Brea and Mallory talk about their most anticipated books for August and September, test out coaster bookmarks, and give advice for people who hate hardcovers. Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com!
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Books Mentioned -
Loneliness and Company by Charlee Dyroff
The Girl Who Slept with God by Val Brelinski
August
There is a Rio Grande in Heaven by Ruben Reyes Jr
SFF short stories
Jellyfish Have No Ears by Adele Rosenfeld, translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman
Literary fiction about deafness
There’s Nothing Wrong With Her by Kate Weinburg
Literary fiction, mental health, funny, chronic illness, speculative
Hum by Helen Phillips
Sci fi thriller, dystopian, marriage, motherhood, selfhood
The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey
Literary fiction, funny, bird protagonist
We Were Pretending by Hannah Gersen
Literary fiction, female friendship, mushrooms, Canada
Times Agent by Brenda Peynado
Grief, motherhood, late stage capitalism and pocket worlds (a geographically small world hidden within our reality)
Clickbait by Holly Baxter
Debut literary fiction, hilarious, life falling apart
The Italy Letters by Vi Khi Nao
Queer literary fiction, epistolary, Las Vegas, queer love
Godzilla and the Song Bird by Manzu Islam
Historical fiction, Bangladesh, brothers, cinema
There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
Historical fiction, multiple timelines, Gilgamesh
The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable
Historical fiction, music, violins, Venice, 1700s
Mystery Lights by Lena Valencia
Literary short stories set in the desert
One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun, translated by Jung Yewon
SFF, magical realism, Seoul, capitalism
The Sunforce by Sascha Stronach
Queer fantasy, sequel to The Dawnhounds
The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
Queer romance, two disaster bisexual exes on a European tour
How to Leave the House by Nathan Newman
Gay literary fiction, small town secrets, quirky characters
The Palace of Eros by Caro de Robertis
Queer Greek myth retelling of Psyche and Eros
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
Queer romantasy, murder mystery on a magical ship
Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore
Queer spooky romance, ghosts
Wild Failure by Zoe Whitall
Queer feminist short stories
The Other Ones by Fran Hart
YA spooky queer romance
Rise and Divine by Lana Harper
Lesbian witch romance
Prince of the Palisades by Julian Winters
Gay YA romance, Los Angeles
A Bahn Mi for Two by Trinity Nguyen
YA sapphic foodie romance
A Grand Love - Stories for Grandparents of Trans Grandchildren by Janna Barkin
Nonfiction
Queer as Folklore - The Hidden Queer History of Myths and Monsters by Sasha Coward
Nonfiction
Confounding Oaths by Alexis Hall
Gay romantasy, historical
Hers for the Weekend by Helena Greer
Sapphic opposites-attract romance, fake dating
Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker
Queer YA horror, trans characters, ghosts
Full Shift by Jennifer Dugan and Kit Seaton
Queer YA graphic novel, werewolves
You’re the Problem, It’s You by Emma R. Alban
Gay enemies-to-lovers Victorian romance
The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson
Folk horror, small town, female rage
The Dark We Know by Wen-yi Lee-Ya
YA horror, queer, small town, an Entity
Helga by Catherine Yu
YA horror, satire, science experiment makes a girl and she escapes into the world
Sacrificial Animals by Kailee Pedersen
Horror, Chinese mythology, returning to a small town
The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich
Horror, feminist Dracula retelling
The Volcano Daughters by Gina Maria Balibrera
Historical fiction, sisterhood, El Salvador, California, Paris, ghosts
Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson
Fantasy, magical island, witches, demons, polyamory, myths
The Silence Factory by Bridget Collins
Historical fiction, gothic, powerful family, magic silk, 1800s
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
Feminist Macbeth retelling
Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey
Imagined life of Peggy Guggenheim
The Story Collector by Evie Woods
Historical fiction, book about books, Ireland, small town, fairies (not horny ones)
The Seventh Veil by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Historical fiction, 1950s Hollywood
The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard
Historical Fantasy, 1910s, cat who becomes a ghost who witnesses history
Truly Madly Magically by Hazel Beck
Book 3 of Witchlore Series
Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud
Horror novella, historical sci fi, hospital experiments
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
Sci fi, cat sidekick, veteran protagonist, trapped in a fantasy dungeon video game
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
Fantasy, Sabriel meets Witch King
She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
West African SFF novella in the Who Fears Death universe
The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Japanese cozy fantasy, talking cats, magic coffee shop
A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley
Supernatural romance, werewolves, vampires
Glass Houses by Madeline Ashby
Sci fi thriller, AI, deserted island, women in tech, near future whodunit
The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. Maclean
Romantasy, cozy, magic zoo
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djeli Clark
Fantasy novella, gods, assassins, magic city
The Coven by Harper L. Woods
Vampire romantasy
Strange Folk by Alli Dyer
Fantasy, Appalachia, magic estranged family, debut
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Fantasy, Goose Girl reimagining, Brothers Grimm, magic, murder
Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis
Sci fi novella, sexy space heist
The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley by Shelley Wood
Historical sci fi, time traveling, genetics
Bite by Bill Schutt
Micro history of teeth
I Want to Die But I Still Want to Eat Tteobokki by Baek Sehee, translated by Anton Hurr
Nonfiction, sequel
Everyday Rituals by Pearl Katz
Nonfiction about the power of routine and ritual
Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallow Marlowe
Debut romance, cryptid hunter and producer learn to fall in love again while looking for Mothman and aliens
Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks
Opposites attract romance with a mortician and a widow
Dark Restraint by Katee Roberts
Smutty minotaur/Ariadne romance
Second Tide’s The Charm by Chandra Blumberg
Second chance marine biologist romance, sharks!!!
The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava
Workplace Native rom-com
Queen of Dreams by Kit Rocha
Poly romantasy, sexy people fighting ancient evil
House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias
Thriller, coming of age, teens seeking vengeance for a murder
The Antique Store Detective by Clare Chase
Cozy mystery, small town, antiques
Better Left Buried by Mary E. Roach
YA thriller, teen girls solving mysteries in an abandoned amusement park
Eye of the Beholder by Emma Bamford
Thriller, inspired by Vertigo, Scottish highlands, beauty industry
Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson
YA mystery, historical island mansion, queer
Wordhunter by Stella Sands
Mystery, detective with uncanny ability to analyze words and speech patterns
Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown
Thriller, secret society, upper class secrets
Dear Hanna by Zoje Stage
Follow up to Baby Teeth
I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell
Mystery, advice columnist solving her predecessor’s murder
Highway Thirteen by Fiona McFarlane
Interconnected short stories about the same serial killer
Talking to Stranger by Fiona Barton
Thriller, detective and reporter racing each other to a solve a murder
We Love the Nightlife by Rachel Koller Croft
Thriller, vampires, toxic female friendship, 1970s London disco scene
Scrap by Calla Henkel
Thriller, true crime obsessed artist hired by insanely wealthy family with dark secrets
The Naturalist’s Daughter by Tea Cooper
Historical thriller, platypus mystery!!!
September
Babe in the Woods by Julie Heffernan
Graphic novel, literary, motherhood, lost in the woods, memory
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, translated by E. Madison Shimoda
Literary fiction, Japanese, healing power of cats
Dawnland by Tess Callahan
Literary fiction, Cape Cod, family secrets
Where the Forest Meets the River by Shannon Bowring
Queer literary fiction, Maine, small town, grief
Please Fear Me by Jennifer Love
Queer literary fiction, teen runaway, circus, coming of age
Still Life by Katherine Packet Burke
Queer literary fiction, queer friendship, trans characters, womanhood
Playground by Richard Powers
Literary fiction, multiple POVs, ocean setting
Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
YA thriller, trans protagonist, Appalachia, classism, ghosts
Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas
Book 2 of Sunbearer duology
This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinka
YA poly romantasy, magic, fairytales
Old Wounds by Logan-Ashley Kisner
YA trans horror, small town, monster, sacrifice
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
Sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea
The World is Not Yours by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Sci fi novella, space horror
Spells to Forget Us by Aislinn Brophy
Witchy YA sapphic romance
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
Dark academia sapphic romantasy
At the End of the River Styx by Michelle Kulwicki
Queer YA Horror, curses, monsters
Love and Sportsball by Meka James
Sapphic sports romance
Flamboyants - The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known by George M. Johnson
Nonfiction
The Haunting of Moscow House by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
Gothic horror, historical Russia, haunted house
The Night Guest by Hildur Knutsdottir, translated by Mary Robinette Kowal
Horror, Iceland, grief, possession
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
Horror, vampires, female satisfaction
Such Lovely Skin by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
YA horror, doppelgangers
Ruin Road by Lamar Giles
YA horror, curses, high school
Dearest by Jacquie Walters
Stressed mom horror
We Are Hunted by Tomi Oyemakinde
YA horror, White Lotus meets Jurassic Park
The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig
YA horromance, dark fairytale
Sweetest Darkness by Leslie Lutz
YA horror, psychic teen, abandoned hotel
Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton
Horror, Southern gothic, demons, angels
In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King
Historical fiction, Hades and Persephone retelling, gothic romance, evil garden
What We Sacrifice for Magic by Andrea Jo DeWera
Historical fiction, witches, 1960s, Minnesota, family, small town
The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk
Historical fiction, 1913, Poland, WWI, sanitarium
The Vampire of Kings Street by Asha Greyling
Historical fantasy, 1800s New York, vampires, law
The Light Between Us by Elaine Chiew
Historical speculative romance, 1920s Singapore
The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin
Historical fiction, London, mother-daughter relationship, books
The Shadow Key by Susan Stokes-Chapman
Historical fiction, 1700s Wales, gothic, isolated estate, secrets
The Mesmerist by Caroline Woods
Historical thriller, 1890s Minneapolis, woman banding together to stand a serial killer
The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
Cozy Japanese fantasy, magical photo studio, afterlife
Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood
Debut cozy fantasy, witches, burnout
Bringer of Dust by J.M. Miro
Sequel to Ordinary Monsters
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Sci fi epic, space, aliens, politics
An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
Dark academia, magic school, dark fantasy
We Need No Wings by Ann Davila Cardinal
Fantasy, grief, love, flying
The Scarlet Throne by Amy Leow
Political epic fantasy, talking cats, demons, power and corruption
Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell
Sci fi, world with no white people
This Will be Fun by E. B. Asher
Cozy quest romantasy, Prince Bride comp, friendship
Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
Fantasy, Dracula retelling, gothic
Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken
Historical fantasy, Ireland, witches
Vilest Things by Chloe Gong
Sequel to Immortal Longings
Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker
Horror, ghosts, reality show, TV production, new adult
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig
Fantasy, magic, hope
The Cottage Around the Corner by D.L. Soria
Romantasy, mage-witch rivalry, rom com, small town
The Village Library Demon Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner
Librarian solving supernatural murders
The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison
Fantasy, dark academia, friend reunion
Space Oddity by Catherynne M. Valente
Sequel to Space Opera
Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
Fantasy short stories
Horror for Weenies by Emily C. Hughes
Nonfiction, crash course in horror movies
The Extinction of Experience by Christine Losen
Nonfiction, how to experience being human in a digital world
Bone of the Bone by Sarah Smarsh
Nonfiction, essays on the working class
Magically Black and Other Essays by Jerald Walker
Nonfiction on Black culture
By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle
Nonfiction, fight for Native land
Book and Dagger by Elyse Graham
Nonfiction, WWII librarian spies
The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers
Bookish second chance romance
Sunshine and Spice by Aurora Palit
Opposites attract fake dating, cooking
My Vampire Plus One by Jenna Levine
Fake dating rom-com with a vampire
A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Christmas rom-com, forced proximity
The Worst Duke in London by Amalie Howard
Historical romance, Bridgerton meets 10 Things I Hate About You
The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel
Mystery, old friends reunite in a Hitchcock-themed hotel, murder
Guide Me Home by Attica Locke
Third in Highway 59 trilogy
Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon
Thriller, Native woman solving disappearances and murder
Passiontide by Monique Roffey
Thriller, local island women banding together to solve murder
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Father/daughter murder solving, thriller
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath and Hassan Otsmane Elhaou
Graphic novel thriller, Richard Scarry meets Dexter
William by Mason Coile
Sci fi thriller, cyber noir, psychological thriller, house haunted by AI
Bitter is the Heart by Mina Hardy
Horror, generational trauma, evil mom
The Curse of the Dead Man’s Diamond by Christyne Morrell
Middle grade mystery, haunted manor, ghosts
Snake Oil by Kelsey Rae Dimburg
Literary thriller, wellness culture, female ambition
The Most Famous Girl in the World by Iman Hariri-Kia
Thriller, satire, celebrity culture, obsession
The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard
Mystery, granddaughter of a serial killer must solve copy cat murder
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