Books on Deck: August 2024
Five books I am legit hyped to read this month including a story collection, a biography, and a book about Kent State.
We’ve made it to the first pub day in August, my darling bookish friends. Here are the books I am most looking forward to this month. And in the spirit of full transparency, I am not that excited about too many books coming out this month. The five below are the ones I’m really geeked about. I’ve thrown in a few other that maybe I’m interested in at the end, for good measure. This list is organized by pub date. Anything I have already read is in bold.
As a reminder, I try my hardest to keep this lists manageable and free to all. I am only sharing the books I am truly excited about for the month, and not just the buzzy books you can see on all the lists. If you like this list and want more bookish goodness in your inbbox, subscribe to Unstacked.
Here are my most anticipated books of August!
Bringing Ben Home: A Murder, a Conviction, and the Fight to Redeem American Justice by Barbara Bradley Hagerty (August 6)
In 1987, a 22-year-old Black man, Ben Spencer, was convicted of a murder he did not commit. This book explores the extremely weak case against him and the effort to release him from prison after three decades.The Rich People Have Gone Away by Regina Porter (August 6)
This is a pandemic literary thriller about a couple that leaves NYC for upstate New York in 2020. The husband divulges a secret, the wife disappears, thrilleriness ensues.There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven: Stories by Ruben Reyes Jr (August 6)
This was pitched to me as a “debut story collection which is weird and full of heart and humor, for readers of Annie Bot, as well as Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah or Sequoia Nagamatsu”. So yeah, I think we should all read this, right?Nat Turner, Black Prophet: A Visionary History by Anthony E. Kaye with Gregory P. Downs (August 13)
In elementary school I had to do a time capsule project on Nat Turner, where I stuck items in a box as if I were him. I remember burning the edges of the paper to give it an aged look and slipping a photo of me and my two cousins in to be his kids. I was very committed to the bit, even if I didn’t understand how technology. Anyway, ever since then I have been fascinated with Nat Turner and his story, and I am thrilled to check out this new biography of his life, the revolt he led, and the role of religion in his story.Kent State: An American Tragedy by Brian VanDeMark (August 13)
This seems like the most obviously me book on this list. A new history of the May 1970 shooting on Kent State’s campus by National Guardsmen at students protesting the Vietnam War. The shooting left four dead and nine injured. It led to much national discourse around law enforcement and free speech that we’re still actively debating today.
Those are my big five for August, and here are few more books on my radar, that I might check out this month.
Hitler's People: The Faces of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans (August 13)
Men Have Called Her Crazy by Anna Marie Tendler
Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jamison (August 13)
Bluff by Danez Smith (August 20)
Now it’s your turn. Tell me what books are on your August must read list?
You can always see the forthcoming books I’m looking forward over on bookshop.org!
I am looking forward to Hum (Helen Philip's new one). I loved The Need so much.