Dear Reader,
Summer always feels like the perfect season for getting lost in a book: quiet mornings, sun-drenched afternoons, and long, lingering evenings that practically beg for a story. And yet, like so many others, I’ve found myself distracted by the infinite scroll of social media—absorbing plenty, but not exactly nourished. So, this summer, I’ve made a conscious decision: to reclaim my reading time.
Fortunately, I don’t lack for material. My TBR pile (which is actually a collection of precarious stacks across various rooms) is a playground. And diving into it with renewed purpose has made me feel energized, joyful, and deeply satisfied.
Below are a few highlights from what I’ve recently read, what I’m reading now, and what’s next. I hope something here sparks your curiosity—and that you, too, find yourself swept up in a truly great story.
For a fun, fast, and suspenseful read, check out Heartwood by Amity Gaige. This literary thriller follows a search and rescue team racing to find an experienced hiker who’s mysteriously vanished on the Appalachian Trail. Elin Hilderbrand calls it “a literary thriller of the highest order”— and I couldn’t agree more
Two memoirs that have caught my attention include:
I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally: This is the raw, compelling account of the restaurateur’s complicated personal life, including two failed marriages, difficult family ties, and a life-altering stroke. McNally’s voice is brutally honest and unforgettable.
Notes to John by Joan Didion: This posthumously published collection gives readers an intimate glimpse into Joan Didion’s private notes to her husband, written during therapy sessions in the late ’90s. Introspective and achingly honest, it reads like you’re sitting beside her on the therapist’s couch, examining mother-daughter relationships, marriage, mental health, the mechanics of therapy, and more.
For a more serious, in-depth book, I recommend The Director by Daniel Kehlmann. In this fictionalized account, filmmaker G.W. Pabst flees to Hollywood to resist the Nazis only to be forced to return to his homeland and create propaganda films for the German Reich. Inspired by a PBS interview, I picked this up and was immediately drawn into Kehlmann’s exploration of art, complicity, and resistance under totalitarian regimes. Thought-provoking and timely.
Every once in a while, serendipity urges you to select a certain book from the TBR pile. That serendipitous book-of-the-moment is Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser, translated by Hildegarde Serle. Set to be published by Europa in August (and we love everything Europa publishes!), this award-winning, buzzy debut blends art history and storytelling in a way that evokes All the Light We Cannot See. Recent travels and reads have rekindled my interest in art history, and I suspect this one will become a new favorite. When I’m reading ten books at once, like now, for some reason it’s the serendipitous books that I enjoy the most!
These books are up next, at the top of my various TBR piles. (We’ll see if serendipity strikes first, though!)
Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America by Russell Shorto: As a New Yorker, I’m super interested in the city’s creation and how its “personality” has been shaped over the years. His new book tells the riveting story of the birth of New York City as a center of capitalism and pluralism. I can’t wait to dig in.
The Book of Records by Madeline Thien: A novel that leaps across centuries past and future, as if different eras were separated by only a door. The main character, Lina, befriends Bento, a Jewish scholar in seventeenth-century Amsterdam; Blucher, a philosopher in 1930’s Germany fleeing Nazi persecution; and Jupiter, a poet of Tang Dynasty China. This is a philosophical, imaginative exploration of memory and identity.
Disposable: American’s Contempt for the Underclass by Sarah Jones: This in-depth reporting exposes the harsh reality of inequality and the devastating impact of the pandemic on our nation’s most vulnerable people.
Hosting Wally Lamb and Abraham Verghese this spring was a reminder that some novels never lose their power. If you haven’t read She’s Come Undone or Cutting for Stone, now is the perfect time to rediscover—or discover—these unforgettable books. These books are truly two of the most riveting novels written during the years that the bookstore has been open.
As we navigate a world filled with both noise and beauty, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of presence—and of great storytelling. Two quotes resonated with me recently, and I want to share them with you.
When I looked at the people who were actually around me every day… I started to see more of the good in the world… Turning off my phone and turning more pages instead has refocused my lens in the best of ways.
— Jessilyn Norcross, owner, McLean & Eakin Booksellers (one of my favorite independents)
The best arguments in the world won’t change a single person’s point of view. The only thing that can do that is a good story. Good stories are a kind of benevolent Trojan horse.
— Ken Burns, award-winning filmmaker and historian
So, here’s to finding more good stories. Whether they’re from this list or from our Staff Suggestions, I hope you discover something that challenges you, comforts you, or simply delights you. This summer, reclaim your reading time!
See you in the store,
Roxanne J. Coady
RJ Julia Booksellers
P.S. In reading a recent review of a biography of Tim O’Brien, I was reminded of our interview some years ago on my Just the Right Book podcast. Of the 400+ interviews we produced, this was one of the most memorable. Tim and I were together in a studio in NYC and it was as if the real world was far, far away… just Tim reflecting on his life as a soldier, as a man, as a son, and, most significantly, as a father. It was an extraordinary honor to speak with him, and an amazing, emotional interview. Happy listening!