Human Interest
The #9 book in the country is Tanqueray, the memoir of erstwhile burlesque performer Stephanie Johnson, who shot to internet fame after Brandon Stanton photographed her for his Humans of New York platform. “Of their first encounter in 2020,” our review said, “Stanton writes in the foreword that the septuagenarian immediately captivated him—and later more than three million Instagram users—with tales of dancing in New York City in the 1970s under her stage name, Tanqueray.” The book “has it all,” the review continued: “humor, intrigue, and heart.”
It Girl Summer
Ruth Ware has the #10 book in the country with The It Girl, an “exceptional psychological thriller,” our starred review said, that “probes how much one can trust others—and one’s self.” In a prepub interview with PW, Ware explained the emotions that animate her writing. “Fundamentally, my books are rooted in some sort of fear, phobia, or terrible what-if,” she said. “The kind of thing you wake up from a dream about and think, I’m glad that didn’t actually happen to me.” By contrast, her sales trajectory is the kind many authors do fantasize about.
Studying for the Midterms
Looking for some escapist summer reading? Look away from our hardcover nonfiction list, where five new political books highlight the country’s deep divisions. At #3, Thank You for Your Servitude by the Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich showcases what the author calls “Trump’s invasion of our politics.” Ari Fleischer, press secretary under president George W. Bush, takes the “mainstream media” to task for its Suppression, Deception, Snobbery, and Bias, #6 on our list. With the #8 book, former House speaker Newt Gingrich seeks allies in Defeating Big Government Socialism. In They Want to Kill Americans, #11, MSNBC counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance alleges, per our review, “that a ‘political paramilitary insurgency’ is preparing to bring down the Biden administration and return Donald Trump to power.” And at #18, political consultant and NewsmaxTV commentator Dick Morris heralds The Return: Trump’s Big 2024 Comeback.
NEW & NOTABLE
THE BEST IS YET TO COME
Debbie Macomber
#6 Hardcover Fiction
“Fan favorite Macomber brings sweetness and sensitivity to this weighty military family romance,” our review said, deeming the novel “a deeply moving contemporary.” See our profile of the “Queen of Hearts.”
UPGRADE
Blake Crouch
#11 Hardcover Fiction
This “nail-biting near-future science thriller,” per our starred review, takes gene hacking to a terrifying extreme. “Crouch fully develops his alarming concept and its implications along with delivering masterful characterizations. This is the best yet from a creative and gifted author.”
