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It’s summer reading season! Everyone and their mother’s brother seems on board, especially after the Chicago Sun-Times published a summer reading list written by AI that featured 10 books that didn’t actually exist. So let’s jump into some book lists featuring titles that really are coming out.
I love when publications create nonfiction-centered reading lists so I can quickly find the true stories I’m looking for. The New York Times has highlighted 21 books they think are new must-reads this summer. Some of the titles included are The Dry Season by Melissa Febos, The Möbius Book by Catherine Lacey, Blessings and Disasters by Alexis Okeowo, and A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst.
Every couple of months, I take my spouse to Barnes and Noble where he inevitably gets lost in the nonfiction section. I know he’s going to love this list, as I already see some of his favorites, including The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann, Mark Twain by Ron Chernow, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah, and Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe.
Time’s list features books across many genres, but we’re here for the nonfiction titles. Once again, The Dry Season by Melissa Febos makes the list. Plus, I spy one of my most anticipated nonfiction releases I Want to Burn This Place Down by the incredible literary tastemaker, Maris Kreizman. I would have loved to see even more nonfiction on this list.
While a number of summer reading lists feature a lot of similar titles, NPR has included some books that I didn’t even know were coming out, like Culture Creep: Notes on the Pop Apocalypse by Alice Bolin. I love Bolin’s Dead Girls, and I had no idea she had a new book coming out! It also features The CIA Book Club: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature by Charlie English, which sounds like the perfect read for readers who love books about books.
Don’t miss out on Kelly Jensen’s new guide to Public Library Board Elections and other book censorship news in her latest articles. Getting involved in your local library board helps ensure that your voice is being heard as libraries face ongoing censorship from book bans.
You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave or over on Instagram @kdwinchester. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
The following comes to you from the Editorial Desk.
It’s Pride Month, and while we celebrate queer literature here all year long, we go especially rainbow bold in June. This week, we’re excited to take a look at the favorite queer books of beloved queer authors.
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It’s Pride month, which is the perfect excuse to buy and read a bunch of queer books. One method I really enjoy for finding new books is to take the recommendations of my favorite authors. Carmen Maria Machado hasn’t led me astray yet. Unfortunately, I don’t have these authors on speed dial, but luckily, they usually have shared their recommendations publicly.
Below I’ve put together queer book recommendations from 11 beloved queer authors. Some are from interviews where they discussed their favorite books, and others are book blurbs. Both the authors’ works and the books they recommend cover a wide spectrum of genres and formats, including graphic novels, literary fiction, poetry, biographies, horror, sci-fi, YA fantasy, and more, so there’s something for every kind of reader.
Akwaeke Emezi recommends…
Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde
“Some of the most spectacular writing I’ve ever encountered in my life… Vagabonds! brought me to tears because it gave me a world in which my country could be home again.”
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