We’re kicking off the summer reading season with a TBR toppler full of highly anticipated summer releases and backlist pairings! This episode is full of books we haven’t read and our best guesses at which books might be readalikes or thematic pairings. With buzzy books and under-the-radar releases from every genre, you’re sure to find at least one book (or maybe ten) for your summer To Be Read list. We can’t wait to hear which books you put on hold at the library or pick up from your local bookstore!

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Books mentioned (affiliate links):

June:

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Amazon) - 5:35

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo (Amazon)

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris (Amazon) - 8:25

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole (Amazon)

Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia - 11:26 (Amazon)

Loyalty Bookstore

The Diviners by Libba Bray (Amazon)

The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry (Amazon)

Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford (Amazon) - 15:15

This is My America by Kim Johnson (Amazon)
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (Amazon)

Walking on Cowrie Shells by Nana Nkweti (Amazon) - 19:00
How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin (Amazon)
The Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires (Amazon)

Grown Ups by Marie Aubert - 21:45
Emma Straub — try All Adults Here (Amazon)

The Natural Mother of the Child: A Memoir of Nonbinary Parenthood by Krys Malcolm Belc (Amazon) - 25:05
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (Amazon)

Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor (Amazon) - 27:40
Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo Anstine (Amazon)
Lot by Bryan Washington (Amazon)

God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney (Amazon) - 31:24
The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir (Amazon)

July:

Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy (Amazon) - 35:43
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (Amazon)

Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub (Amazon)

We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen (Amazon) 39:38
For All Mankind on Apple TV

All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Amazon)
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (Amazon)

The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam (Amazon) - 43:08
The Circle by Dave Eggers (Amazon)
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood (Amazon)

August:

All’s Well by Mona Awad (Amazon) - 47:00
If We Were Villains by M. Rios (Amazon)

The Turnout by Megan Abbott (Amazon) - 50:00
Turning Pointe: How a New Generation of Dancers is Saving Ballet from Itself by Chloe Angyl (Amazon)

In The Country of Others by Leila Slimani (Amazon) - 54:50
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani (Amazon)
Tangerine by Christine Mangan (Amazon)
This Lovely City by Louise Hare (Amazon)

The King of Infinite Space by Lyndsay Faye (Amazon) - 57:17
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (Amazon)
The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig (Amazon)

Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye (Amazon)

The Guide by Peter Heller (Amazon) - 60:01
The River by Peter Heller (Amazon)

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke (Amazon)

63. Brand new summer books and backlist pairings to topple your TBR

Novel Pairings