These Are the Best Books to Pick Up Before Summer Ends

Autumn's just around the corner, but it's not too late to fall into a new summer read. You can still beat the heat into late summer with 22 of the best books of August 2020. There's still plenty of time to read on the beach...or pretend that you are.

The hardest part? Choosing which to read first. The following round-up includes a new Oprah's Book Club pick; an incendiary debut about a young Black woman coming of age; a dazzling return from a master of magical realism; a poetic nonfiction work from Claudia Rankine, the award-winning author of Citizen, and a slew of new, eye-opening books about politics and culture that help explain how we got here and how we can go forward. We hope there are enough essay collections, short stories, novels, and memoirs to keep you busy until the leaves starting falling from the trees—at which point, you can read our favorite fall books.