Books We Are Excited To Read In August
FICTION
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi —August 4 (Penguin Randomhouse)
Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suffers disorienting blackouts, moments of disconnection between self and surroundings. Named one of the year’s most anticipated books by The New York Times, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, and more, The Death of Vivek Oji explores friendship, family, loss and transcendence.
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy — August 4 (Flatiron Books)
Migrations is a novel set on the brink of catastrophe, as a young woman chases the world’s last birds―and her own final chance for redemption.
Luster by Raven Leilani — August 4 (FSG Books)
This is a much read this summer! Named one of the Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2020 byVogue, Elle, Time, The New York Times, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Vulture, Parade, USA Today, Literary Hub, Buzzfeed, Electric Literature, and many more, Luster follows Edie as she stumbled her way through admin jobs, her crappy Bushwich apartment and a series of inappropriate sexual encounters. Funny, raw and brutally honest, Raven Leilani brilliantly captures the trials of your twenties.
The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis — August 4 (Dutton)
In nationally bestselling author Fiona Davis's latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.
The Wicked Sister by Karen Dionne — August 4 (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
From the bestselling and award-winning author of The Marsh King's Daughter comes a startling novel of psychological suspense as two generations of sisters try to unravel their tangled relationships between nature and nurture, guilt and betrayal, love and evil.
You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here by Frances Macken — August 4 (Oneworld Publications)
Filled with unforgettable characters and crackling dialogue, You Have to Make Your Own Fun Around Here takes a keen-eyed look at the complexities of female friendship, the corrosive power of jealousy and guilt, and the way that life can quietly erode our dreams unless we're willing to fight for them.
A House Is a Body: Stories by Shruti Swamy — August 11 (Algonquin Books)
A House Is a Body introduces a bold and original voice in fiction, from a writer at the start of a stellar career. Dreams collide with reality, modernity with antiquity, and myth with identity in the twelve arresting stories.
Summer by Ali Smith — August 25 (Pantheon)
This is a story about people on the brink of change. They’re family, but they think they’re strangers. So: Where does family begin? And what do people who think they’ve got nothing in common have in common?
Summer.
Nonfiction
Tomboyland by Melissa Faliveno — August 1 (TOPPLE Books & Little A)
A fiercely personal and startlingly universal essay collection about the mysteries of gender and desire, of identity and class, of the stories we tell and the places we call home, and what it means to come from a small town.
Being Lolita by Alisson Wood — August 4 (Flatiron Books)
A dark romance evolves between a high schooler and her English teacher in this breathtakingly powerful memoir about a young woman who must learn to rewrite her own story. Being Lolita is a stunning coming-of-age memoir that “shines a bright light on our shifting perceptions of consent, vulnerability, and power. This is the story of what happens when a young woman realizes her entire narrative must be rewritten―and then takes back the pen to rewrite it.”
The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir by Sara Seager —August 18 (Crown)
In this luminous memoir, an MIT astrophysicist must reinvent herself in the wake of tragedy and discovers the power of connection on this planet, even as she searches our galaxy for another Earth.
