The 24 best new book releases this week: June 25 – July 1, 2024

16. Men by Santiago Jose Sanchez
17. Hot summer by Elle Everhart
18. Keyword sun! The invention of reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

Hey, it’s still Pride Month! Have you checked out our roundup of some of the best LGBTQI+ books of the year? Here are three more.

Men is a debut novel in which our hero migrates from Colombia to Miami, discovers and accepts his queer identity (or at least the pleasures of the flesh), but still struggles to reconcile with his absent father, his absent homeland, and his very not-absent mother. It’s one of the year’s literary debuts.

Hot summer is a sappy romantic romp that sees our queer heroine Cas take part in a British reality show set on an island. But her plan to do well, win over the audience, and get a promotion is turned on its head when this very heterosexual environment sets the stage for true love with fellow contestant Ada. In other words, reality TV gets in the way of reality. But isn’t that always the case?

This romance gives a clue as to why Keyword sun! Is included in a queer roundup. This look at reality TV by The New Yorker’s Emily Nussbaum traces the history of reality programming from its roots in radio (Hidden Camera, Queen for a Day, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts–think American Idol) to the Kardashians and all the housewives. But the queer community knows that their visibility on television is often driven by these very shows. Think of Lance Loud in An American family on PBS, Pedro Zamora on MTV’s The real world, Queer Eye for the heterosexual, the almost unimaginable popularity of RuPaul’s Drag Race and much more. You’ll find them all in this celebrated work of pop culture history.

Men by Santiago Jose Sanchez ($29; Riverhead Books) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

Hot summer by Elle Everhart ($19; GP Putnam’s Sons) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

Keyword sun! The invention of reality TV by Emily Nussbaum ($30; Random House) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

19. Incidents around the house by Josh Malerman

Josh Malerman wrote birdhouses, the horror novel that became Sandra Bullock’s blockbuster. Now he delivers a new horror fest with Incidents around the house. I’m not interested. I don’t like being scared. It’s about your normal family: Mom, Dad, Grandma Ruth, eight-year-old Bella… the other mom, the presence that only Bella can see and hear, the being that asks Bella a question every day: “Can I go into your heart?” See? I’m scared already.

Incidents around the house by Josh Malerman ($28; Del Rey) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

20. The first week of school by Drew Beckmeyer
21. Owls in our garden! by Carl Safina
22. Tell me a Mitzi by Lore Segal; pictures by Harriet Pincus

Three award-winning picture books. The first week of school has a great colored pencil look (the book title is also cleverly chosen) and pages full of dialogue and events. It is one of the best of the year.

Children who enjoy nature will be crazy about Owls in our garden!, the true story of owls nesting and raising baby owls in writer Carl Safina’s garden. It contains numerous photos of absolutely adorable owls, so be prepared to explain why you’re not ready to raise owls in your home.

The New York Review Books imprint NYRB has an impeccable track record of bringing forgotten classics back to light. Their imprint NYRB Kids is doing the same, this time with a delightful picture book about an imaginative city kid named Mitzi. She makes every day an adventure, whether the day is ready or not.

The first week of school by Drew Beckmeyer ($18.99; Atheneum Books for Young Readers) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

Owls in our garden! by Carl Safina ($18.99; Norton Young Readers) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

Tell me a Mitzi by Lore Segal; illustrations by Harriet Pincus ($18.95; NYRB Kids) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

23. A gentleman and a thief by Dean Jobb
24. The Lizzie Borden Case and Other Writings by Elizabeth Garver Jordan

This week full of great crime and thrillers ends with two true crime books. A gentleman and a thief is a new work about Arthur Barry, the man Life magazine once called “the greatest jewel thief of all time.” It’s a tidbit from the Roaring Twenties, a story of daring (he seemingly robbed every rich person in New York) and high drama. Barry only made a deal to protect his wife. And when he was in prison and she became ill, Barry hatched a daring escape plan so they could escape and spend their final days together. If George Clooney hasn’t secured this story, we don’t know what to do.

And if you’re a true crime fan, you should know the work of pioneering journalist Elizabeth Garver Jordan. She was one of the few women to cover the murder trials of Lizzie Borden and others… and did so with an innovative narrative style that captivated the country. She championed women’s rights, condemned sexual violence, wrote crime stories and novels, and if Emma Stone hasn’t acquired the rights to her novel, her History, then Hollywood knows nothing.

A gentleman and a thief by Dean Jobb ($32.50; Algonquin Books) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

The Lizzie Borden Case and Other Writings by Elizabeth Garver Jordan ($22; Penguin Classics) Buy now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org

Related topics: The 60+ best beach summer books of 2024