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Readers' Most Anticipated Books of August
At the beginning of each calendar month, Goodreads’ crack editorial squad assembles a list of the hottest and most popular new books hitting shelves, actual and virtual. The list is generated by readers’ early reviews and by tracking which titles are being added to Want to Read shelves by Goodreads regulars.
New in August: Alice Hoffman updates a classic piece of historical fiction in The Invisible Hour. Angie Kim rethinks the missing-person mystery in Happiness Falls. And James McBride investigates an old tragedy in The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. Also on tap this month: humor essays, kinda-sorta ghost stories, and Mexican vampires.
Add the books that catch your eye to your Want to Read shelf, and let us know what you're reading and recommending in the comments section.
The Best Books of August:
American author Ann Patchett has earned a devoted worldwide readership with her carefully observed literary novels, including The Dutch House and Bel Canto. She’s back on shelves this summer with a tale of mothers, daughters, and family legend. It’s cherry-picking season in northern Michigan, and Lara is finally telling her grown daughters about that One Magical Summer when she was an aspiring actress. Lara has taught the girls everything they know. But not everything she knows.
Squarely in the tradition of the “books about books” subgenre, the latest from Alice Hoffman (the Practical Magic series) follows Mia Jacobs, a young woman trapped in an oppressive Massachusetts cult. Mia finds her escape in books—specifically, Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—and in the discovery that time may be more fluid than anyone imagined. If you like your historical fiction with a splash of magical realism, The Invisible Hour is getting very enthusiastic reviews from early readers.
Flor Marte has inherited a mystical family power: She can predict when someone will die—to the day. So why has she called this family meeting? Spanning the three days prior to this curiously timed “living wake,” Family Lore goes back in time to trace the lives of the Marte family: six Dominican American women, each with a destiny to work out. Author, poet, and National Book Award winner Elizabeth Acevedo (The Poet X) makes her adult fiction debut.
London podcaster Alix Summers’ latest investigation hits a little too close to home when she finds her subject—the mysterious Josie Fair—has been hiding some dark secrets. But when Josie suddenly vanishes, things get really weird, and Alix discovers she’s become the subject of her own investigation. Contemporary culture’s ghoulish fascination with true-crime podcasts serves as the backdrop of this new suspense thriller from Lisa Jewell (The Family Upstairs).
Following up on her acclaimed debut novel, Miracle Creek, author Angie Kim takes a new approach vector to the missing-person mystery template. A Korean American family tumbles into crisis when the father disappears into the bright Virginia day. The only witness: a child who cannot speak. Through a series of revelations and twists, Kim turns the standard mystery story into a philosophical inquiry concerning the nature of human communication.
Pottsdown, Pennsylvania, 1972: A work crew clearing space for a new development discovers a human skeleton at the bottom of a well. Subsequent investigations reveal the secrets of Chicken Hill, the historical neighborhood where Black and Jewish families once lived in harmony under the shadow of their wealthy and dangerous neighbors. Author and musician James McBride—a National Book Award winner for 2013’s The Good Lord Bird—returns with a novel about the price of secrets and the power of community.
Dedicated cyclists can tell you—a good long bike ride can usually shake you out of your troubles. That’s the plan, anyway, when Abby Stern agrees to lead a bicycle tour from New York City to Niagara Falls. But she didn’t expect to see a familiar face in the group: Sebastian, he of the exquisite one-night stand two years ago. Further complicating matters is another last-minute addition: Abby’s mom. Romance specialist Jennifer Weiner provides all the awkward details.
South Korean matriarch Jeonga Cha, 105 years old, has some regrets. Many years ago, she sent her daughter-in-law to America to cover up an illegitimate birth. It may be time to make some amends. The complicated part is that Jeonga Cha has already, well, passed into the afterlife. Part family saga, part ghost story, author Jimin Han’s new novel, The Apology, spans multiple continents, several decades, and at least two modes of existential reality.
Longlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize, this new novel from Mexican author Guadalupe Nettel is earning praise for its willingness to address delicate issues with a tone that’s both incisive and empathetic. Alina and Laura, career-minded thirtysomething women, are close friends with different ideas about motherhood. After a difficult pregnancy for Alina, both women must reckon with complicated feelings about friendship and maternal ambivalence. Check the book page for early reader reviews in both English and Spanish.
London-born Australian author Pip Williams (The Dictionary of Lost Words) returns with this historical novel set amid the seismic changes in England during World War I. Peggy and Maude, uneducated twin sisters in the college town of Oxford, contribute to the war effort by working at a book bindery at the university press. When refugees start arriving from the war-torn cities of Europe, each sister must make difficult choices. Williams specializes in history told through women’s eyes and in the power of the written word.
Can a single moment of bad luck change the trajectory of an entire life? An entire family? These are the questions posed by the rollicking new novel from beloved Irish author Paul Murray (Skippy Dies). The Barnes family has, hmm, “some issues” is perhaps the polite term. Mom is selling off her jewelry on eBay. Dad is building a doomsday bunker in the backyard. And the kids are each checking out in their own ways. Where did it all go wrong? Could it really be that bee in the bridal veil?
From the esteemed and frankly terrifying author Alice Feeney (Rock Paper Scissors), Good Bad Girl is another thriller in the key of twisty. At 88 years old, Edith is planning her escape from the assisted-care facility. Trouble is afoot, and it has everything to do with a baby stolen from a stroller 20 years ago. Also: two murders. And three suspects. Bonus trivia: Author Feeney is a former journalist at the BBC.
Horror fans will want to check out this interesting variation on the supernatural Western: In 1846 Mexico, a young healer named Nena hopes to dodge the deadly tide of war near the Texas border. The good news: She’s been reunited with her childhood friend Néstor, now a member of an auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. The bad news: Both are being hunted by a vicious and immortal entity that hunts at night. Author Isabel Cañas (The Hacienda) is back!
Author, screenwriter, and playwright R. Eric Thomas (Here for It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America) returns with another collection of humorous essays on the human condition. A Baltimore native, Thomas is a veteran of The Moth StorySlam scene and has made a name for himself as a kind of professional yarn spinner. Among the topics considered in his excellently titled new collection: high school reunions, emergency rooms, identity crises, Baltimore, and gay frogs.
Easily the most compelling memoir of the season, Pulling the Chariot of the Sun is poet Shane McCrae’s first-person retelling of his own incredible childhood. Kidnapped from his Black father, McCrae was raised by his maternal grandparents, white supremacists who concealed his true heritage for years. McCrae uses his own life story to investigate some uncomfortable truths about race, reconciliation, and the dark side of America.
Which new releases are you looking forward to reading? Let's talk books in the comments!
Check out more August book coverage here:
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Gladys
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Jul 31, 2023 07:42AM
Very interested in reading James McBride's, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store -- seems that it will be a good read -- love the historical background.
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i need to read the heaven and earth grocery store!!
I read an ARC of Tom Lake, and it's one of my favs. for the year!
I cannot wait to read None of This Is True, I absolutely love horror.
Still Born is fantastic! I find myself remembering sentences even a month after I’ve finished reading it.
@ the author of this list, the link to 'The Dutch House' leads to 'Tom Lake', not the aforementioned book :)
I’m looking forward to reading None of This is True by Lisa Jewel as a thriller. I’m interested in reading Happiness Falls by Angie Kim as a mystery. I’m hoping Vampires of El Nort by Isabel Can~as is a good horror novel.
Looking forward to None of this is true by Lisa Jewell and Good girl bad girl by Alice Feeney
Saving Myles by Carl Vonderau releases August 15th. It’s a page turner.
I agree with Dee. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is the book I am chomping at the bit to read. 6 others were already on my TBR list.
One of my book clubs is reading Lisa Jewell's book None of This Is True for it's August selection. I always enjoy a good mystery/psychological thriller so I am looking forward to it.
One of my book clubs is reading Lisa Jewell's book None of This Is True for it's August selection. I always enjoy a good mystery/psychological thriller so I am looking forward to it.
I don't see The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane on any lists. It's set in 1883 Australia about a missing 6 year old boy and his communities efforts to find him. It's an amazing story by an amazing writer.
Have anyone read the apology? I really like historical fiction but I don't like fantasy that much especially Ghosts and spirits...etc Please if you have read it tell me if it heavy on those themes or not ? Is it good in general or not?
Happiness Falls and The Bookbinder are both terrific books. Strong, well drawn women characters and interesting plots.
I love Pip Williams "The Dictionary of Lost Words". It is so beautifully written. I am looking forward to reading "The Bookbinder".
He Who Drowmed the World by Shelley Paeker Chan
dee. wrote: "i need to read the heaven and earth grocery store!!" Me too Dee - it sounds awesome....
The heaven and earth grocery store seems like such an interesting and captivating read. Can't wait to find out soon.
I am excited for Evan Winter's third book, The Lord of Demons, which will be coming out on the 17th of this month.
Cheryl wrote: "I agree with Dee. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is the book I am chomping at the bit to read. 6 others were already on my TBR list. One of my book clubs is reading Lisa Jewell's book None of..."
Just started reading The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane. So descriptive and beautifully written. Just got Tom Lake by Ann Patchett from the library and looking forward to reading Alice Hoffman's new novel, which will be out soon.
GAHHH ALMOST EVERY BOOK IS ON MY TBR!!!!!
I’m currently read both Tom Lake and Happiness Falls. Both are so good! Ann Patchett can do no wrong. Listen to the audiobook, narrated by Meryl Streep!
Agent Gatz: A Great Gatsby PrequelI recevied an ARC of this book and it was fantastic. I'm a huge Gatsby fan and this did not disappoint!
Would love a book club to take on The Solstice Series...lostfingerart.com. Contact me for free books.
Shelton wrote: "I cannot wait to read None of This Is True, I absolutely love horror."It’s one of her best 😊🌺
“Vampires of El Norte” by Isabel Cañas 🧛 🩸
Tom Lake and The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store sound fantastic Can 't wait to read those two especially
Family Lore and The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store look like awesome books! Finally get to see an Australian book on there, it's getting the recognition it deserves!
