Judith Rossner’s 70s novel, August, is about a psychoanalyst and the young adult client she sees during the month when all therapists take vacation. Someone needs to write the novel about an agent and the young adult novelist who pitches in August and hears crickets. Is everyone on vacation in August? Yup. August is about beach books and cabin reads. Swinging in a hammock with a great novel or lounging by the pool reading new nonfiction, reading al fresco is a summer pleasure. Enjoy. So what’s on my summer reading list? Fiction Trust Exercise by Susan Choi The Evening Hero by Marie Myung-Ok Lee Perish by LaToya Watkins Nonfiction Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative by Melissa Febos We Carry Their Bones: The Search for Justice at the Dozier School for Boys by Erin Kimmerle How to Read Now: Essays by Elaine Castillo Memoir Inheritance: An Autobiography of Whiteness by Baynard Woods The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama Happy Go Lucky by David Sedaris If you’re getting ready to seek an agent or publisher, you have even more reason to relax with a good book. Like therapists, agents and acquisition editors are often on a summer hiatus the next four to six weeks. It’s the off-season for new book deals. Sit back and enjoy this month to read. It’s an especially good time to read your comps. What are your comps? Your market competition, the books your readers are buying right now, your comparables. How…

There is something special about summer, especially in Wisconsin where warm weather happens for only a few treasured months of the year. And while reading is a favorite pastime all year round, summer has always felt like prime time for reading. So in the tradition of creating summer bucket lists, here are a few book-centered ideas add to your list. Take yourself on a book date. Visit your favorite local indie bookstore or library and pick up a new book that catches your eye. Then settle in with your new read on a chair at the beach, or on a blanket at a park, or in a cozy corner of a local coffee shop. This is a fun way to work on your TBR while also going on an outing to places you might not normally visit. Join your library’s summer reading program. Summer reading programs aren’t just for kids! Many libraries have programs for adults to join too (Brown County Library and the Appleton Public Library both do!). If you’re going to be reading all summer anyway, you might as well earn prizes while doing it. Read something new. Try reading something from a genre or an author that is new to you, or try reading an audiobook if you normally read print books. You might just discover a new favorite! Attend an event at your local indie bookstore. From author talks to book clubs to pop-up bookfairs, indie bookstores have a variety of events to suit every kind…

Sunshine and warmer weather are here, and that means it’s the perfect time to head outside, kick back your feet, and read a good book. There are plenty of new releases in fiction to be excited about. Here are some of the new releases I am most eager to read this summer from some popular genres of fiction. Fantasy – Witch King by Martha Wells Release date: May 30, 2023 From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes a remarkable story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose. Kai’s having a long day in Martha Wells’ Witch King…. After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well. But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence? Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions. He’s not going to like the answers. Witch King is Martha Wells’s first new fantasy in over a decade, drawing together her signature ability to create characters we adore and identify with, alongside breathtaking action and adventure, and the wit and charm we’ve come…