Posted by Miranda Cowley Heller on April 27th, 2022

Summer is upon us which, for those of us who like to spend lazy afternoons in a hammock, preferably in the shade of an old apple tree, means a delicious pile of new books to devour. Here are a few I've read recently and that I absolutely recommend:

The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger is a page-turner but with an important message. The story of a family that is, quite literally, swept up in the storms of global warming. A novel that makes you think about privilege and climate change from a new perspective. Eye-opening and important. A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe is another novel I loved. Melancholy but beautiful, set in the world of both the living and the dead. Tides by Sarah Freeman blew me away. It is a brilliant and spare debut novel about a woman who has lost a child and, in turn, forces herself to lose everything in her search for a way to survive the tragedy. And, of course, Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason seems to be on everyone's reading list these days, and for good reason.

On my 'to be read' list for this summer are so many books that it is hard to choose. But here are a few I am really looking forward to:

More Than You'll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez, a page-turner about a woman leading two lives and what happens when one husband learns about the other husband. Also, can't wait to read Nina Stibbe's new novel, One Day I Shall Astonish the World. Then there is Trust by Hernan Diaz. Diaz was a Pulitzer finalist for his first novel. Early readers describe this one as Edith Wharton crossed with Joan Didion with an intriguing puzzle at its center. I'm not entirely sure what that means, but it certainbkly piques my curiousity. I'm extremely excited to read Jess Kidd’s new novel The Night Ship about two children living 300 years apart but whose fates are somehow bound together across time by the shipwreck of Batavia. Also, Min Jin Lee's epic novel Pachinko – a multigenerational story about a Korean family living in Japan. Last, but certainly not least, I plan to read This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, whose work is always funny, charming, and moving (though rumor has it this one is also a bit of a tear jerker).

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer filled with words and clear blue skies and, failing that, a cozy armchair to curl up in with one of these books in front of the fire.