121. Sensational summer book releases paired with satisfying backlist reads

Novel Pairings

Get ready to load your summer totes (ahem…your summer Novel Pairings totes, more to come on that) with lots of good reads; we’re talking about our most anticipated summer reads on today’s episode! We’ve carefully culled our long lists of interesting books coming out this summer to provide some high-interest titles that are sure to topple your TBR while also providing backlist books that will pair perfectly and are available right now.

Today we talk about forthcoming humorous memoirs (including one woven with lots of 90s nostalgia), a searing, fictional critique of contemporary publishing, and plenty of engrossing tales you’ll want to curl up with poolside. And if that’s not enough, we take a shot at solving the mystery surrounding the unnamed Flatiron title prior to it being settled by the New York Times (and Chelsey will add amateur sleuth to her list of alternate career options should occasion arise).

We love discussing books and reading with all of you and hope you’ll join our group of nerdy readers at patreon.com/novelpairings. Annual subscriptions are now available at a discounted price!

Books Mentioned

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Disorientation by Elian Hsieh Chou

Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

All Sinners Bleed by S.A. Crosby

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

My Murder by Katie Williams

Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

Chouette by Claire Oshetsky

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

Banyan Moon by Thao Tai

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

Loot by Tania James

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson

Wannabe: Reckoning with the Pop Culture that Saved Me by Aisha Harris

Piccolo is Black by Jordan Calhoun

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens

A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

Babel by R. F. Kuang

Half-Life of a Stolen Sister by Rachel Cantor

Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg

Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman

The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell

History’s Angel by Anjum Hassan

Members Only by Sameer Pandya

The Lost Ranger by Peter Heller

Congratulations, the Best is Over! by R. Eric Thomas

Here for It by R. Eric Thomas

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Our Town by Thorton Wilder