20 summer books for poolside reading from Stephen King, Elliot Page, Elin Hilderbrand and more
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Every season has its charms, but nothing beats long, lazy days by the pool with a cold drink and a good book.
Lucky for us, there's no shortage of hot new reads this summer, including a scintillating beach read from master of the genre Elin Hilderbrand; vulnerable memoirs from actors Elliot Page and Richard E. Grant; and literary novels perfect for book clubs from Ann Patchett and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Colson Whitehead.
Heck, there's even a fascinating book on the history and cultural significance of hot dogs. And what screams summer more than hot dogs?
If you're looking for more titles to add to your to-read pile, here are the 20 books we can’t wait to read this summer (by the pool or otherwise).
Purchases you make through our links may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.
‘Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs’
By Jamie Loftus (Forge, nonfiction), out May 23
Podcaster and comedian Loftus turns her curiosity and whit on the humble hot dog. This travelogue meets history meets capitalist critique takes readers on a cross-country food road trip to investigate what this undeniably American dish says about our country.
"Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs" at Amazon for $19.99
"Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs" at Bookshop for $25.10
‘Sing Her Down’
By Ivy Pochoda (MCD, fiction), out May 23
Former cellmates Florida and Dios make their way from an Arizona penitentiary to the streets of Los Angeles, one pursuing the other in a cat-and-mouse chase fueled by obsession in this electric contemporary Western thriller.
"Sing Her Down" at Amazon for $28
"Sing Her Down" at Bookshop for $26.04
‘Women We Buried, Women We Burned’
By Rachel Louise Snyder (Bloomsbury, nonfiction), out May 23
The author of “No Visible Bruises” writes a searing memoir telling the story of her triumph over impossible odds, from her mother’s early death, expulsion from school and homelessness to her global reporting on domestic violence.
"Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir" at Amazon for $28.49
"Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir" at Bookshop for $26.97
‘The Late Americans’
By Brandon Taylor (Riverhead, fiction), out May 23
The acclaimed new literary voice and chronicler of contemporary life (“Real Life,” “Filthy Animals”) returns with a novel about a group of friends and lovers in Iowa City that faces a moment of profound reckoning.
"The Late Americans" at Amazon for $25.20
"The Late Americans" at Bookshop for $26.04
‘Good Night, Irene’
By Luis A. Urrea (Little, Brown, fiction), out May 30
Taking inspiration from his own mother’s Red Cross service, Urrea writes a romantic historical novel about WWII heroism and friendship forged on the frontlines, as Irene Woodward and Dorothy Dunford, members of the Donut Dollies, support the Allied forces.
"Good Night, Irene" at Amazon for $26.10
"Good Night, Irene" at Bookshop for $26.97
‘Pageboy’
By Elliot Page (Flatiron, nonfiction), June 6
The Oscar-nominated star of “Juno” writes of his leap to stardom as he navigated his queerness and his discomfort playing the part of a Hollywood starlet in this intimate interrogation of sex, trauma and identity.
"Pageboy" at Amazon for $25.49
"Pageboy" at Bookshop for $27.89
‘The Five-Star Weekend’
By Elin Hilderbrand (Little, Brown, fiction), out June 13
The bestselling author of “The Hotel Nantucket” returns with another winning summer novel. When Hollis Shaw’s husband dies suddenly in a car accident, she needs something to pull her back together. So she organizes a “Five-Star Weekend,” inviting her best friends from each phase of life for a weekend on Nantucket.
"The Five-Star Weekend" at Amazon for $21.49
"The Five-Star Weekend" at Bookshop for $27.90
‘Nightbloom’
By Peace Adzo Medie (Algonquin, fiction), out June 13
Cousins Selasi and Akorfa were inseparable growing up in Ghana, until Selasi begins to change and Akorfa goes to study to become a doctor in the U.S. But a crisis ends their estrangement, and Selasi’s secret is revealed.
"Nightbloom" at Amazon for $22.99
"Nightbloom" at Bookshop for $26.04
‘Save What's Left’
By Elizabeth Castellano (Anchor, fiction), out June 27
When Kathleen’s husband declares himself unhappy and leaves after 30 years of marriage, she moves to Whitbey, a small beach town, to find her own peace – and instead ends up at war with her neighbors over the Sugar Cube, the monstrous holiday home being built next door.
"Save What's Left" at Amazon for $26
"Save What's Left" at Bookshop for $24.18
‘The Librarianist’
By Patrick deWitt (Ecco, fiction), out July 4
From the author of “French Exit” and “The Sisters Brothers” comes a new novel about retired librarian Bob Comet, a quiet, obviously bookish man who finds volunteering at a senior center in this tender reflection on the small moments that make a life as it nears its end.
"The Librarianist" at Amazon for $28.99
"The Librarianist" at Bookshop for $27.90
‘The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial’
By David Lipsky (Norton, nonfiction), out July 11
Lipsky offers a history of climate science – and with it, climate denial – starring a large cast of swindlers, zealots, politicians and hucksters to get to the heart of virulent anti-science ideologies in America.
"The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial" at Barnes & Noble for $32.50
‘Crook Manifesto’
By Colson Whitehead (Doubleday, fiction), out July 18
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winning author Whitehead (“The Underground Railroad”) brings back “Harlem Shuffle” protagonist Ray Carney. He swears off moving stolen goods around New York City, but 1970s Harlem has other ideas.
"Crook Manifesto" at Amazon for $26.10
"Crook Manifesto" at Bookshop for $26.97
‘Family Lore’
By Elizabeth Acevedo (Ecco, fiction), out Aug. 1
The National Book Award-winning author and poet releases her first novel for adults about a Dominican American family brought together for a living wake arranged by Flor – who can predict the day someone will die. But whose turn is it?
"Family Lore" at Amazon for $27
"Family Lore" at Bookshop for $27.90
‘A Pocketful of Happiness’
By Richard E. Grant (Simon & Schuster, nonfiction), out Aug. 1
The Oscar-nominated actor (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) writes of his life, storied career and losing his wife of nearly 40 years in 2021, and fulfilling her final challenge to him to find a “pocketful of happiness in every day.”
"A Pocket Full of Happiness" at Amazon for $28.99
"A Pocket Full of Happiness" at Bookshop for $26.96
‘Tom Lake’
By Ann Patchett (Harper, fiction), out Aug. 1
At the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan, Lara’s three daughters beg their mother to tell them the story of her work – and romance – with famed actor Peter Duke in this meditation on young love and a parent’s life before children.
'These Precious Days': Ann Patchett's friendship with Tom Hanks’ assistant anchors luminous essay collection
"Tom Lake" at Bookshop for $27.90
‘Forged by Blood’
By Ehigbor Okosun (Harper Voyager, fiction), out Aug. 8
Full of magic and inspired by Nigerian mythology, this fantasy finds its heroine Dèmi trying to survive the king’s genocide of her people, the magic-wielding Oluso, while learning to control her powers – until her mother’s death has her seeking vengeance.
"Forged by Blood" at Amazon for $32.00
"Forged by Blood" at Bookshop for $29.76
‘He Who Drowned the World’
By Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor, fiction), out Aug. 22
Zhu Yuanzhang seeks to seize the throne and crown herself emperor, but she’ll need to form an alliance with an old enemy to stave off her contenders committed to winning at any cost.
'She Who Became the Sun': An important entry in the LGBTQ fantasy canon
"He Who Drowned the World" at Amazon for $26.09
"He Who Drowned the World" at Bookshop for $26.96
‘Learned by Heart’
By Emma Donoghue (Little, Brown, fiction), out Aug. 29
The author of “Room” returns with a new novel based on the true story of Anne Lister and her forbidden boarding school romance with Eliza Raine in 19th-century England, drawn from research and Lister’s own secret journal.
"Learned by Heart" at Amazon for $28
"Learned by Heart" at Bookshop for $26.04
‘Holly’
By Stephen King (Scribner, fiction), out Sept. 5
Holly Gibney (“Mr. Mercedes”) returns to star in her own standalone novel as the private detective tries to solve the mystery of multiple disappearances – and outsmart a pair of deceptively twisted professors with a dark secret hidden in their basement.
"Holly" at Bookshop for $27.90
‘The Fraud’
By Zadie Smith (Penguin Press, fiction), out Sept. 5
From acclaimed author of “White Teeth” comes a historical novel set against the Tichborne Trial, a case about a low-class Australian butcher who claimed to be the rightful heir of a large fortune, that captivated and divided Victorian England.
"The Fraud" at Amazon for $26.10
"The Fraud" at Bookshop for $26.79
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elliot Page, Stephen King, Ann Patchett: 20 must-read summer books
