An absolute charmer of a novel, I wish I could hang out in the pages of Villa Coco forever. I want to run wayward errands for the Baronessa, chase the pugs through the eclectically adorned halls of the villa, butcher the Italian language in new and surprising ways, and hang onto every story from this eccentric cast of characters. Andrew Sean Greer has given us the best respite from the heaviness of the world right now.

This is an early novel new to the US. A Year of Marvelous Ways is reflecting on her life by storytelling. She stays in the same place and the listeners come to her. A finished story can later be a thread that she ties together.

Caroline Lash is trying to break out of her famous mother’s shadow. She moves to a beach town on a writing fellowship where she falls for Van, a local guy, and tries to blend into his friend group. When one of the friends announces she’s pregnant with Van’s baby, everything shifts. One day Caroline throws the entire town into an uproar by revealing long-held secrets in a fit of rage. A great summer read.

This newly translated short story collection is a brilliant display of the late Belgian author’s range. Fans of I Who Have Never Known Men and Orlanda will see familiar themes of women’s rebellion, defiance, and agency in each story, while also experiencing new dimensions to Harpman’s unflinching style. Ros Schwartz’s translations truly never disappoint!

Mary H. K. Choi just keeps getting better and better. In her adult debut, she shows us through humor, wit, and tragedy how even your mostly found family can manage to give you generational trauma. I will always come back for more of her delightful and heartbreaking prose.

Bridesmaid for hire, Noelle, is hired to play the part of “girlfriend” for the handsome heir of her favorite confectionary company who sweetens their deal by paying her enough to pursue her MFA in creative writing. This sticky sweet romance is the perfect summer read for lounging by the pool or the beach or anywhere your summertime adventuring may lead.

A woman returns to her late father’s New England estate. She arrives to find her father mysteriously died before her arrival. A pirate treasure is rumored to be buried on her family’s land and her father’s death may be connected. This is a great read with a pirate love story from the past tucked inside.

Also loved by Cheryl!

Patient, Female is as funny as it is wry and observant. (No joke, I laughed out loud in public multiple times reading it.) This collection would be a great starting point for anyone looking to dive into short stories for the first time.

The South of France. A luxurious house party following the Cannes Film Festival. There’s the host, his ex, his new woman, Hollywood hotshots, and Baxter the butler. And then…a body in the pool. So Baxter – with many years of service – turns detective. In the style of Agatha Christie mysteries set in lavish homes, The Butler is an engrossing quick mystery making you want to devour People magazine photos from Cannes.

Following a concussion, fiercely independent Malti Patel agrees to allow her soon-to-be ex-son in law Nathan to care for her while her daughter is away. Their week together begins frostily, but as both listen and share their experiences, come to understand one other. This feel-good story explores cultural differences, stereotypes, and relationships with heart and humor. A great choice for book clubs!

This beautiful multidimensional text expands the well-beloved Grishaverse. Perfect for fans of the Six of Crows chosen family, this is a great way to read letters between fave characters.

Hot masc vegetable farmer. I could really stop my rec there. That was enough for me. Well, that and the fact that Julia Turshen is an auto buy and when I saw she was writing a romance I literally screeched. This book book is a perfect summer tomato. Juicy, sweet and best served on a hot day (by the aforementioned hot masc vegetable farmer).

Also loved by Abigail!

It’s beach thriller season! Holly has returned to her Beauport, MA hometown and the family beach house. She’s an author and she’s broke. She needs to write the next bestseller, but coming home dredges up memories of the past – her sister’s death and people she can’t trust. When Holly finds Jade, a runaway, in her house, and when Jade becomes employed by the Carmichaels, things get interesting.

This is the LAST book I would have picked up a few years ago. Now, I am hoping for more! The ultimate enemies to lovers book. An assassin. A healer. Osric and Aurienne struck a bargain for her to heal him. Along the way, she begins to heal his heart. Then they find something to fight together: a deadly disease intentionally set loose. Hatred can become passion and passion brings adventures.

That’s what you get for waking up in Vegas!

When a P.I. takes on a case to find the fabled horn of Alice B. Toklas (cultural icon and partner of Gertrude Stein), she has no idea what she’s in for. This is the weird, gay detective mystery of my dreams! Would recommend for fans of Big Swiss.

Also loved by Abigail!

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a nerdy wallflower in search of dirty words for the dictionary she is compiling is best served by arranging her own marriage to the ton’s biggest rake. Benoit’s debut manages to be hot and goofy and I’m absolutely smitten with everyone in this book. Bonus points for this absolutely delicious cover

What makes an entertaining rom-com? No one tells the truth. No one is who they say they are. To avoid the marriage market, Lady Ruby forges an invite to a royal estate for herself and her friends. The estate is occupied by privateer Captain Malcolm Archer and his gang, pretending to be estate staff. Captain Archer is determined to get rid of them, but they see through his shenanigans…to see each other.

Ursula K. Le Guin was a sorceress with a connection to the divine inner world made of imagination and fantasy. Every single word she writes is pure genius. Many of the essays here focus on the importance of fantasy and science fiction, a genre often overlooked by critics and scholars.

The Nakba, 1948, Palestine. 700,000+ Palestinians are displaced from their homes. 70,000 books are stolen, burned, or withheld in Israeli collections. In this multimodal document––blending poetry, collage, maps, photos, and newspaper clippings––Lenna Jawdat meditates on grief, remembrance, ritual, and homeland. With this collection, Jawdat is not only recording her diaspora’s history, but helping shape the present.

Also loved by Hannah P.!

The 25th U.S. Poet Laureate guides us on a centuries-spanning journey through translating poetry across the globe. Comparing each poem with various interpretations, Sze offers accessible and engaging insight on how the creative act of translation carves a path to deeper understanding. Like translation itself, Transient Worlds is an examination and celebration of our shared humanity.

Also loved by Abigail!

“A biography of a building?” you ask. Yes, dear reader. A fantastic one. Chart the growth of the seat of Western Democracy from L’Enfant declaring then Jenkins Hill, “a pedestal waiting for a monument” to the Neoclassical masterpiece we see today. Perfect semiquincentennial reading.

Shon Faye succinctly explores the constellation of circumstances which make the material reality of transphobia possible in the UK and US. She argues that transphobia is not a hatred formed in a vacuum, but in conjunction with oppressive systems like capitalism and fascism.

Yellowjackets meets the Stanford prison experiment in the Australian outback. Ten women wake up drugged and in captivity for reasons unknown, forced to labor for months on end. Male guards taunt them relentlessly—until they find out they’re prisoners too. A spiritual sister to I Who Have Never Known Men, Wood’s novel predates #MeToo, yet is still biting, ready to be devoured, and as fresh as rabbit meat.

If you’re wondering why Anthony Bourdain wrote a book about Typhoid Mary, the better question is why you haven’t read it yet. Anthony Bourdain approaches Mary Mallon’s story with empathy from one cook to another, while also calling into question public health ethical dilemmas that still circulate today. This was such a fascinating little book! Dare I say Mary Mallon is the Tonya Harding of the cooking world?

Also loved by Jenness!

After discovering he can change his body at will, Paul uses his newfound powers to explore queerness and gender identity in the heart of the ’90s Iowa queer scene. Unpredictable at every turn, this book was an adventurous, exhilarating, and surprisingly heartfelt coming-of-age story. Essentially a queer Catcher in the Rye!

First Editions Club: July Selection

Love, Parnassus: July Selection