The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece: A novel

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece is its own universe, complete with a sun, a cast of circling planets, and a limitless number of stars. Its gravity pulls you in and its far reaching, multi-layered, rollicking exuberance holds you in place. I would have been happy to live inside this book forever.

The Celebrants

I first fell in love with Steven Rowley’s writing when I read The Guncle, and I’m happy to report that The Celebrants is just as warm, witty, and captivating. Rowley writes the kinds of characters who you’ll feel like you’ve known for years—I was genuinely sad when I hit the last page and couldn’t spend more time with them!

Once More with Feeling: A Novel

A former pop star gets a second chance at fame, this time on Broadway. The only problem – she must avoid a relationship with the director, the guy at the center of the scandal that destroyed her career. A laugh out loud rom com with heartfelt emotion.

The Book That Wouldn’t Burn (The Library Trilogy #1)

I’ll read any book about a library. This first book in the new Library Trilogy series is focused on the Athenaeum which houses every book in the world. The mystery of what connects the two main characters, Livira and Evar, as well as connections to Adam and Eve make this book difficult to classify. Lawrence is masterful at pulling lots of disparate content together to create one story with a multitude of elements.

Yellowface: A Novel

When struggling writer June Hayward witnesses the tragic death of her friend, bestselling author Athena Liu, she can only do one thing: take Liu’s newest manuscript home with her. Publishing it as her own, June experiences the level of success she always wanted. But with fame comes scrutiny, and June will do anything to keep her secrets. A scathing satire with pointed commentary, Yellowface is not to be missed.

The Disenchantment: A Novel

There are so many things to love about Celia Bell’s debut novel, The Disenchantment — drama in the royal court! murder! intrigue! historic gays! I could keep shouting, that’s how much I adored this enthralling story of love and scandal in seventeenth century Paris. I can’t wait to see what Celia does next!

All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel

Cosby’s latest details the battle between Charon County’s first Black sheriff and a sadistic white killer obsessed with religion. The crimes are inspired by real-life headlines, but in Cosby’s hands, the reader is forced to consider the weight of racism, institutional religion, and justice. The twists were expertly revealed, and I was kept guessing until the very end. I cannot get enough of Cosby’s writing.

The True Love Experiment

Christina Lauren delivers a must-read romance featuring a fun concept, palpable angst, and fabulous characters! Filmmaker Connor Prince and romance novelist Fizzy Chen team up to create a sensational reality dating show, only to discover the true sensation might be the sparks between them… As a longtime CLo devotee, believe me when I say this is the best book they’ve ever written.

Ink Blood Sister Scribe: A Novel

We already know that books are magic, but in Ink Blood Sister Scribe, books have a power that crosses over worlds and creates ties that bind. With a cast of four misfit characters and a Pomeranian named Sir Kiwi, Emma Törzs’ debut novel is full of mystery, magic, love, and most importantly books. This is a perfect selection for anyone who loves Ninth House, Babel, or the Darker Shade of Magic series.

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal

Did you hear that noise? That was me. Screaming to anyone who will listen about the amount of joy this steamy new sapphic romance brings me. I have been LONGING for a heroine like Cora. A sexy, stern, bossy butch, and boy did she find her match in the fierce (but a bit bratty) Manuela. This book is delicious!

The Say So

Franks is one of my favorite contemporary Southern writers. She’s adept at describing the rich inner lives of women without being sentimental. This timely novel explores unplanned pregnancies and the family and societal demands on women and girls across generations.

The Kingmaker (All The King’s Men)

Kennedy Ryan really said let’s talk about climate change but make it a steamy, slow burn romance between an indigenous activist and an oil baron’s son. I am so ready for Kennedy Ryan to get all her flowers. She is such an incredible rom-dram writer. All the feelings in this re-release of a previously self-published book.

Pomegranate: A Novel

Ranita is a queer, Black woman fresh out of prison and on a mission to stay clean and regain custody of her kids. Lee paints a deep, gorgeous portrait of Ranita’s life and struggles, past and present, and crafts a moving story of love and redemption. Ranita came alive off the pages and has taken up residence in my brain since I finished the book. If you like Yaa Gyasi or Jesmyn Ward, make Pomegranate your next read.

My Murder: A Novel

The narrator of My Murder is one of several people cloned from their own cells after they were killed by a serial killer. When she finally meets her killer in prison, he tells her he did kill the other victims but not her!

The Memory of Animals

Undoubtedly, COVID-19 inspired a whole host of dystopian pandemic novels—but none like this. Neffy, a 27-year-old marine biologist, finds herself volunteering for an experimental vaccine trial that was previously never tested on humans. While in-clinic, she writes letters to her octopus muse amid her frightening, disorienting experience in captivity. Imagine The Soul of an Octopus meets How High We Go in the Dark.

The Guest: A Novel

Emma Cline crafts the tale of Alex, who must find a place to stay after she’s kicked out of her New York city apartment. She finds a good life living with an older man. After a misstep at a party, he summarily dismisses her with a ticket back to the city. In her head, Alex believes she can win him back. This cringey page-turner will keep you up late, like an accident from which you can’t look away.

Swamp Story: A Novel

This is the way to start your summer reading: with a bumbling crime caper set in the Sunshine State. Dave Barry does what he does best – makes us laugh with another fun novel filled with goofy good guys, doomed bad guys, buried treasure, swamp monsters, and, of course, a hungry gator. Dark satire wrapped in a frothy beach read (action! adventure! social commentary! romance!) – what more could you want?

Natural Beauty: A Novel

Natural Beauty is the Goop horror-scape you’ve been waiting for. I don’t think any book has ever made my jaw drop so many times. Huang takes “self care” and turns it into grotesque body horror in a dystopian reality. I was rethinking everything I knew about Western beauty standards, utterly horrified as I turned each page. Weird in the very best way!!

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath: The First Book of Nampeshiweisit

A young woman finds herself as the first indigenous dragonrider in generations and is forced to attend a colonizer-run academy to learn the “proper way” to master her dragon. Quickly chafing under a deeply unjust curriculum, Anequs and her dragon find their power together and work to dismantle the system from within. For lovers of R.F. Kuang and Darcie Little Badger, this is a fantastic new series.

The Wishing Game: A Novel

Need some magic? Reading this book is like the Golden Ticket in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Lucy wants nothing more than to adopt seven-year-old Christopher. Her only hope is to win the contest run by her favorite childhood author. Jack Masterson’s Clock Island books were Lucy’s escape. She goes back to the island in Maine where she once ran away to try and land herself inside Jack’s fictional world.

The Queen of Dirt Island: A Novel

An inspiring, touching story of four generations of Irish women that’s a pleasure to read. Whoever thought a writer could create a novel where every chapter is two pages long? You can fly through this beautiful book, or slow down and savor the beautiful prose.

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

New York 1938. A woman tries to reinvent herself to hide her father’s criminal past. A serendipitous meeting with a new friend, Estée Lauder, leads to a lifelong friendship with tumultuous ups and downs. A fascinating novel of women making a place for themselves in the cosmetic industry and the world.

Atalanta

Do we need more retellings of Greek mythologies? Probably not. But will I read every single one? Yes. Absolutely, especially if it’s been written by Jennifer Saint. She just nails it every single time. This is the story of Atalanta, the only female to sail with the Argonauts, a mere byline in the history books, but Saint gives this minor character new life and more depth. I loved every page.

Killingly

This inventive, slow-burn mystery seamlessly blends fact and fiction to create a compelling tale of women in the 19th century and the challenges they faced. Beutner’s style of writing and language left me completely immersed in the time period, and she masterfully unspooled the threads of the story to craft a satisfying ending.

A Botanist’s Guide to Flowers and Fatality (A Saffron Everleigh Mystery #2)

Floriography = Victorian practice of sending messages through flowers. University research assistant Saffron explains the meanings of flower bouquets left with murder victims. She works with the police and a university professor amidst the chauvinist world. A historical whodunit with witty dialogue and fascinating characters that places the reader in the middle of Victorian London.

Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America

This book is timely. It is an insider’s view of the gun industry. Busse was a gun owner most of his life, a well-respected executive at his company, and a leader in the NRA. He became disturbed with the sales of assault rifles to civilians. He found he could no longer support the power that the NRA wielded over politics and the environment.

The Mustard Seed: A Natural Foods Grocer

This memoir-in-poems about working in an organic grocery store is also a thoughtful reflection on queerness and gender and class and community. A must-read even if you don’t think of yourself poetry person – especially if you have worked in retail and/or food service like me.

When the World Didn’t End: A Memoir

A moving, lyrical memoir about growing up in a cult, being uprooted and lost, and ultimately not knowing where to find safety. While the themes are familiar, you may be surprised at the twists in this engrossing story.

Boy Parts: A Novel

When I say I want an unhinged narrator, Irina from Boy Parts is what I mean. She’s the true anti-hero. I hated her and yet I still saw so many pieces of myself in her. That’s the beauty of Eliza Clarke’s writing. She uses Irina’s relationship to gender to explore compulsory heterosexuality and critique masculine power. This is definitely a wild one!

The Excellent Lombards

Do you ever read something and years later see it on your bookshelf and think, “Wow, that was just perfection?” That’s how I feel about The Excellent Lombards. Set on an apple orchard, it’s a story about how growing up happens to all of us, whether or not we like it. Our heroine, Frankie, is a wildly original character who is not fully on board with the growing up thing, and I know you’ll love her as much as I did.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: A Novel (The Carls #1)

This novel is a perfect look into the addictive and dangerous nature of fame, power, and influence. With a creatively fun plot and characters who are endearing and realistic, this story is one that has stuck with me for years.

First Editions Club: June Selection

I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home: A novel

Dear Friends,

Imagine a ghost story that is also a love story, a ghost story that is genuinely creepy while being laugh out loud funny, a story of death and tenderness, of love that is lost and found and lost again. Imagine a ghost story that is completely unexpected, by which I mean every page throws you a curve ball. That’s hard to do, seeing as how the ghost story is a well worn path. Now imagine a ghost story that is, on top of everything else, Literature, capital ‘L.’ Now you have some sense of Lorrie Moore’s novel I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home. But really, you have no sense of it at all, because you’ve never read anything like this. There is nothing else like this.

If you’re feeling lost at the beginning, hold on. Trust that one of America’s greatest writers is driving the car. You’ll catch up soon enough. Lorrie Moore is revered for a reason—she knows what she’s doing. She proves that here.

I’ve been amazed by her since 1989, the year she published Self-Help. She has written some of my favorite books, like Birds of America and Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?. She teaches in the MFA program at Vanderbilt, which means that we can claim her as a local for at least part of the year. I’m thrilled to have this book for the Parnassus First Editions Club.

Enjoy.

Ann Patchett

More about our First Editions Club: Every member receives a first edition of the selected book of the month, signed by the author. Books are carefully chosen by our staff of readers, and our picks have gone on to earn major recognition including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Plus, there’s no membership fee or premium charge for these books. Build a treasured library of signed first editions and always have something great to read! Makes a FABULOUS gift, too.