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New Books

New Books for the First Tuesday of July!

Hello, star bits! I hope you are all having a wonderful second day of the second half of the year. I had a great weekend, watching birds and squirrels in the yard and reading books. I have been enjoying the Hilo middle grade graphic novel series by Judd Winick (former Real World cast member!) about an alien boy and his Earth friends. I reread The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, too. It is such a tremendous book and possibly my favorite of the year. I wanted to reread it in preparation for its release today, but also because I have recently been seeing it being compared to The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It’s funny, I have read that novel every year since it came out, and I didn’t have that thought the first time I read the Moore. But I can see why it’s being said. It’s definitely going to be recommended for many years to come. It’s an instant classic. (Which is an oxymoron, I know. But still true.)

Now let’s talk about the books out now for new release day! At the top of my list of books to acquire are Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi, The Failures by Benjamin Liar, and Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna. On this week’s episode of All the Books!, Danika and I talked about great books we loved that are out this week, including God of the Woods, Cash Delgado is Living the Dream, and The Night of Baba Yaga.

Today, I am doing a round-up of several exciting books from the first Tuesday of July 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!

Fiction

cover of The God of the Woods by Liz Moore; oil painting of a forest with a drip of pink paint running down from the top

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore***

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Mysterious Setting by Kazushige Abe, Michael Emmerich (translator)

Teddy by Emily Dunlay 

Big in Sweden by Sally Franson 

The World After Alice by Lauren Aliza Green

The Same Bright Stars by Ethan Joella

The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kọ́láwọlé

The Murmuration by Carlos Labbe, Will Vanderhyden (translator)

The Curse of the Flores Women by Angélica Lopes, Zoë Perry (translator)

Misrecognition by Madison Newbound 

The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster by Shauna Robinson

cover of The Road to the Salt Sea by Samuel Kolawole. small black outline of a person standing on teal and red squiggles

Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal

The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan 

More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, Eric Ozawa (translator)

Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna

The Entire Sky by Joe Wilkins 

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Middle Grade and Picture Books

cover of First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce, Becca Farrow; illustration of person with brown hair and hazel eyes wearing a brown cloak

Shark Night by R. L. Stine

The Ones Who Come Back Hungry by Amelinda Bérubé

Faker by Gordon Korman

First Test Graphic Novel by Tamora Pierce, Becca Farrow

Mystery and Thriller

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani, Sam Bett (translator)***

Broiler by Eli Cranor

The Haters by Robyn Harding 

Breaking the Dark: A Jessica Jones Marvel Crime Novel by Lisa Jewell

May the Wolf Die by Elizabeth Heider 

Nonfiction

cover of Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley; cartoon of small orange cat howling

Woe: A Housecat’s Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley***

The Untold Story of Books: A Writer’s History of Publishing by Michael Castleman 

The Secret History of Sharks: The Rise of the Ocean’s Most Fearsome Predators by John Long*** 

Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change by Cady Coleman 

1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left by Robyn Hitchcock 

Romance

Cash Delgado is Living the Dream by Tehlor Kay Mejia

Just Playing House by Farah Heron

The Match by Sarah Adams

cover of Cash Delgado is Living the Dream by Tehlor Kay Mejia; illustration of woman with dark hair holding a glass of wine across from a bartender, also with dark hair

The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore

The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood 

What’s in a Kiss? by Lauren Kate

Sci-fi, Fantasy, and Horror

Midnight Rooms by Donyae Coles

The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song

The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen 

The Gilded Crown (The Raven’s Trade, 1) by Marianne Gordon 

Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi

Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías, Heather Cleary (translator)***

Briefly Very Beautiful by Roz Dineen

The Failures (The Wanderlands, #1) by Benjamin Liar

Young Adult

The Second Chance of Darius Logan by David F. Walker

We Don’t Have Time for This by Brianna Craft

Not About a Boy by Myah Hollis

Joined at the Joints by Marissa Eller

A Darker Mischief by Derek Milman 

close up of an orange cat's face upside down on a desk; photo by Liberty Hardy

This week: I’m currently reading Anyone’s Ghost by August Thompson and The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T. Wurth. I just finished season eight of my rewatch of The X-Files. I forgot how much I enjoyed Robert Patrick’s performance as the new FBI agent. He didn’t have an easy job, coming into a popular show to replace beloved actors who wanted to leave the series. (Related: Did you know his brother Robert is the lead singer of Filter, and was once a guitarist in Nine Inch Nails?) The song stuck in my head is “Return to the Moon” by EL VY. And here’s a cat photo: This is Farrokh’s pose when he wants you to give him whatever it is you’re eating. He pulls out all the cute for food.


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