August 2025 Staff PicksLike this list

19 items

• Actress of a Certain Age

  My Twenty Year Trail to Overnight Success

  Hiller, Jeff,

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  In his breakout role as Joel, actor Jeff Hiller delighted fans of TV's Somebody Somewhere, the sensitive HBO drama about life in a Midwestern small town. In this sweet and snarky debut of humorous autobiographical essays, the late-blooming actor…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Archive of Unknown Universes

  a Novel

  Reyes, Ruben, Jr.,

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  1978 Cuba, two underground revolutionaries, Neto and Rafael, meet at a gathering of activists and fall in love. Now not only are they hiding from the authoritarian right-wing government in El Salvador, but also hiding their forbidden love from their…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Bloodless Queen

  Johnson, Joshua Phillip,

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  In 1987, in this alternate-history fantasy, world leaders led by the US came together to fence off half the earth for environmental preservation, to be left alone and untouched. But the plan went so horribly wrong that, ever since that day, anyone…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Catch

  a Novel

  Daley-Ward, Yrsa,

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  Daley-Ward's reality-bending story within a story straddles the line between darkness and playfulness, exploring modern motherhood in the process. Clara and Dempsey, 30-year-old fraternal twins living in London, were adopted by different families as…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Dungeon Crawler Carl

  Dinniman, Matt,

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  When the Earth is suddenly captured by aliens, Carl is one of the lucky few not to be instantly killed. He is outside in just his underwear wrangling his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut when he is suddenly thrust into a televised intergalactic…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Endling

  a Novel

  Reva, Maria,

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  Yeva, a scientist living in a trailer in Ukraine who studies endangered snails, observes impending extinction through her care of endlings, the last living members of a species. As a way to bankroll her scientific activities, Yeva has a side gig…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Girl on Girl : How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves

  Gilbert, Sophie (Sophie G.),

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  Atlantic staff writer Gilbert, a self-described elder millennial, examines the impact of the huge cultural shifts of the first decade of the twenty-first century on millennial women, stating "I wanted to understand how a generation of young women…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Hounding

  a Novel

  Purvis, Xenobe,

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  In the 18th century village of Little Nettlebed, the Summer of Strangeness has begun. Ferryman Pete, who has been known to see visions, witnesses something peculiar one evening after leaving the pub. Allegedly, the five Mansfield sisters from the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• L.A. Women

  Berman, Ella,

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  It's the 1960s in LAs Laurel Canyon. Lane Warren is a rising literary star who regularly feels out of place while Gala Margolis is LA-born and raised, a vivacious free spirit who can't decide if she'd rather boost people to stardom or become a star…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Listeners

  Stiefvater, Maggie, 1981-

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  Deep in West Virginia Coal Country, the Avallon Hotel & Spa runs like a well-oiled machine delivering luxury to America's wealthiest denizens. The Avallon is famous for its healing waters and its unusual manager, local June Hudson. The tranquility…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Long Distance

  Stories

  Savas, Aysegül,

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  In these thirteen limpid stories, Savas portrays characters in their 20s and 30s navigating changing relationships in a globalized world that offers cosmopolitan splendors but also deepening cultural divides. In the title story, a young woman in…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Never Flinch

  a Novel

  King, Stephen, 1947-

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  Although King's newest crime novel can absolutely be read on its own, a familiar cast of characters can be spotted among the fresh faces for those who've read his previous novels set in the fictional Midwestern town of Buckeye City. Holly Gibney…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ordinary Love

  Rutkoski, Marie,

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  Emily's life is well established by now. Marriage: check. Nice home: check. Kids: check. But behind the public facade her marriage to Jack is far from perfect, and already badly frayed. When her childhood best friend (the first and only girlfriend…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Red Scare

  Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America

  Risen, Clay,

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  This compelling and accessible history brings into focus the "nostalgic, resentful, cultural paranoia that had arisen in response to the New Deal, and that finally found purchase during the dawn of the Cold War." Risen guides readers from the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Run for the Hills

  a Novel

  Wilson, Kevin, 1978-

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  When Mad sees a PT cruiser roll up to her family farm, she has no idea that it will be the beginning of an adventure across the country. When she was younger her Dad left, never to return, and this new visitor, Rube, knows all too well what that…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• So Far Gone

  a Novel

  Walter, Jess, 1965-

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  Walter's latest is a lively romp featuring well-drawn and sympathetic, though somewhat misguided, characters and a quick-moving plot with a good dose of humor. Retired environmental journalist Rhys Kinnick has spent the last seven years in an…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Sunburn

  a Novel

  Howarth, Chloe Michelle, 1996-

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  It's the 1990s in small town Ireland, and Lucy has a basic idea of what her life is going to be like: get through high school, attend the debutante ball, marry the boy from next door's farm, have babies, be a mom. As Lucy grows during her high…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• These Heathens

  a Novel

  McKenzie, Mia

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  It's 1960 and Doris has a problem. She can't visit the midwife in her own town because the midwife attends the same church as her parents. Mrs. Lucas, her favorite teacher, has always said Doris could come to her with anything, and this time Doris…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ultramarine

  Navarro, Mariette,

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  Ultramarine is derived from the Latin ultramarinus, meaning beyond the sea, and indeed, Navarro's slim novella by that title is a story of disconnection at sea. Brimming with prose that alternates between otherworldly depictions of flesh meeting sea…Read moreRead more of this annotation