Summertime is here! And with it brings lots of great reads to enjoy during the warmer weather.

Below are some this year’s releases that I personally am looking forward to reading over the Summer. After the main list of newer releases, I’ve included a “Read Before You Watch” of some older titles getting a TV/Film adaptations (such as the popular Daisy Jones and the Six streaming series), as well as some classic literature, like Dracula, which celebrates its 125 anniversary this year. Each listing has accompanying links to the print, ebook, and audiobook editions; the publisher’s synopsis; and my quick thoughts.

Continue on to check out my Summer 2023 Book Recommendations…

Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Beth Revis
Publisher: Random House Worlds
Paperback Release: January 31, 2023

One of pop cultures most popular couples is getting married! While we never saw it on screen, in the expanded universe Princess Leia and Han Solo tied the knot. Now we finally get the story of the wedding and honeymoon, where of course they run into more dangerous adventures, since the Empire isn’t exactly accepting defeat. The paperback edition of Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel was released this year.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo.

The Death Star is destroyed. Darth Vader is dead. The Empire is desolate. But on the forest moon of Endor, among the chaos of a changing galaxy, time stands still for a princess and her scoundrel.

After being frozen in carbonite, then risking everything for the Rebellion, Han is eager to stop living his life for other people. He and Leia have earned their future together, a thousand times over. And when he proposes to Leia, it’s the first time in a long time he’s had a good feeling about this. For Leia, a lifetime of fighting doesn’t seem truly over. There is work still to do, penance to pay for the dark secret that she now knows runs through her veins. Her brother, Luke, is offering her that chance—one that comes with family and the promise of the Force. But when Han asks her to marry him, Leia finds her answer immediately on her lips . . . Yes.

Yet happily ever after doesn’t come easily. As soon as Han and Leia depart their idyllic ceremony for their honeymoon, they find themselves on the grandest and most glamorous stage of all: the Halcyon, a luxury vessel on a very public journey to the most wondrous worlds in the galaxy. Their marriage, and the peace and prosperity it represents, are a lightning rod for all—including Imperial remnants still clinging to power.

Facing their most desperate hour, the soldiers of the Empire have dispersed across the galaxy, retrenching on isolated planets vulnerable to their influence. As the Halcyon travels from world to world, one thing becomes abundantly clear: The war is not over. But as danger draws closer, Han and Leia find that they fight their best battles not alone, but as husband and wife.

Paperback: 400 pages; book dimensions: 5.46x 0.82 x 8.24 inches

Leviathan Falls
Book 9: The Expanse
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By James S.A. Corey
Publisher: Orbit
Paperback Release: February 7, 2023

In Leviathan Falls, James S.A. Corey brings his award-winning series, The Expanse, to an end. This ninth book was released earlier this year in a paperback edition. The Expanse books inspired the Amazon Prime Original series of the same name.

The biggest science fiction series of the decade comes to an incredible conclusion in the ninth and final novel in James S.A. Corey’s Hugo-award winning space opera that inspired the Prime Original series.

Hugo Award Winner for Best Series

The Laconian Empire has fallen, setting the thirteen hundred solar systems free from the rule of Winston Duarte. But the ancient enemy that killed the gate builders is awake, and the war against our universe has begun again.

In the dead system of Adro, Elvi Okoye leads a desperate scientific mission to understand what the gate builders were and what destroyed them, even if it means compromising herself and the half-alien children who bear the weight of her investigation. Through the wide-flung systems of humanity, Colonel Aliana Tanaka hunts for Duarte’s missing daughter. . . and the shattered emperor himself. And on the Rocinante, James Holden and his crew struggle to build a future for humanity out of the shards and ruins of all that has come before.

As nearly unimaginable forces prepare to annihilate all human life, Holden and a group of unlikely allies discover a last, desperate chance to unite all of humanity, with the promise of a vast galactic civilization free from wars, factions, lies, and secrets if they win.

But the price of victory may be worse than the cost of defeat.

Paperback: 560 pages; Book Dimensions: 6 x 1.7 x 9.25 inches

Stone Blind
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Natalie Haynes
Publisher: HarperCollins
Paperback Release: February 7, 2023

Of all the characters in Greek myth, Medusa is one of the most recognizable, thanks to her snake-filled hair. The gorgon’s ability to turn people who look at her into stone is also renown. Lesser-known is how Medusa the monster came to be after she was unfairly cursed by the goddess Athene. In Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes reimagines the Medusa myth to give the creature more sympathy and understanding.

The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships and Pandora’s Jar returns with a fresh and stunningly perceptive take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman.

They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster.

The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.

When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene’s temple, the goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space, Athene takes revenge—on the young woman. Punished for Poseidon’s actions, Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to destroy all she loves with one look, Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude.

Until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .

In Stone Blind, classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its head, bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman—injured by a powerful man—is blamed, punished, and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of this mythic tale, Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa’s story with her passion and fierce wit, offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.

Hardcover: 384 pages: Book Dimensions: 6 x 1.21 x 9 inches

Inheritance Cycle
Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance
By Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Knopf Books
Revised Paperback Edition release date: April 25, 2023

Author Christopher Paolini made a big splash in 2003 with his best-selling debut novel, Eragon, which he wrote as a teenager. Big-screen and video game adaptations soon followed, along with 3 book sequels in the Inheritance Cycle. To coincide with the Fall release of Murtagh, a new standalone novel set a year after the events of the original series, newly packaged paperback editions of the Inheritance Cycle are out now that include redesigned covers using the original art and new bonus content. The new paperback editions also contain a sneak peak at Murtagh, which releases on November 7, 2023, as does a 20th anniversary illustrated hardcover edition of Eragon.

Official Synopsis of Eragon:

When fifteen-year-old Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and, gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire.

This updated edition of Eragon includes:
· A sneak peek of Murtagh
· One section of a brand-new Alagaësia map by Christopher, with a unique code that will unlock a different piece of exclusive digital content. Collect all 4 books in the Inheritance Cycle to see the full map and unlock all bonus content!
· A redesigned cover using the iconic original art

Spring’s Arcana
Book 1: The Dead God’s Heart
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Lilith Saintcrow
Publisher: Tor Books
Release: May 2, 2023

In Spring’s Arcana, Lilith Saintcrow weaves a contemporary fantasy tale of girl who goes on a cross-country mission in an effort to heal her ailing mother with the help of the Baba Yaga of Russian folklore.

American Gods vs. Baba Yaga in this Russian-inspired contemporary fantasy Spring’s Arcana, by New York Times bestseller Lilith Saintcrow.

Nat Drozdova is desperate to save a life. Doctors can do little for her cancer-ridden mother, who insists there is only one cure?and that Nat must visit a skyscraper in Manhattan to get it.

Amid a snow-locked city, inside a sleek glass-walled office, Nat makes her plea and is whisked into a terrifying new world. For the skyscraper holds a hungry winter goddess who has the power to cure her mother…if Nat finds a stolen object of great power.

Now Nat must travel with a razor-wielding assassin across an American continent brimming with terror, wonder, and hungry divinities with every reason to consume a young woman. For her ailing mother is indeed suffering no ordinary illness, and Nat Drozdova is no ordinary girl. Blood calls to blood, magic to magic, and a daughter may indeed save what she loves…

…if it doesn’t consume her first.

This is the way to the Dead God’s Heart.

Hardcover: 368 pages; Book Dimensions: 5.75 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches

Stars, Hide Your Fires
Hardcover | Kindle Edition
By Jessica Best
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release: July 11, 2023

A heist goes really wrong in Stars, Hide Your Fires, Jessica Best’s YA locked-room sci-fi mystery.

A wanted thief. A murdered emperor. A killer loose on the station.

Knives Out goes sci-fi in this gripping YA mystery set in space.

As an expert thief from a minor moon, Cass knows a good mark when she sees one. The emperor’s ball is her chance to steal a fortune for herself, her ailing father, and her scrappy crew of thieves and market vendors.

Her plan is simple:
1. Hitch a ride to the planet of Ouris, the dazzling heart of the empire.
2. Sneak onto the imperial palace station to attend the emperor’s ball.
3. Steal from the rich, the royal, and the insufferable.

But on the station, things quickly go awry. When the emperor is found dead, everyone in the palace is a suspect—and someone is setting Cass up to take the fall. To clear her name, Cass must work with an unlikely ally: a gorgeous and mysterious rebel with her own reasons for being on the station. Together, they unravel a secret that could change the fate of the empire.

Hardcover: 304 pages; Book Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.05 x 8.79 inches

The Weaver and the Witch Queen
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Genevieve Gornichec
Publisher: Ace Books
Release: July 25, 2023

Set in 10th century Norway, The Weaver and the Witch Queen centers on two friends bonded in childhood. One is a witch with a lust for power, the other just wants a quiet home life, but both of their lives are changed drastically after their village is raided by Vikings and they have to save one of their own.

The lives of two women—one desperate only to save her missing sister, the other a witch destined to become queen of Norway—intertwine in this spellbinding, powerful novel of Viking Age history and myth from the acclaimed author of The Witch’s Heart.

Oddny and Gunnhild meet as children in tenth century Norway, and they could not be more different: Oddny hopes for a quiet life, while Gunnhild burns for power and longs to escape her cruel mother. But after a visiting wisewoman makes an ominous prophecy that involves Oddny, her sister Signy, and Gunnhild, the three girls take a blood oath to help one another always.

When Oddny’s farm is destroyed and Signy is kidnapped by Viking raiders, Oddny is set adrift from the life she imagined—but she’s determined to save her sister no matter the cost, even as she finds herself irresistibly drawn to one of the raiders who participated in the attack. And in the far north, Gunnhild, who fled her home years ago to learn the ways of a witch, is surprised to find her destiny seems to be linked with that of the formidable King Eirik, heir apparent to the ruler of all Norway.

But the bonds—both enchanted and emotional—that hold the two women together are strong, and when they find their way back to each other, these bonds will be tested in ways they never could have foreseen in this deeply moving novel of magic, history, and sworn sisterhood.

Hardcover: 432 pages; Book Dimensions: 6.28 x 1.38 x 9.28 inches

Shakespeare Unleashed
Book 2: Unleashed
Hardcover, Paperback, and eBook
Anthology: Edited by James Aquilone
Monstrous Books
Release date: July 28, 2023

This second installment of the Unleashed anthology series, Shakespeare Unleashed, tackles the Bard himself, transforming his famous tales into horror stories by the likes of Ian Doescher, Jonathan Maberry, Joe R. Lansdale, and many more.

SHAKESPEARE IN BLOOD!

From the blood of Macbeth and the ghosts of Hamlet, to the dark fantasy of The Tempest and the twisted love of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare Unleashed reimagines the Bard’s greatest works as short horror stories…as well as horror sonnets.

With new stories by Joe R. Lansdale & Kasey Lansdale, Ian Doescher, Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Lee Murray, Steve Rasnic Tem, Gemma Files, Tim Waggoner, John Palisano, Lisa Morton, Gene Flynn, Hailey Piper, Philip Fracassi, Gwendolyn Kiste, and others.

Dark sonnets by Linda D. Addison, Alessandro Manzetti, Jessica McHugh, Sara Tantlinger, Stephanie M. Wytovich, and Lucy A. Snyder, among others.

And an introduction by Weston Ochse.

Hardcover: 382 pages; Book Dimensions: 6 x 0.88 x 9 inches

The Complete Persepolis
20th Anniversary Edition
Hardcover
By Marjane Satrapi (Author); Anjali Singh (Translator)
Publisher: Pantheon
Release date: August 1, 2023

Marjane Satrapi’s best-selling 2-volume graphic novel series Persepolis is coming this Summer in a 20th anniversary collected hardcover edition. The new edition contains a new introduction from the author, whose series tells the story of her youth during the Iran during the Islamic Revolution and life thereafter.

20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION • Persepolis is a classroom staple, a feminist manifesto, and one of the most beloved graphic novels of all time. For the first time in hardcover, this stunning edition contains a new introduction by the author that examines the Iranian political landscape in the context of global politics.

Here, in one volume: Marjane Satrapi’s best-selling, internationally acclaimed memoir-in-comic-strips. Persepolis is the story of Satrapi’s unforgettable childhood and coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming–both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland. It is the chronicle of a girlhood and adolescence at once outrageous and familiar, a young life entwined with the history of her country yet filled with the universal trials and joys of growing up.

Edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking but threaded throughout with raw humor and hard-earned wisdom–Persepolis is a stunning work from one of the most highly regarded, singularly talented graphic artists at work today.

Hardcover: 352 pages

Dragons of Fate
Dragonlance Destinies: Volume 2
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Publisher: Del Rey | Random House Worlds
Release date: August 1, 2023

Dragons of Fate, the second book in the new Dragonlance Destinies series, is coming this August from authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The book is a follow-up to last year’s Dragons of Deceit, and is the latest in the Dragonlance book series, which began in 1984 with one of my favorite fantasy novels of all time, Dragons of Autumn Twilight (also by Weis & Hickman).

A courageous heroine trapped in the distant past is determined to return to her own time—without changing the shape of the world forever—as the New York Times bestselling Dragonlance series continues in this thrilling sequel to Dragons of Deceit.

A clash of powerful magical forces sets off the Graygem of Gargath, sending Destina Rosethorn and her companions deeper into the past than she intended—to the age of Huma Dragonsbane and the Third Dragon War. Now, with the Device of Time Journeying shattered, they must find another way back to their own era before the Graygem irrevocably alters history and the Third Dragon War ends in defeat for the forces of good.

While the battle rages on, Destina tries desperately to make amends and prevent disaster. Raistlin and Sturm encounter their heroes Huma and Magius, and must reconcile the myths with the men. And Tasslehoff, shocked that the Knights of Solamnia have never heard of dragonlances, sets out to find the famed weapons.

But as the forces of the Dark Queen close in on the High Clerist’s Tower, Destina’s party must return to their own timeline together—or not at all.

Hardcover: 384 pages; Book Dimensions: 6.13 x 0.97 x 9.25 inches

Medusa’s Sisters
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Lauren J.A. Bear
Publisher: Ace
Paperback Release: August 8, 2023

Everyone is familiar with Medusa, the famed snake-haired gorgon of Greek myth who turned to stone all who glazed upon her. Now, in the upcoming Medusa’s Sisters, the debut novel from Lauren J.A. Bear, readers can get acquainted with the famous monster’s often overlooked sisters, Stheno and Euryale in this reimagining.

A vivid and moving reimagining of the myth of Medusa and the sisters who loved her.

The end of the story is only the beginning…

Even before they were transformed into Gorgons, Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale were unique among their immortal family. Curious about mortals and their lives, Medusa and her sisters entered the human world in search of a place to belong, yet quickly found themselves at the perilous center of a dangerous Olympian rivalry and learned—too late—that a god’s love is a violent one.

Forgotten by history and diminished by poets, the other two Gorgons have never been more than horrifying hags, damned and doomed. But they were sisters first, and their journey from lowly sea-born origins to the outskirts of the pantheon is a journey that rests, hidden, underneath their scales.

Monsters, but not monstrous, Stheno and Euryale will step into the light for the first time to tell the story of how all three sisters lived and were changed by each other, as they struggle against the inherent conflict between sisterhood and individuality, myth and truth, vengeance and peace.

Hardcover: 368 pages; Book Dimensions: 6 x 0.91 x 9 inches

The Witch and the Tsar
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
Publisher: Ace
Paperback Release: August 22, 2023

Another summer read featuring the Baba Yaga, this one is historical fiction: Olesya Salnikova Gilmore’s debut novel, The Witch and the Tsar, gets a new paperback release later this summer. The story centers on Baba Yaga of slavic folklore, here presented as a maligned witch who leaves the safety of her forest home to face a tyrant and save her country.

In this stunning debut novel, the maligned and immortal witch of legend known as Baba Yaga will risk all to save her country and her people from Tsar Ivan the Terrible—and the dangerous gods who seek to drive the twisted hearts of men.

As a half-goddess possessing magic, Yaga is used to living on her own, her prior entanglements with mortals having led to heartbreak. She mostly keeps to her hut in the woods, where those in need of healing seek her out, even as they spread rumors about her supposed cruelty and wicked spells. But when her old friend Anastasia—now the wife of the tsar, and suffering from a mysterious illness—arrives in her forest desperate for her protection, Yaga realizes the fate of all of Russia is tied to Anastasia’s. Yaga must step out of the shadows to protect the land she loves.

As she travels to Moscow, Yaga witnesses a sixteenth century Russia on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan—soon to become Ivan the Terrible—grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore weaves a rich tapestry of mythology and Russian history, reclaiming and reinventing the infamous Baba Yaga, and bringing to life a vibrant and tumultuous Russia, where old gods and new tyrants vie for power. This fierce and compelling novel draws from the timeless lore to create a heroine for the modern day, fighting to save her country and those she loves from oppression while also finding her true purpose as a goddess, a witch, and a woman.

Paperback: 432 pages; Book Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.88 x 8.25 inches

House of Odysseus
The Songs of Penelope Book 2
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Claire North
Publisher: Ace
Paperback Release: August 22, 2023

Sequel to last year’s Ithaca, which got a Paperback release this Spring, House of Odysseus continues the story of Queen Penelope, wife of Odysseus of ancient Greek myth.

On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence, Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace—a peace that is shattered by the return of Orestes, King of Mycenae, and his sister Elektra.

Orestes’ hands are stained with his mother’s blood. Not so long ago, the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra’s life on Ithaca’s sands. Now, wracked with guilt, he is slowly losing his mind. But a king cannot be seen to be weak, and Elektra has brought him to Ithaca to keep him safe from the ambitious men of Mycenae.

Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the furies circle him. His uncle Menelaus, the battle-hungry king of Sparta, longs for Orestes’ throne—and if he can seize it, no one will be safe from his violent whims.

Trapped between two mad kings, Penelope fights to keep her home from being crushed by a war that stretches from Mycenae and Sparta to the summit of Mount Olympus itself. Her only allies are Elektra, desperate to protect her brother, and Helen of Troy, Menelaus’ wife. And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite, who has plans of her own.

Each woman has a secret. And their secrets will shape the world.

READ BEFORE YOU WATCH

Here are some books that were/are being adapted to film and television, so take the opportunity to read the source material before you watch.

Daisy Jones & The Six
Hardcover | Paperback | TV Tie-In Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher: Random House
TV Tie-In Paperback Release: February 7, 2023

Clearly heavily inspired by Fleetwood Mac and other 1970’s rock groups, Daisy Jones & The Six is an account of the rise and fall of the fictional title band led by the charismatic singer Daisy. Lots of drama, drugs, and rock and roll follow. A very quick read, and fun source material for the streaming miniseries adaptation on Amazon Prime Video starring Riley Keough as the wild child Daisy.

A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup—from the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Malibu Rising, and Carrie Soto Is Back

REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • NOW AN ORIGINAL STREAMING SERIES EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY REESE WITHERSPOON

Everyone knows DAISY JONES & THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.

The Pale Blue Eye
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Louis Bayard
Publisher: HarperCollins
Paperback Release (Reprint): December 2022

A recent adaptation on Netflix starring Christian Bale, The Pale Blue Eye features Edgar Allan Poe as one of the main characters of this 1830 detective story.

An ingenious tale of murder and revenge at West Point, featuring a retired detective and a young cadet named Edgar Allan Poe—from the author of Courting Mr. Lincoln.

At West Point Academy in 1830, the calm of an October evening is shattered by the discovery of a young cadet’s body swinging from a rope. The next morning, an even greater horror comes to light. Someone has removed the dead man’s heart.

Augustus Landor—who acquired some renown in his years as a New York City police detective—is called in to discreetly investigate. It’s a baffling case Landor must pursue in secret, for the scandal could do irreparable damage to the fledgling institution. But he finds help from an unexpected ally—a moody, young cadet with a penchant for drink, two volumes of poetry to his name, and a murky past that changes from telling to telling.

The strange and haunted Southern poet, for whom Landor develops a fatherly affection, is named Edgar Allan Poe.

QUICK PICKS

The Cabin at the End of the World
Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Paul Tremblay
Publisher: William Morrow
Film adaptation: February 3, 2023

The Witching Hour
Lives of Mayfair Witches Book 1
Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Anne Rice
Publisher: Ballantine Books
AMC TV adaptation: January 8, 2023 (Mayfair Witches)

Night Shift
“The Boogeyman” short story
Hardcover | Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Stephen King
Publisher: Anchor Books
Film adaptation: June 2, 2023 (The Boogeyman)

Flamin’ Hot
The Incredible True Story of One Man’s Rise from Janitor to Top Executive
Hardcover | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Richard Montanez
Publisher: Portfolio
Film adaptation: June 9, 2023 (Flamin’ Hot)

American Prometheus
The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook
By Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin
Publisher: Vintage Books
Film adaptation: July 21, 2023 (Oppenheimer screenplay by Christopher Nolan based on this book)

CLASSIC LIT SUGGESTIONS

Summer is a wonderful time to delve back into the Classics and Modern Classics or perhaps discover one you may have missed.

Dracula
Paperback | Illustrated Hardcover (Edward Gorey) | Kindle Edition | Audiobook (cast production)
By Bram Stoker

Bram’s Stoker’s Dracula was a Classic Lit pick in last year’s list thanks to its 125 anniversary. But this year, it reappears thanks to the following 2023 screen adaptations:

– Renfield – released on Netflix on April 14, 2023, a horror-comedy sequel of sorts starring Nicolas Cage as the infamous Dracula, but it’s from the viewpoint of his henchmen Renfield in a modern-day setting.

– The Last Voyage of Demeter, August 11, 2023, a film based on the “The Captain’s Log” chapter of Stoker’s novel featuring the doomed crew of the Demeter, who are unknowingly transporting the Count from Romania to England.

QUICK PICKS: Banned Books

Here are some quick picks for classic lit books that frequently end up on lists of Banned Books and Challenged Books, so take the opportunity to read these this summer (while you still can!).

– Beloved by Toni Morrison
Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook

– Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
Paperback | Kindle Edition | Audiobook

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