Welcome back to an updated version of my old new release roundup! I announced last month that I’m sending out a newsletter highlighting my top 10 new releases of the upcoming month, paired with my new releases spreadsheet. The spreadsheet tracks all the upcoming releases that have caught my eye, a quick summary of each book, who’s narrating the audiobook, and blurbs from authors and other book websites to help you decide if you want to add these books to your TBR.
In this issue…
The 10 July book releases I’m most excited about…
including my 5 under-the-radar picks
What books I read from June releases
Access to the July new releases spreadsheet
My 10 Most-Anticipated July Releases
Fiction
Owner of a Lonely Heart by Beth Nguyen – From the publisher: "a memoir about parenthood, absence, and the condition of being a refugee: the story of Beth’s relationship with her mother. Framed by a handful of visits over the course of many years—sometimes brief, sometimes interrupted, sometimes with her mother alone and sometimes with her sister—Beth tells a coming-of-age story that spans her own Midwestern childhood, her first meeting with her mother, and becoming a parent herself."
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
The Librarianist by Patrick DeWitt – From the publisher: "From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes the story of Bob Comet, a man who has lived his life through and for literature, unaware that his own experience is a poignant and affecting narrative in itself."
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen – From the publisher: "A tender, humorous, and page-turning debut about a Vietnamese Canadian family in Toronto who will do whatever it takes to protect their no-frills nail salon after a new high end salon opens up—even if it tears the family apart. Perfect for readers of Olga Dies Dreaming and The Fortunes of Jaded Women." I’m about 50% of the way through the audio of this one (thank you Simon Audio!) and absolutely loving it. It’s fun, fresh, and just the book I needed right now.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
The Majority by Elizabeth L. Silver – From the publisher: "Set against the vibrant sweep of the 20th century, THE MAJORITY brings us into the sacrifices, heartaches, and complex emotional life of a powerful woman ahead of her time, whose life and work turn out to have supreme stakes."
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch – From the publisher: "Debut novelist Lindsay Lynch brings the golden age of Hollywood to glittering life, from star-studded opening nights to backlot brawls, on-location Westerns to the Hollywood Canteen. Through Edie’s wry observations, Lynch maps the intricate networks of power that manufacture the magic of the movies, and interrogates who actually gets to tell women’s stories."
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Elsewhere by Yan Ge – From the publisher: "Yan Ge transposes her dynamic storytelling onto another linguistic landscape. The result is a collection humming with her trademark wit and style—and with the electricity of a seasoned artist flexing her virtuosity with a new medium." I’ll be picking up this collection very very soon.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
All-Night Pharmacy by Ruth Madievsky – From the publisher: "With prose pulsing like a neon sign, Ruth Madievsky’s All-Night Pharmacy is an intoxicating portrait of a young woman consumed with unease over how a person should be. As she attempts sobriety and sexual embodiment, she must decide whether to search for her estranged sister, or allow her to remain a relic of the past."
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter – From the publisher: "From an award-winning writer whose work Roxane Gay calls “utterly unique and remarkable” comes a surreal novel about a woman in Silicon Valley who must decide how much she’s willing to give up for success."
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
How to Love Your Daughter by Hila Blum – From the publisher: "With exquisite psychological precision, Blum traces the seemingly insignificant missteps and deceptions of family life, where it’s possible to cross the line between protectiveness and possession without even seeing it—and uncertain whether, or how, we can find our way back." I’ll probably do audio for this one because I love Cassandra Campbell.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Nonfiction
The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland – From the publisher: "A witty, winning, and revelatory personal narrative of the author’s transition from sightedness to blindness and his quest to learn about blindness as a rich culture all its own."
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Which of these books are you excited to pick up?
If you haven’t tried audiobooks or don’t have an audiobook subscription, Libro.fm is my favorite way to listen to audiobooks, and my favorite audiobook company to support. Your purchase supports an indie bookstore of your choosing, and you can pause or cancel at anytime. Use my code (KATHARINE) or this link and get TWO audiobook credits for the price of one.
5 Under-the-Radar Picks
Here are a few new releases I’m really looking forward to but haven’t seen much buzz:
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
LibroFM | Bookshop | AmazonAfter the Funeral and Other Stories by Tessa Hadley
LibroFM | Bookshop | AmazonVanishing Maps by Christina García
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
The June New Releases I Read
I read three books from last month’s roundup. Here are my thoughts:
🎧 Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan – While I didn’t love this one like I did Nora Goes Off Script (if you haven’t read this yet, do it!), it was still a cute and fun romance to have in my ears. This was great on audio, with two of my favorite narrators for romance – Dan Bittner and Brittany Pressley. (Thank you to PRH Audio for my copy.)
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
🎧 Pageboy by Elliot Page – Reviewing memoirs is hard, because it’s someone sharing (often) difficult and very personal parts of their life. So while I didn’t love this one quite as much as I wanted to, I’m still very glad I listened to it.
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
📖 The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon – I picked this one up on a complete whim and hadn’t heard about it until I received a copy from the publisher (thank you to Knopf for my copy!) but I’m so glad I did. It kept me hooked for the less than 24 hours it took for me to devour it (and in print, a real feat these days). A story about a serial killer told from the perspective of three women in his life – his captive, his daughter, and the woman who has a crush on him – it was utterly compelling, disturbing, and unputdownable. Content warnings abound, so be sure to look those up before you read this one. (This would be great on audio – it has a full cast narration.)
LibroFM | Bookshop | Amazon
Release Roundup Spreadsheet
Every month, just before I send out this newsletter, I’ll update it with the following month’s releases. (If new books come on my radar, I’ll add those to the spreadsheet and highlight them so you know they’re new additions.)
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