We recommend: The best new book releases
The best of new fiction
The First Gentleman by Bill Clinton and James Patterson: The former US President and the famous author team up for a third political thriller novel set in the White House. With President Madeline Wright up for reelection, investigative journalists Brea Cooke and Garrett Wilson are dead set on finding out whether first gentleman Cole —on trial for murder—is actually a killer. There are no reviews out yet. (June 2)
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid: This romance novel turns back the clock to the 1980s during the US space shuttle program in Houston. The protagonist is astrophysics professor Joan Goodwin who commenced astronaut training in the summer of 1980 alongside several similarly accomplished candidates—from engineers to Top Gun pilots. Amid the backdrop of NASA work politics, she falls in love with, and pursues a relationship with an aeronautical engineer. But everything changed during a space shuttle mission in December 1984. There’s only one review out for this book. Associated Press says “Reid is great at creating characters that while they fit a stereotype, exist on the page as comfortably (or awkwardly) as readers imagine they would in real life.” (June 3)
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by VE Schwab: This is a book about Vampires! Set in three different countries and eras: Santo Domingo de la Calzada, 1532; London, 1837; and Boston, 2019—and follows three different female vampires María, Charlotte and Alice who are hungry and angry at the society. New York Times notes: “Like many vampire novels, “Bury Our Bones” muses over what makes us human… Vampirism is offered as reprieve from oppression. By becoming undead, these women gain bodily autonomy and societal agency.” (June 10)
Fox by Joyce Carol Oates: The author is a master of thriller. The story revolves around a charming English teacher from a small idyllic Langhorne Academy. Everyone loved her. His name: Francis Fox. But when Fox’s car is discovered half-submerged in a pond with parts of an unidentified body in the nearby woods, Detective Horace Zwender starts profiling Fox—which takes everyone aback as the evidence points to Fox being compared to stalker and criminal types such as Tom Ripley and Humbert Humbert. What is the truth? Who is Francis Fox? (June 19)
This month’s poetry pick
Avidya by Vidyan Ravinthiran: Spanning Sri Lanka, the UK, and the US, this deeply personal poetry collection explores memory, migration, and family. Written after a visit to his war-scarred ancestral homeland and a move to America just before the pandemic, Ravinthiran reflects on forgotten histories, parental legacies, and the quiet strength found in everyday life. Publishers Weekly describes the collection as a tender, shape-shifting collection that captures "a life beset by hyper-alertness," where personal and political histories collide in poems that are “allusive, musical, studied yet tender.” (June 24)
The best of the non-fiction list
The Dry Season by Melissa Febos: This is one of the most anticipated books of this year. Ever since her teens, Febos had always been hopping from one romantic relationship into another. After a really bad breakup, she decides to be celibate for three months—which proves to be quite difficult for her. But she takes a chance to remain celibate for a year—in search of pleasure and sexual autonomy outside of the male gaze and male validation.
According to Kirkus Review, it is “a gorgeous and thought-provoking memoir about how celibacy can teach us about love.” OTOH, The Cut offers a mixed review: “Febos doesn’t frame The Dry Season as a recovery memoir—she doesn’t identify as a sex or relationship addict—but she considers the ability to quit the tiny thrills that compel us, whether they are heroin, cigarettes, or flirting, as “proof of growth,” even if she’s not quite sure what kind of growth she’s after… To Febos’s credit, she doesn’t pretend her stint with celibacy is more radical than it actually is.” (June 5)
Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia by Sam Dalrymple: This sweeping history traces how the once-unified Indian Empire—spanning from the Red Sea to Southeast Asia—was broken apart through five major partitions over fifty years. Drawing from rare archives and personal accounts, the book explores how modern South Asia emerged from this upheaval, leaving behind a legacy of war, displacement, and enduring conflict across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, and beyond. There are no reviews for the book as of yet. (June 19)
On the Brink of Belief: Queer Writing from South Asia by Kazim Ali: This book is a collection of flash fiction, memoir, poetry, fragments and conversations from 24 queer writers from South Asia and beyond. Some of the stories include Djinns of Assamese folklore, peculiar cousins who haunt Kashmiri family trees and redemption for Shaitan in Lahore. (June 28)
