Hello, my friends, and welcome to another episode of “Woohoo, New Releases!” There are so many amazing books out today. I gave up a long time ago trying to kid myself that I can read everything I want. Instead, I now just find the joy in trying. I cram as many books into my brain pan as I can, just delighted to know that so many exist. I recently read and loved Old Soul by Susan Barker, which is my favorite flavor combination of incredible and disturbing. And I also read the upcoming The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke. (Sorry, not sorry.) It’s an illustrated story set in the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and what a treat that was! Fans will love it.
Enough about upcoming books! Now let’s talk about the books out now for new release day! At the top of my list of books to acquire are Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh, Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy, and Wild Ground by Emily Usher. On this week’s episode of All the Books!, Danika and I talked about great books we loved that are out this week, including Fire Exit, Wish You Weren’t Here, and There Is No Ethan.
Today, I am doing a round-up of several exciting books from the first Tuesday of June 2024. Below, you’ll find titles (loosely) broken up into several categories to make it easier for your browsing convenience. I hope you have fun with it! And as with each first Tuesday newsletter, I am putting asterisks *** next to the books that I have had the chance to read and loved. YAY, BOOKS!
Biography and Memoir
I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This: (But I’m Going to Anyway) by Chelsea Devantez
I’ve Tried Being Nice: (Among Other Things): Essays by Ann Leary
Everything and Nothing at Once: A Black Man’s Reimagined Soundtrack for the Future by Joél Leon
The Chair and the Valley: A Memoir of Trauma, Healing, and the Outdoors by Banning Lyon and Jonathan Eig
Fiction
Fire Exit by Morgan Talty***
Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr
Swift River: A Read with Jenna Pick by Essie Chambers
The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron
Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy
The Pecan Children by Quinn Connor
Role Play by Clara Drummond, Daniel Hahn (translator)
Malas by Marcela Fuentes
Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh
Old King by Maxim Loskutoff
The Future Was Color by Patrick Nathan
The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma***
Godwin by Joseph O’Neill
The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird: Ten Kafkaesque Stories by Ali Smith, Tommy Orange, et al.
Brat by Gabriel Smith
Wild Ground by Emily Usher
Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen
Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help with handpicked recommendations. Tell the Bibliologists at Tailored Book Recommendations about what you love and what you don’t. You can get your recommendations via email or receive hardcovers or paperbacks in the mail. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Plans start at just $18! Subscribe today.
Middle Grade and Picture Books
A Love Letter to My Library by Lisa Katzenberger, Rob Sayegh Jr.***
A Crocodile Should Never Skip Breakfast by Colleen Larmour
Itty Bitty Betty Blob by Constance Lombardo, Micah Player***
Super Pancake and the Mini Muffin Mayhem by Megan Wagner Lloyd, Abhi Alwar***
Mystery and Thriller
Burn It All by Maggie Auffarth
The Unwedding by Ally Condie
A Botanist’s Guide to Society and Secrets by Kate Khavari
Tell Me Who You Are by Louisa Luna
Farewell, Amethystine by Walter Mosley
Nonfiction
There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America’s Biggest Catfish by Anna Akbari***
The Explorers: A New History of America in Ten Expeditions by Amanda Bellows
Miss May Does Not Exist: The Life and Work of Elaine May, Hollywood’s Hidden Genius by Carrie Courogen
Grief Is a Sneaky Bitch: An Uncensored Guide to Navigating Loss by Lisa Keefauver
Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water by Amorina Kingdon
The Fall of Roe: The Rise of a New America by Lisa Lerer and Elizabeth Dias
Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz
The Wrong Stuff: How the Soviet Space Program Crashed and Burned by John Strausbaugh
This Ordinary Stardust: A Scientist’s Path from Grief to Wonder by Alan Townsend
Romance
Triple Sec by T.J. Alexander
Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin
Isabel and The Rogue (The Luna Sisters Book 2) by Liana De la Rosa
Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb
Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde
Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon
Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror
The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde
Small Town Horror by Ronald Malfi
Tidal Creatures (Alchemical Journeys Book 3) by Seanan McGuire
Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope
Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
Mirrored Heavens (Between Earth and Sky, #3) by Rebecca Roanhorse
youthjuice by E.K. Sathue
Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Young Adult
Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar
London On My Mind by Clara Alves, Nina Perrotta
Lockjaw by Matteo L. Cerilli
Looking for Smoke by K. A. Cobell
Better Must Come by Desmond Hall
Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee
The Deep Dark: A Graphic Novel by Molly Knox Ostertag
Barda by Ngozi Ukazu***
One Killer Problem by Justine Pucella Winans
Louder Than Words by Ashley Woodfolk, Lexi Underwood
This week: I’m currently reading Assassins Anonymous by Rob Hart and Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías, translated by Heather Cleary. I’ve just started season seven of my rewatch of The X-Files. It’s going more slowly now that I have dug out all my books on the show and I keep stopping to read stuff about the episodes. Because why be nerdy when you can be extra-nerdy, lol? The song stuck in my head is “Pa Pa Power” by Dead Man’s Bones (a.k.a. Ryan Gosling’s band. And here’s a cat photo: Look at how strong Zevon is, holding up the wall for us! (It’s fun to look at this photo upside down. It looks like someone filled him with helium and he’s bumping up against the ceiling.)
That’s it for me today, friends. I am sending you love and good wishes for whatever is happening in your life right now. Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty