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New Books

New Books for the First Tuesday of June!

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!

cover of I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This: (But I'm Going to Anyway) by Chelsea Devantez; photo of title written across a green-tiled wall

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

cover of The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron; image in teal tint of a Black woman's face

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

cover of Tiananmen Square by Lai Wen; painting of a young Asian woman done in rainbow colors

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***

cover of Super Pancake and the Mini Muffin Mayhem by Megan Wagner Lloyd, Abhi Alwar; illustration of flying pancake with a purple cape and tiny muffins nearby

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 

cover of There Is No Ethan: How Three Women Caught America’s Biggest Catfish by Anna Akbari; photo collage of parts of many faces to make up one

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

cover of Wish You Weren't Here by Erin Baldwin; illustration of two young Black women standing with their backs to one another

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

cover of Tidal Creatures (Alchemical Journeys Book 3) by Seanan McGuire; illustration of the moon on fire

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

cover of Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee; illustration of a young Asian person with a spot of white in their hair, surrounded by white flower blossoms

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

an orange cat lying on a wooden floor against a white wall; photo by Liberty Hardy

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