In search of something good to read? USA TODAY’s Barbara VanDenburgh scopes out the shelves for this week’s hottest new book releases. All books are on sale June 15.
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1. “Live Your Life: My Story of Loving and Losing Nick Cordero,” by Amanda Kloots and Anna Kloots (Harper, nonfiction)
What it’s about: Last year, Kloots lost her husband, Broadway star and Tony Award nominee Nick Cordero, after a long battle with COVID-19. She reflects on her love and loss in this unexpectedly uplifting memoir.
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The buzz: “You do things in life for one reason never knowing that it may hold a deeper purpose,” Kloots wrote on Instagram. “This book is for Nick, his story, his closure. I can’t wait for you guys to read it.”
2. “The Queer Bible,” edited by Jack Guinness (Dey Street, nonfiction)
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What it’s about: An illustrated collection of essays from contemporary queer figures pays homage to queer heroes who paved the way.
The buzz: The book’s lineup of contributors is stellar: Singer Elton John writes about drag icon Divine; comedian Mae Martin writes about actor Tim Curry; author Joseph Cassara writes about filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, plus many more.
More: 10 new LGBTQ books to celebrate Pride Month: Gay ‘Great Gatsby,’ ‘Queer Bible,’ more
3. “How to Survive America,” by D. L. Hughley and Doug Moe (Custom House, nonfiction)
What it’s about: Comedian and activist Hughley offers a satirical (yet deadly serious) guide for Americans of color to survive their own country, confronting racism’s impact on their health and wellbeing.
The buzz: “An acerbic and laser-focused demand for restorative racial justice from an ardent advocate,” says Kirkus Reviews.
4. “Sweetness of Water,” by Nathan Harris (Little, Brown, fiction)
What it’s about: In this ambitious debut novel, brothers Prentiss and Landry – freed by the Emancipation Proclamation – seek refuge working on a Georgia farm in the waning days of the Civil War.
The buzz: “An impressive debut by a storyteller with bountiful insight and assurance,” says Kirkus Reviews.
More: John Paul Brammer transformed ‘notoriously unhinged’ advice column into memoir ‘¡Hola Papi!’
5. “The Damage,” by Caitlin Wahrer (Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, fiction)
What it’s about: When Nick is found battered and bruised after a violent sexual assault, his fiercely protective older brother Tony is consumed by the desire for revenge as the gears of the justice system turn too slowly.
The buzz: “Readers can expect thought-provoking, well-plotted psychological suspense from a bracingly fresh voice,” says Publishers Weekly.
Halfway through 2021 Amazon Books editors have named their 10 best books of the year so far.
Scroll through to see the picks, starting with No. 10: “Chatter: The Voice in Our Head, Why It Matters, and How to Harness It,” by Ethan Kross: It turns out that some of the most important conversations we have are with ourselves. Kross examines the voice that speaks inside our head, explains why it’s there, and reveals how we can learn to rely on it rather than being broken by it. “Chatter” is a masterful, revealing take on human nature. — Chris Schluep
No. 9: “The Plot,” by Jean Hanff Korelitz
“The Plot” is a riveting story within a story that is a Rubik’s Cube of twists. Jake Finch Bonner, a once-promising young author, is floundering in obscurity when a one-of-a-kind plot falls into his lap. The resulting book rockets Jake to stardom, only the plot wasn’t his. Korelitz’s thriller keeps readers guessing right up to its shocking end. — Seira Wilson
No. 8: “Gold Diggers,” by Sanjena Sathian
This debut novel is part examination of the immigrant experience, part exploration of the dark underbelly of suburbia, all with a dash of magical realism thrown in. Two second-generation Indian Americans discover the secret to success is drinking a lemonade made from literal gold, and their lives are forever fused together and altered. If this funny, realistic, and heart-breaking story is any indication, Sathian is an author to watch. – Sarah Gelman
No. 7: “Punch Me Up to the Gods,” by Brian Broome
Hard-hitting, unflinching, and written with the unfettered gusto of a fist in motion, “Punch Me Up to the Gods” is a searing memoir of racism, homophobia, and addiction from a writer of enormous talent. With humor, grace, and honesty, Broome investigates his own identity and his experience as a gay Black man in America. — Al Woodworth
No. 6: “The Four Winds,” by Kristin Hannah
Set during the Great Depression and featuring an unlikely heroine who will lodge herself into your heart, “The Four Winds” is a reminder, when we so urgently need it, of the resiliency not only of the human spirit, but of this country as well. Kristin Hannah’s latest reads like a classic. — Erin Kodicek
No. 5: “What’s Mine and Yours,” by Naima Coster
For fans of Celeste Ng, Ann Patchett, and Jacqueline Woodson, “What’s Mine and Yours” beautifully unravels the hurt, happiness, and hope that one generation bestows upon the next. An unforgettable portrait of how parents and kids — white and Black — handle love and loss, racism and loyalties. — Al Woodworth
No. 4: “We Begin at the End,” by Chris Whitaker
“We Begin at the End” is a story of regret and revenge, wrapped around a mystery, buried inside a tale of star-crossed love. Thirteen-year-old “outlaw” Duchess Radley — fierce but vulnerable — attempts to protect her troubled mother but instead sets off a fateful chain of events in this gorgeous, harrowing novel. — Vannessa Cronin
No. 3: “The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race'” by Walter Isaacson
Isaacson is famous for writing Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci, so a title like “The Code Breaker” might imply a book about a lesser character. But the 2020 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, biochemist Jennifer Doudna, who co-developed the gene editing technology CRISPR, is a giant in her own right. CRISPR could open some of the greatest opportunities, and most troubling quandaries, of this century, and this book delivers. — Chris Schluep
No. 2: “Klara and the Sun,” by Kazuo Ishiguro
When he was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature, the committee noted how Ishiguro “uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.” In this beautiful novel, Ishiguro presents an “Artificial Friend,” a robot girl with artificial intelligence designed as a playmate for real children. It is a simultaneously heartbreaking and heart-mending story about the abyss we may never cross. — Chris Schluep
No. 1: “Great Circle,” by Maggie Shipstead
“At a young age, Marian Graves becomes obsessed with flying, and she’ll do whatever it takes to get into the sky and circumnavigate the globe. Fast forward 100 years, and Hadley Baxter is remaking herself in Hollywood as the role of Marian Graves in a Hollywood bio-epic. From Montana to Los Angeles, London to New Zealand, “Great Circle” follows these two women who yearn for adventure and freedom, and like flying, it’s the thrill of the century.” – Al Woodworth
10/10 SLIDES
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 5 books not to miss: Amanda Kloots honors Nick Cordero in ‘Live Your Life,’ more new releases
