The latest from Jamie Ford, a debut novel by Anthony Marra, and two Jane Austen classics are among the many lucky titles selected by book clubs across the country for the month of August.
To submit titles for inclusion in this roundup, email us.
Amerie’s Book Club and Read with Jenna, the Jenna Bush Hager Book Club
The book: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford (Atria)
Our reviewer says: "There’s some good storytelling here, but this doesn’t quite stand out amid an increasingly full shelf of multigenerational climate epics." Read more.
The book: Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra (Hogarth)
Our reviewer says: "While Marra’s pleasure in the details and argot of the past occasionally feels like overkill, this tough-minded, funny outing exemplifies what Maria calls the democratic promise of “the miniaturist’s gaze,” in which “all were worthy.” Thanks to Marra, the pleasure is contagious." Read more.
The book: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Knopf)
Our reviewer says: "Zevin returns with an exhilarating epic of friendship, grief, and computer game development.... This is a one-of-a-kind achievement." Read more.
The book: Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (Flatiron)
Our reviewer says: "Armfield follows her collection, Salt Slow, with a moody and intimate debut novel, both a portrait of a marriage and a subtle horror fantasy.... With echoes of Jules Verne, Thor Heyerdahl, H.P. Lovecraft, and the film Altered States, Armfield anchors the shudder-producing tale in authentic marine science and a deep understanding of human nature." Read more.
The book: Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar (Page Street Kids)
The book: Emma by Jane Austen
Our reviewer says: "Each of Austen’s novels address family squabbles and social class in one way or another, but Emma does so in a particularly engaging and insightful way." Read more.
The book: All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews (Viking)
Our reviewer says: "Mathews is most affecting when charting the wonders of community-building, delving into the strenuous work that goes into sustaining meaningful friendships as well as the heartbreak that ensues when connections are fractured by dishonesty." Read more.
Good Morning America Book Club
The book: Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean (Morrow)
Our reviewer says: "Jean ties up the loose ends a bit neatly... but there’s plenty to chew on about interracial adoption and the varieties of mother-daughter experience and conflict." Read more.
Jewish Book Council (Fiction)
The book: Atomic Anna by Rachel Barenbaum (Grand Central)
Our reviewer says: "Barenbaum burnishes her reputation as an up-and-coming talent with this audacious time travel story." Read more.
Jewish Book Council (Nonfiction)
The book: Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad's Fake Diving Resort by Raffi Berg (Icon)
Our reviewer says: "Berg’s moving, well-researched book stands as the definitive account of this heroic rescue mission." Read more.
The book: Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (Doubleday)
Our reviewer says: "It’s a superlative story, but the most impressive achievement is Whitehead’s loving depiction of a Harlem 60 years gone... which lands as detailed and vivid as Joyce’s Dublin." Read more.
The book: Human Blues by Elisa Albert (Avid Reader)
Our reviewer says: "The depth of feeling, range of ideas, and spiky provocations amount to a Bellow-worthy wave of blistering prose." Read more.
The book: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (Ballantine)
Our reviewer says: "Wilkerson debuts with a shining family saga that stretches from the 1960s Caribbean to present-day Southern California.... Readers will adore this highly accomplished effort from a talented new writer." Read more.
The book: Root Magic by Eden Royce (Walden Pond)
Our reviewer says: "If Royce occasionally meanders, her depictions of the kids’ daily life and inner strength more than makes up for it." Read more.
The book: The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid (Riverhead)
Our reviewer says: "From [a] Kafkaesque beginning, Hamid spins a timely if unsatisfying racial allegory in which, one after another, the white inhabitants of an unnamed country become dark-skinned." Read more here.
The book: Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley (Knopf)
Our reviewer says: "Mottley, Oakland’s former Youth Poet Laureate, debuts with a bold and beautiful account of two Black siblings striving to thrive and survive.... This heartrending story makes for a powerful testament to a Black woman’s resilience." Read more here.
The book: Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Morrow)
Our reviewer says: "Assured prose more than compensates for the pat ending. This entertaining look at motherhood and memory will resonate with many." Read more.
The book: The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu (Saga)
Our reviewer says: "Questions of identity galvanize the 15 stories in this outstanding collection of fantastical fiction, giving them extraordinary gravity and resonance." Read more here.
The book: Persuasion by Jane Austen
Our reviewer says: "This novel, for my money, embodies Austen’s best for subtlety of characterization and insight into human weaknesses and folly... Profound but not heavy, entertaining but not frivolous." Read more.
