Alta Journal’s California Book Club
The book: Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
Our reviewer says: “Tomine's lacerating falling-out-of-love story is an irresistible gem of a graphic novel…. In crisp spare lines, he captures in all its excruciating, disappointing absurdity a single moment and makes from it our world.” Read more.
The book: Nice Girls Don’t Win by Parvati Shallow
Our reviewer says: “Survivor winner Shallow recounts her personal struggles and reality TV successes in this diverting memoir…. This is a treat for reality TV fans.” Read more.
The book: How Women Made Music: A Revolutionary History from NPR Music, ed. Alison Fensterstock with Ann Powers
Our reviewer says: “Fensterstock, a contributor to NPR’s Turning the Tables draws from it and more than 50 years of the station’s coverage in a rich and resonant collection of essays, interview excerpts, and ephemera…. It’s a buoyant, welcome ode to some of the most influential songstresses of the 20th and 21st centuries.” Read more.
The book: Songs For Other People’s Weddings by David Levithan, with songs by Jens Lekman
Our reviewer says: “YA author Levithan collaborates with singer-songwriter Lekman for an accomplished novel about a wedding singer’s relationship troubles…. It adds up to an impressive meditation on love and letting go.” Read more.
The book: That’s How They Get You by Damon Young
The book: How to Lose Your Mother by Molly Jong-Fast
Our reviewer says: “Journalist Jong-Fast chronicles the worst year of her life in this staggering self-portrait…. Resisting tidy sentiment or easy answers, Jong-Fast dives headfirst into the often difficult ambiguities of parent-child bonds. The results are stunning.” Read more.
The book: The View From Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani
Our reviewer says: “An Italian American woman throws off the shackles of her constrictive New Jersey family in this sweet outing from Trigiani…. Trigiani’s fans will lap this up.” Read more.
The book: Great Black Hope by Rob Franklin
Our reviewer says: “In Franklin’s radiant debut, a queer Black man reckons with his class privilege and drug use in the aftermath of his best friend’s mysterious death…. Readers will be rapt.” Read more.
Good Housekeeping Book Club and Good Morning America Book Club
The book: Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza
Our reviewer says: “Piazza’s darkly entertaining latest revolves around the mysterious disappearance of a social media star…. This delivers the goods.” Read more.
Good Morning America YA Book Club
The book: Immortal Consequences by L.V. Marie
Our reviewer says: “Marie’s sprawling dark academia fantasy finds six students attending a school in purgatory and competing in high-stakes trials for a shot at a better afterlife…. Despite somewhat lackluster worldbuilding, though, riveting action and smart banter will drive readers to the next installment of this series-launching debut.” Read more.
The book: TBA
The book: Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
Our reviewer says: “Russo’s portraits of smalltown life may be read not only as fine novels but as invaluable guides to the economic decline of the American Northeast…. [The novel], on every page, is largehearted, vividly populated, and filled with life from America’s recent, still vanishing past.” Read more.
The book: Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
Our reviewer says: “The much-anticipated third Stormlight Archive epic fantasy installment is classic Sanderson, with multiple story lines and unexpected twists and turns…. Sanderson successfully balances introducing new elements and satisfactorily resolving some threads, leaving fans to eagerly await the next in the series.” Read more.
The book: King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby
Our reviewer says: “A Virginia man is sucked into a brutal drug syndicate in this fitfully inspired crime novel from bestseller Cosby…. This is best suited to the author’s devoted fans.” Read more.
The book: TBA
The book: Decolonizing the Mind by Ngugi wa Thiong’o
The book: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Our reviewer says: “Nguyen’s poignant debut captures the perspectives of, and essence of the bond between, a parent and child, proving that language—and love—can transcend words.” Read more.
The book: Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
Our reviewer says: “A huge success in England, this marvelously funny debut novel had its genesis in a column Fielding writes for a London newspaper…. It’s hard to imagine a funnier book appearing anywhere this year.” Read more.
The book: Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman
Our reviewer says: “A widow opens herself up to new love in this smart and moving romance from bestseller Sussman…. It’s heavier than [the author’s] last book, but fans will still find plenty to enjoy.” Read more.
The book: My Other Heart by Emma Hanami Strenner
The book: Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan
The book: All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
Our reviewer says: “Mathews’s poignant and illuminating debut centers on an aloof 22-year-old Indian immigrant whose first job out of college brings her to the Midwest to work as a consultant-in-training for a large manufacturer.... This thoughtful exploration of the legacies of trauma makes an impact.” Read more.
The book: These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
The book: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Our reviewer says: “With deep compassion and graceful prose, botanist and professor of plant ecology Kimmerer encourages readers to consider the ways that our lives and language weave through the natural world.” Read more.
The book: The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth by Veeraporn Nitiprapha, trans. by Kong Rithdee
The book: The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
Our reviewer says: “The insightful latest from Kamali chronicles the decades-long friendship of two Iranian women whose lives are upended by their country’s political upheaval…. This will resonate with fans of women’s fiction.” Read more.
The book: Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore
Our reviewer says: “In Moore’s transportive debut collection, Southern Black men and women contend with ambivalent feelings toward home…. This solid collection has much to admire.” Read more.
