Here we are, halfway through the month of August. We also have some books to recommend, as you probably guessed. Some are new; some are reissues. One is a particularly intriguing tribute to an iconic writer; another is a biography of an athlete whose career in sport remains deeply relevant. Read on for some late summer suggestions.
Sam Richard (editor), Shrieks in Cups of Gold
(Aug. 1, Weirdpunk Books)
Do you enjoy the works of Katherine Dunn? Do you also enjoy forays into horror? The two aren’t too far removed; remember, Geek Love was a Bram Stoker Award finalist. This new collection features stories from Matt Brandenburg, Sasha Ravitch, Sara Century, and Brendan Vidito; editor Sam Richard also contributed, and the introduction is by the great B.R. Yeager.
Bud Smith, WORK
(Aug. 1, Perfect Day Publishing)
We’ve enjoyed Bud Smith’s memoir of, well, work ever since it was first published in 2018. And we’re also thrilled that Perfect Day Publishing is bringing it back into print. If you like candid looks at art and life, few are doing it better these days than Smith.
Marina Closs (translated by Thomas Bunstead), The Depopulation
(Aug. 4, Bellevue Literary Press)
This novel transports the reader back in time to the period when Spain had colonies throughout South America. It’s a book about clashes between ways of life and systems of belief, exploring a volataile period in history. And Publishers Weekly called it “an inspired effort” in their review, which is enticing.
Luis O. Arata, Jorge Luis Borges: At Play with Mental Models of the World
(Aug. 7, Punctum Books)
Will there ever be a time when we aren’t discussing the works of Jorge Luis Borges? Fantasists and technologists alike have drawn inspiration from his writings, and this new book charts out another field in which Borges has charted new territory: that of the inner workings of the human mind. This might well leave you with a renewed appreciation for Borges’s bibliography.
Daisy Dixon, Depraved
(Aug. 11, Viking)
As several recent books, including Isaac Butler’s The Perfect Moment, have pointed out, politically-charged debates over art have long been with us. Daisy Dixon’s new book takes a wide view of the subject, exploring just how far back these arguments have gone — and what they might mean for the current state of the world.
Jess Row, Storyknife
(Aug. 11, Ecco)
When he announced Storyknife last year, Jess Row called this collection “a collection of metafictions, experiments, and good old-fashioned tales about white liberal America teetering on the brink of (and then going over the brink of ) disaster.” That certainly got our attention — and our interest.
Julie Kliegman, Finding Renée Richards
(Aug. 18, HarperOne)
A few years ago, we heard Julie Kliegman talk about trans sports pioneer Renée Richards on the podcast You’re Wrong About. They had plenty to say about Richards at the time, and we’re eager to read Kliegman exploring Richards’s life and career in a full-length volume.
Eileen Myles, 1969
(Aug. 24, Hanuman Editions)
Regardless of the style in which they’re writing, Eileen Myles makes it their own; on our shelves, you’ll find poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from them. 1969 falls into the last of these categories; it’s an account of a young Myles’s early time in New York City.
Hob Broun, Newsreels
(Aug. 25, Calamari Archive)
In a recent interview with Zona Motel, David Nutt called Hob Broun’s previously-unpublished novel Newsreels “a tidy Broun primer.” Broun died at the much-too-young age of 37, but Calamari Archive has been bringing his existing work back into print, as well as some works like this one that have never before seen the light of day. It’s a good way to begin exploring the work of an underappreciated author.
Note: all cover art and release dates are subject to change.