10 Brand-New Books to Add to Your TBR List This Month
by Jennie Yabroff
July is here, which means we are officially in summer mode. July is a month of barbecues, fireworks, long weekends at the beach, and warm nights that are perfect for staying up late reading on the porch. The month also offers a great crop of books to take with you on vacation — whether need something to keep you occupied on a long flight or just take an imaginary vacation of the mind while you stay home. From goosebumps-raising thrillers to moving memoirs to thought-provoking essay collections, this month has a book to please everyone.
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The Darker the Night, the Brighter the Stars: A Neuropsychologist’s Odyssey Through Consciousness
Buy from:When we talk about the self, do we mean the brain or do we mean the soul? Are the two actually the same thing or do we have a consciousness beyond the body? As a neuropsychologist, Paul Broks thought he knew the answers to these questions better than most people. But when his wife died of cancer, he realized he had barely begun to explore that intangible link between our bodies, minds, and spirits. Read this book to think more deeply about what it means to be a sentient being than you ever have before.
(On Sale: 7/3/18)Buy from: -
The Last Time I Lied
Buy from:If you are a parent about to send your kid off to sleepaway camp for the first time this summer, this might not be the book for you. For everyone else, this story about a group of girls who go missing from their camp cabin one night — and the remaining girl who watches them go — will be un-put-downable. Part mystery, part psychological thriller, this novel moves from the art world of New York to the secret-laden cabins of Camp Nightingale and back again, as one former camper fights to find out what happened to her friends that summer long ago.
(On Sale: 7/3/18)Buy from: -
A Carnival of Losses: Notes Nearing Ninety
Buy from:Donald Hall, a former poet laureate of the United States, has in recent years become something of our poet laureate of old age. In essays at once tender and fierce, hilarious and wise, he writes of the extraordinary, rarely chronicled journey to the other side of 70, 80, and beyond. In this collection, he mixes reminiscences of the highlights of his life with frank discussion of what it means to face death not just as a vague possibility of something that might happen someday, but a certainty that grows closer each day.
(On Sale: 7/10/18)Buy from: -
Baby Teeth
Buy from:The unlovable child — it’s every parent’s nightmare. The nightmare comes true for Suzette, whose daughter, Hanna, refuses to speak and has seemed to hate her mother since the moment she was born. Hanna’s father, Alex, sees things differently, believing his daughter is spirited and willful, but an essentially loving little girl. The two parents must find out where the truth lies and if they guess wrong, the consequences will be deadly. In this novel of nonstop psychological suspense, writer Stage keeps readers predicting which member of this family is telling the truth until the very last page.
(On Sale: 7/17/18)Buy from: -
Crux: A Cross-Border Memoir
Buy from:Growing up, Jean Guerrero believed her father was a shaman, a magical man who could see the future and communicate with animals. Later she was told he was a paranoid schizophrenic, alcoholic, and addict. Refusing to accept either version of her father as the whole truth, she began traveling between Mexico and the United States, tracing her family history as she sought to learn more about the man whose sad and fantastic life mirrors the immigrant experience writ large.
(On Sale: 7/17/18)Buy from: -
Ghosted
Buy from:When Sarah and Eddie meet, a whirlwind romance is sparked. They spend a week together, at which point Eddie has to leave on a previously planned trip. He promises to reconnect with Sarah when he returns, but … Sarah never hears from him. Refusing to accept that she has been ghosted, Sarah sets out to discover what happened to Eddie and why he never called. A contemporary romance novel with more than a hint of suspense and mystery, this one will keep you turning the pages long into the night.
(On Sale: 7/24/18)Buy from: -
The Immeasurable World: Journeys in Desert Places
Buy from:Deserts cover one third of the globe. Yet we tend to think of them as hot, arid, empty spaces to avoid, places to fly over on our way to their more temperate perimeters. But when William Atkins found himself in a difficult place in life, he decided to put himself in difficult places on the planet — the eight hottest deserts in the world to be exact. In this travelogue, he writes of the subtle pleasures and rich history of deserts, making a good argument that a vista of sand can be just as rewarding as one of sea.
(On Sale: 7/24/18)Buy from: -
How to Love a Jamaican: Stories
Buy from:Alexia Arthurs was born in Jamaica but moved to Brooklyn when she was 12. In this story collection, she travels between her new home and the country of her birth to describe the immigrant experience from both sides: Jamaicans living in the States, and Americans returning to Jamaica. Each story expresses the pleasure, sadness, and struggle of trying to straddle two cultures at once, while celebrating the unique, intense pleasures of the writer’s homeland.
(On Sale: 7/24/18)Buy from: -
You’re on an Airplane: A Self-Mythologizing Memoir
Buy from:Parker Posey steals every movie she’s in, whether the film is a quirky, indie cult classic or a big-budget thriller. With just a few lines she creates hilarious, unforgettable characters, each one slightly different yet all linked by a subtle appreciation of the absurdities of life. Imagine, then, getting to sit next to this versatile, wildly entertaining actress for an airplane ride, and hearing all about her childhood, her thoughts on acting, and her musings on everything from yoga to collage. Such is the premise of Posey’s memoir. You won’t get a little bag of peanuts with this book, but you will get an unforgettable journey, with Posey as your literary seatmate and guide.
(On Sale: 7/24/18)Buy from: -
Immigrant, Montana
Buy from:This novel, by the author of Lunch With a Bigot, describes the immigrant experience of a man who is uncertain even about his own name. Born Kailash, he becomes Kalashnikov, then AK-47, then simply AK in his journey from India to America, where he navigates the university system, falls in and out of love, and comes to terms with what it means — and what it doesn’t mean — to make a place for yourself in the world.
(On Sale: 7/31/18)Buy from:
What new books are you anticipating reading this month? Let us know in the comments below!