Summer offers a range of reading opportunities, whether you鈥檙e lounging outside by a body of water or inside near a glass of water.
Along with good hydration, you鈥檒l need plenty to read. We recently shared our picks of romance, horror, Hollywood and nonfiction titles, so how about a big list of this month?
From murder mysteries and randy romances to scary sci-fi and erudite essays, we have plenty to suggest for you this month.
Out now
Katherine Arden, 鈥淭he Unicorn Hunters鈥 (Del Rey)
A young royal from Brittany sees her future being planned out for her, and she doesn鈥檛 like what she sees. France, which she holds responsible for her father鈥檚 death, aims to marry her to its king, thus annexing her land and making her its last duchess. Instead, she secretly marries in an enchanted forest and everything changes.
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Eric Jay Dolin, 鈥淭he Wreck of the Mentor: A True Story of Death, Despair, and Deliverance in the Age of Sail鈥 (Liveright)
This real-life story of a whaling ship shipwrecked in the Pacific in 1832, and the challenges facing the remaining castaways and the Indigenous people they encounter, arrives just in time for Father鈥檚 Day.
Cynthia G贸mez, 鈥淢u帽eca鈥 (Putnam)
Set in Oakland during the late 1960s, this slim debut novel concerns a working-class Latina witch who aims to cure a cursed heiress in order to collect an award but soon begins to fall for her.
Rasheed Newson, 鈥淭here鈥檚 Only One Sin in Hollywood鈥 (Flatiron Books)
The second novel from the Pasadena-based author and TV writer explores old Hollywood and its secrets as a former studio fixer looks into the suspicious death of a closeted Black actor.
Maggie O鈥橣arrell, 鈥淟and鈥 (Knopf)
After the success of 鈥淗amnet鈥 and 鈥淭he Marriage Portrait,鈥 O鈥橣arrell returns with a historical epic about a father and son who are part of an effort to map the landscape of Ireland in the 1860s, not long after the Great Hunger.
Ruth Ozeki, 鈥淭he Typing Lady: And Other Fictions鈥 (Viking)
The latest from the Booker Prize-nominated author of 鈥淭he Book of Form and Emptiness鈥 and 鈥淎 Tale for the Time Being鈥 features stories about language, leaf blowers and much more.
Ann Patchett, 鈥淲histler鈥 (Harper)
The beloved and hugely successful author of 鈥淏el Canto,鈥 鈥淭he Dutch House,鈥 and many more books, , which begins as a teacher in her 50s unexpectedly reconnects with the man who鈥檇 briefly been her stepfather.
Allie Rowbottom, 鈥淟overs XXX鈥 (Soho Press)
This novel is set in the seedier sections of 1980s Los Angeles as an 18-year-old woman goes in search of her best friend, who has fallen under the spell of darker influences as she dances at a Sunset Strip club.
Lisa See, 鈥淒aughters of the Sun and Moon鈥 (Scribner)
In the latest from See, three Chinese women with vastly different backgrounds forge a friendship in 1870s Los Angeles as anti-Chinese bigotry erupts into some of the worst racial violence in the nation鈥檚 history.
Yeganeh Torbati and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, 鈥淪tolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran鈥 (Doubleday)
The authors of this much-praised and extremely timely piece of nonfiction examine the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the ways that the events have played out across the ensuing decades.
Sarah Valentine, 鈥淒ecoding the Devil: Black Women Codebreakers and the Secret War Against Stalin鈥檚 Bomb鈥 (Harper)
Even as our nation aimed to counter the nuclear ambitions of Stalin鈥檚 totalitarian Soviet Union, the United States operated segregated units of codebreakers, showing the hardworking, college-educated team of Black women none of the respect or gratitude it did toward its White employees.
Josh Weil, 鈥淲hat Came West鈥 (Doubleday)
Set in the Sierra Nevadas as the Gold Rush begins, this violent, Cormac McCarthy-esque epic features a man, possibly neurodivergent by today鈥檚 standards, who leaves his life and family behind to seek a fragile peace in the calm of nature, only to find his solitude shattered as the woods begin to fill with noisy men looking to get rich.
Ashley Bennett, 鈥淭entacles & Triathlons鈥 (Berkley)
If the description 鈥渟exy monster romance鈥 piques your interest 鈥 and why wouldn鈥檛 it? 鈥 this love story, which has been revised and expanded, features a fearsome park ranger in training for a triathlon and the sweet-natured kraken who鈥檚 been enlisted to help him become a better swimmer.
Mary HK Choi, 鈥淧ool House鈥 (Flatiron Books)
The new novel for adults by the author of 鈥淓mergency Contact鈥 and 鈥淧ermanent Record鈥 looks at a mother and daughter, both struggling with a variety of money, emotional and career problems, who must share a pool house when it鈥檚 necessary to rent out their home to pay the bills.
Zinzi Clemmons, 鈥淔reedom: Essays鈥 (Viking)
Clemmons, who was previously writer-in-residence at Occidental College and is now director of the creative writing program at the University of California, Davis, takes on a range of topics in these 9 essays, which incorporate memoir, reporting and criticism as they explore notions of freedom.
Laverne Cox, 鈥淭ranscendent鈥 (Gallery Books)
A trans icon and trailblazer, the four-time Emmy-nominated star of 鈥淥range is the New Black鈥 writes about her traumatic upbringing, her near-decision to give up on her dreams and ultimate success in Hollywood. (Cox will be .)
Dave Eggers, 鈥淐ontrapposto鈥 (Knopf)
This new novel, which Eggers says he thought about for two decades, explores the lifelong relationship between a boy and girl who meet in grade school and grow up to become artists, friends and more over the decades.
Gail Godwin, 鈥淭he Art of Becoming a Citizen: A Memoir鈥 (Bloomsbury)
The 88-year-old, three-time National Book Award nominee Godwin explores what citizenship means and what it requires by reflecting on moments in her own life, from the upheaval of the 1960s to the upheaval of the 2024 election. Godwin, , retains her curiosity, as well as williness to share her journey with readers.
Vijay Gupta, 鈥淩estrung鈥 (Grand Central)
The Altadena-based violinist, who joined the LA Philharmonic when he was 19, shares his story in this memoir of a life that includes a successful TED talk, a MacArthur Fellowship and the launching of the Street Symphony nonprofit, before his life begins to go awry.
Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, 鈥淭he Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss鈥 (Norton)
Macfarlane, about , once , an artist whose eye and hand create unforgettable images of winged creatures.
Deb Olin Unferth, 鈥淓arth 7鈥 (Graywolf)
On the severe, depopulated landscape of a damaged earth, two women connect even as most others have decamped for Mars or a digital afterlife. (The author on June 9)
De鈥橲hawn Charles Winslow, 鈥淭he Fervent Whites鈥 (One World)
Set in 1982, just as life is beginning to return to normal following a small-town homicide, the couple convicted of the crime is released and returns to the community.
June 16
Armena Brown, 鈥淣ever Tell a Black Girl How to Black Girl: Essays鈥 (Tiny Reparations)
An essay collection full of humor and emotion, Brown, a poet and performing artist, focuses here on stories of growing up in the South and the variety of ways a Black girl can be in the world.
Philip Norman, 鈥淢r. Moonlight: Brian Epstein and the Making of the Beatles鈥 (Da Capo)
While there is , the author of 鈥淪hout!鈥 and other books about the Beatles offers his take on the band鈥檚 manager, who died young after helping launch the band to unforeseen fame.
Greg Sarris, 鈥淭he Last Human Bear鈥 (Heyday)
In his first novel in nearly 30 years, Sarris, longtime tribal leader of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, constructs a tale spanning the 20th Century as a Native Pomo woman in Northern California deals with her family鈥檚 history and a mysterious curse.
June 23
Eve Babitz, 鈥淭oo L.A.鈥 (NYRB)
Edited and annotated by Lili Anolik, this collection of letters to intimates and friends like Steve Martin and Joseph Heller offers a chance to explore the fascinating world of Babitz, author of 鈥淓ve鈥檚 Hollywood,鈥 鈥淪low Days, Fast Company鈥 and 鈥淪ex and Rage.鈥
E.L. Chen, 鈥淪lasher Summer鈥 (Crown)
This one is pretty much self-explanatory, right? In the town of Cedar Lake, where the movie 鈥淪lasher鈥 was filmed, a group of friends reconvenes to catch up, have fun and find themselves stranded without a phone as a mysterious figure hunts them down.
Krista Diamond, 鈥淐lose Relationships with Strangers鈥 (Simon & Schuster)
A wildlife photographer moves from Las Vegas to Los Angeles to become a paparazzo, stealing shots of celebrities even as cellphone-toting civilians eat away at the business of preying on the famous. Things change when a major star becomes embroiled in a sex scandal.
Daniel Kraus, 鈥淭he Sixth Nik鈥 (S&S/Saga Press)
Having just won the Pulitzer Prize for his 2025 novel, 鈥淎ngel Fall,鈥 and the prolific author returns with a work that melds science fiction and horror.
June 30
Paul Tremblay, 鈥淒ead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep鈥 (Morrow)
An overworked gamer scores a job with her powerful mother鈥檚 help 鈥 using a controller to transport a semi-comatose man across the country in search of answers.
