10 New Books Coming This August
Another month, another 10 new books to share with you. Before we get into it, let's recap on July.
Some highlights include At Last by Marisa Silver and Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee. I’ve also been reading (and buying) far too many cookbooks. More on that soon.
This month’s lineup features a few memoirs, including a saucy release penned anonymously by a London-based chef and a highly anticipated work by Kate Price. Also this month, some stellar debuts and a new novel from Emily Adrian.
I’m heading to Ireland and Stockholm in a couple weeks for vacation (recommendations welcome), and I’ll definitely be packing a few of these for the flight. Now, let’s dive in!
From the author of Everything Here Is Under Control and The Second Season comes a sharp novel about two married professors whose private lives become the subject of a graduate student’s thesis.
Ethan and Simone appear to have the perfect marriage. That is until Ethan sleeps with his administrative assistant, Abigail, shattering their faithful reunion. Simone, meanwhile, has secrets of her own. While Ethan is away for the summer, she grows close to her advisee, who, unbeknownst to her, fictionalizes their marriage in an invasive MFA project.
With a starred review from Kirkus, this “ferociously clever, funny and compulsive read” (Nathan Filer) may be one of the most anticipated books of the summer. On sale August 12th.
From the award-winning author of Girls Burn Brighter comes an ambitious new novel about Janavi and Sager, an Indian couple forced into an arranged marriage that neither of them want. When they relocate to Montana for Sager’s job, the move upends everything they expected.
After one of Sager’s colleagues is found drowned, he becomes the obvious scapegoat, an example of history repeating itself as people of colour once again pay the price for others’ crimes. Exploring themes of colonialism, westward expansion, and their lasting consequences, this “triumph of plotting, pacing, and powerfully drawn characters” (Booklist) hits shelves August 5th.
Making its North American debut this month is the Instant Sunday Times bestseller from the anonymous chef and columnist behind the online sensation Slutty Cheff. When she grows tired of the 9-to-5 corporate slog (aren’t we all?), she quits her job to pursue her dream of becoming a chef.
In Tart, she dives into the world of London’s fine dining scene, from the exhausting lows of sixty-hour weeks in windowless kitchens to the thrilling highs of a busy night. All this sandwiched between steamy stories of her encounters with bartenders and fellow chefs. Praised by Dolly Alderton as “visceral, hedonistic and gutsy.” On sale August 5th.
From the bestselling author of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning comes a deeply reported portrait of New York City in the late 1980s. It was a time marked by rising homelessness, drug addiction, and the AIDS crisis, with one-third of the city’s Black and Hispanic residents living below the federal poverty line.
Spanning four pivotal years, from the founding of ACT UP to the release of Do the Right Thing, Mahler traces the people and events that reshaped the city’s future. Described by Publishers Weekly in a starred review as “an astute, propulsive history.” On sale August 12th.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Ghosts of Harvard comes what Booklist reviewed as a “heartfelt story of ambition and resilience.” Following Iris Sunnegren, a character who is reeling from a breakup, feeling invisible at work, and grappling with loneliness in New York City.
Then her mysterious French neighbour gives her a bespoke perfume, and with one spritz, Iris suddenly becomes the object of every man’s desire. She uses her newfound allure to access the worlds that once excluded her.
But the deeper she ventures into these glamorous, male-dominated spaces, the closer she comes to uncovering unspeakable truths about her past. On sale August 5th.
In a world where personal data is more valuable, and more at risk, than ever, this highly anticipated debut explores what happens when memories can be edited, commodified, and corrupted for personal gain. Marketed for fans of Cloud Atlas and The Power, this couldn’t be more timely.
Set in a speculative future where a renamed China is the world’s sole superpower, and in a place where all citizens are implanted with a device that records and transmits memories between minds. When the unnamed narrator inherits a collection of his mother’s banned memories, it puts his freedom in jeopardy. A haunting reminder that our memories may not always be our own. On sale August 12th.
In this debut from journalist Emma Nanami Strenner, three women’s lives unfold across decades and continents. One is searching for the daughter who vanished nearly twenty years ago, and the others are in search of their own true identities.
Described by New York Times bestselling author Jean Kwok as “a novel that lingers long after the final page.” On sale August 5th.
With advanced praise from Eric Puchner and Laurie Frankel, this debut novel is set at a small liberal arts college in 1990s Massachusetts and follows a women’s cross-country team as its members push themselves to the limit; from their bodies, to their friendships, and even their futures.
Told from the perspectives of six of the team’s fastest runners, We Loved to Run is a sweeping exploration of female friendship, desire, and the nearly impossible standards placed on young women. On sale August 26th.
Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score is one of the most renowned books on trauma, spending over six years on the New York Times bestseller list. Many individuals are featured in its pages. This is the story of one of them.
Through EMDR therapy with Dr. van der Kolk, Kate Price uncovered a long-buried memory. That her father had abused and trafficked her as a child. What follows is a decade-long journey, where through repeated returns to her hometown alongside a journalist, Kate goes in search of the truth.
For readers of Educated and The Glass Castle, this “blistering, monumental achievement of a book” (Dani Shapiro) is on sale August 5th.
From multi-disciplinary entertainer and author Alyson Stoner comes what Stephanie Foo comped as “a grounded narrative of incredible tenacity, courage, and healing.” In their powerful memoir, Stoner recounts their experience with family violence, eating disorders, and religious trauma.
From childhood auditions for the Disney Channel and Missy Elliott music videos to working eighty-hour weeks at just eight years old, Stoner reveals the unattainable, and often inappropriate standards of Hollywood. This is an unflinching look at fame, substance abuse, and survival. On sale August 12th.
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