New books, who ‘dis?! I don’t know why that’s the first thing that comes to my head when I think about a fresh stack of new books that are waiting to be read, but it is. I’m sure my fellow book nerds will understand. Summer is such a fun time for bibliophiles and bookworms alike because there are so many new books hitting shelves. It doesn’t matter if you’re a thriller enthusiast or a poetry buff, there are new books coming out this summer that will satisfy even the pickiest reader.
Add these books to your TBR pile this summer. Happy Reading!
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi
Publish Date: June 8, 2021
Anytime Akwaeke Emezi releases something new, I’m first in line. Her first memoir is one I’m most excited for this summer. Through candid, intimate correspondence with friends, lovers and family, Emezi traces the unfolding of a self and the unforgettable journey of a creative spirit stepping into power in the human world.
She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Publish date: July 20, 2021
Described as “Mulan meets The Song of Achilles,” She Who Became the Sun is a bold, queer and lyrical reimagining of the rise of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty from an amazing new voice in literary fantasy.
Lady Sunshine by Amy Mason Doan
Publish Date: June 29, 2021
It’s no secret we love the dreamy vibes of the 1970s, and this novel is right up our alley. It’s part mystery, part sun-drenched summer story full of family ties. Even if you can’t make it to the beach this summer, you can live vicariously through this story.
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
Publish Date: July 20, 2021
If you enjoy a good twisty story, Nightbitch might be your favorite summer read. An artist-turned-stay-at-home-mom becomes convinced she’s turning into a dog in this satirical fairytale. You’ll laugh and guffaw along with the story that embodies ideas about art, power and womanhood.
One Two Three by Laurie Frankel
Publish Date: June 8, 2021
Laurie Frankel has a magical ability to write books that not only make you think, but make you feel things deep in your gut. In her new novel about triplets living in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone, you’ll be laughing one page and crying the next.
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota
Publish Date: July 13, 2021
A family saga both sweeping and granular, Sunjeev Sahota’s latest novel — partly inspired by his own family history — follows a teenage bride in 1929 Punjab who is yearning to find out her new husband’s identity.
Pilgrim Bell: Poems by Kaveh Akbar
Publish Date: August 3, 2021
Exploring the nuances and contradictions of living in a body and a country that’s often at odds with your soul, Akbar’s second collection takes its readers on a spiritual journey of disavowal, fiercely attendant to the presence of divinity where artifacts of self and belonging have been shed.
Songbirds by Christy Lefteri
Publish Date: August 3, 2021
Anyone who read The Beekeeper of Aleppo knows author Christy Lefteri is a master at weaving powerful, emotional stories. Her latest novel is about the disappearance of a Sri Lankan domestic worker, inspired by the real-life disappearance of domestic workers in Cyprus. Songbirds offers a triumphant story of the fight for truth and justice, and of women reclaiming their lost voices.
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Publish Date: August 3, 2021
Once There Were Wolves is the gripping story set in the Scottish Highlands of Inti, who has come from Alaska to lead a team of biologists in reintroducing gray wolves to the Highlands. She becomes desperate to save the creatures she loves — if she isn’t consumed by a wild that was once her refuge.
The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
Publish Date: June 15, 2021
Set in the waning days of The Civil War, two brothers who have been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation begin working on a family farm in Georgia, trying to save enough money to find their mother, who was sold as a slave when they were young. In a parallel storyline runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. But when their secret is discovered chaos and heartbreak ensues, as the two stories converge into one epic tale.
House of Sticks: A Memoir by Ly Tran
Publish Date: June 1, 2021
Another highly anticipated memoir this summer, Ly Tran shares a coming of age story unlike any other. Recounting her journey as a young girl from war-torn Vietnam to Ridgewood, Queens, Tran infuses humor and expression into her account. With her family’s immigration experience and her own fraught and courageous coming of age, House of Sticks is a timely and powerful portrait of one girl’s struggle to reckon with her heritage and forge her own path.
All’s Well by Mona Awad
Publish Date: August 3, 2021
We’re big fans of dark humor and few people do it as well as Mona Awad. In this new novel about a theater professor suffering chronic pain, who, in the process of staging a troubled production of Shakespeare’s most maligned play, suddenly and miraculously recovers. The story that unfolds is a viciously funny indictment of our collective refusal to witness and believe female pain.
Goldenrod: Poems by Maggie Smith
Publish Date: July 27, 2021
In this volume of poems, attributed to the precious beauty of the present moment, Smith uses the seemingly familiar objects and happenings of everyday life — an autocorrect mistake, a rock from her young son’s pocket and a field of the titular goldenrods — as conduits for finding the extraordinary in the day-to-day motions of a routine.
The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
Publish Date: August 17, 2021
A short story collection set in New Orleans, Ruffin has an impeccable ability to make us see characters and familiar places in a new light. His stories are perspectival, character-driven tales centered on the margins and are deeply rooted in New Orleanian culture.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
Publish Date: June 15, 2021
The world thinks that you must be broken or unintelligent to fall for a cult, right? But that’s not the case. And fanaticism comes in all different forms.
