Light Eaters. The Furies sounds like one that’s going to get me thinking.

Another book that I’ve already loaned to my dad is Hollow Out the Dark by James Wade. It is amazing! Think Cormac McCarthy.

Gina Sorell (The Wise Women, Mothers and Other Strangers)

Right now, I’m reading the work of colleagues and friends whose books I have been meaning to get to! There really are so many great books out there. But I think that too often we look to what’s brand new and forget about books that only published a year or so ago. So, I’m going through my own TBR pile and hoping to make a dent with these terrific titles.

Community Board by Tara Conklin: I’m alternating between the audiobook and the hardcover for this one, and I love it. There is so much humor with the heartbreak, and the cast of characters has me laughing out loud.

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley: I love the hilarious oddball pairing of these protagonists: a college dropout and an eighty-four-year-old woman who hit the road to run from the law. The first few pages immediately grabbed my interest with its voice and wit.

The Queens of London by Heather Webb: I usually don’t read a lot of historical fiction, but this novel about Britain’s first female crime syndicate, described as “A tale of dark glamour and sisterhood,” sounds terrific.

Life and Other Love Songs by Anissa Gray: I had the pleasure of doing a workshop with Anissa and loved hearing her approach to building complex characters and complicated families. I’m a big fan of family sagas, and this book about family, love, loss and secrets is right up my alley!

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride: I plan on re-reading this novel this summer. I devoured it, raved about it, bought it for friends, and am still thinking about it. I plan to end my summer by reading it slowly and savoring it one more time.

Michelle Hoover (Bottomland and The Quickening)

I loved the Yangsze Choo’s The Fox Wife for its use of Chinese, Tibetan, and other fairy tales from the Asian Diaspora. This is how you treat a mix of languages in a book that’s different from the main text. Now I hope to read her other novels: The Ghost Bride and The Night Tiger, though I haven’t chosen which to pick up first.

I’m also on a deep dive into anything written by the late Barbara Comyns after having devoured The Juniper Tree (an exceptional retelling of my favorite fairy tale) and Our Spoons Came from Woolworths. She was doing autofiction before autofiction was even a thing, still somehow grounded in the realities of blue-collar life and of the limited choices of women, imbued also with a strange, other-worldly feeling. I’ll likely read The Vet’s Daughter next followed by Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead.

For the simple precision and lyrical economy of their prose, I’m hoping to basically memorize the style of Carys Davies in Clear and much of her other work (I also love anything about islands), as well as Pearl by Siân Hughes and Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor. Beautiful, eerie writing throughout.

After the intellectual trip of reading Percival Everett’s Erasure and The Trees, I hope to get to James and read his older titles as well. The series based on Erasure was smartly done, but not nearly as complex as his books.

And Sigrid Nunez! Finished her latest three in a heartbreaking sprint. I’m already halfway through one of her older books: The Last of Her Kind about female friendship tested by politics and class. Highly recommended.

Aube Rey Lescure, a student/colleague/friend, was recently shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for her excellent novel River East, River West, which convinced me to read all of the shortlisted novels of the women on that stage. The Wren, The Wren is an obvious pick for me, as I’ve always been a fan of Enright, but I hope to also pick up Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad and Soldier Sailor by Clair Kilroy. The winner of the prize, Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan, is already in my “fave” pile.

I’m also a horror fan but a very picky one, so I’m more than happy to see new books out by two authors who are writing in the top of their form: I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones and Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay. Also, more thriller than horror novel, One of Our Kind, by the exceptional Nicola Yoon.

How can I not read Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru? Not only is he hubby to the fantastic Katie Kitamura, but his previous two books challenged and thrilled me in the best possible way, particularly White Tears. All his books are haunting.

I get to interview a great many authors for my podcast, The 7am Novelist, and for that purpose, I’m lucky to delve into the latest by the incredible R.O. Kwon (Exhibit) and Laura van den Berg (State of Paradise). And later this summer, look for my interview of Jamie Quatro, whose Two-Step Devil will be released in September.

I hope everyone has read Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things (heartbreaking, funny, and with exceptionally fresh writing about grief). Her newest, Sandwich, is up next. She’s able to do a lot with what otherwise seem simple stories.

Finally: Hello! Julia Phillips is releasing Bear on June 25. Who isn’t going to read that one? Shame on you.