What to read next: the newest Rainbow Rowell, the book behind the hit TV show ‘Presumed Innocent,’ and more
As we reach August, the Amazon Editors have some book suggestions to get you through the hottest month of the year, including the newest Rainbow Rowell novel (eek!); Presumed Innocent, which has become a hit Apple TV series; and an enlightening nonfiction read about why we dream, among others. For more book recommendations, check out our Best Books of the Month.
This gorgeous cover makes me think of summer, regardless of the time of year. One of our Best Books of 2023, The Berry Pickers is about an indigenous family whose child goes missing, and what happens in the decades that follow as each member processes grief, hope, and a desire for answers. In tandem is another storyline of a woman discovering secrets in her family history, her search for truth, and how it all shapes her identity. The layered, engaging narratives of this incredible debut novel, that is both mystery and family drama, make The Berry Pickers a terrific read to round out your summer. —Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
Out this week, there’s no better way to enjoy the beginning of the end of summer than with the latest novel from Rainbow Rowell. There’s just so much to love about her writing—the uncanny way she captures the ache of first love, her authentic characters you recognize and relate to. I am so excited that she’s back with Slow Dance, a nostalgic, tender, and beautifully told story about high school best friends Shiloh and Cary. While it’s obvious to everyone else that they’re in love, they can’t see beyond their unbreakable friendship. But after a fateful weekend in college, their friendship does in fact break, and they don’t speak again. Fourteen years later, they’re reunited at a friend’s wedding. This book offers wisdom (and humor) about how our lives rarely become what we imagined, and the hope we carry for a second chance, if we can only believe that we deserve it. This book is indeed a slow dance, and I did not want it to end. —Abby Abell, Amazon Editor
If you're looking for something that feels familiar and yet completely new, start off your August with this delightful fantasy novel. From the whimsical air, to the classic feel, all the way to the castle-smashing dragons, this book will keep you enthralled from start to finish. Peter S. Beagle delivers another masterwork in a fantasy that borders on satirical, filled with lovable characters who each have to find their place in a kingdom where dragons rule—whether they’re as small as mice or as large as mountains. I can’t recommend it enough. —Ben Grange, Amazon Editor
This morning, my son and I were discussing some of his vivid recent dreams, and the conversation made me think of this fascinating Best of the Year So Far Science book. “You are never more alive than when you’re dreaming,” writes neuroscientist Rahul Jandial (who has been called a “real-life Dr. McDreamy”) in his page-turning look at the magical way the brain functions every night. Intriguing insights abound: dreams’ evolutionary purpose, how dreams can serve as a gauge of psychological wellbeing (including, surprisingly, visions of divorce, drugs, and cheating), and why everyone dreams about school, even decades after graduating. Understanding our dreams (and nightmares) opens a window to our deepest thoughts and desires, and Jandial explains just how easy it is to better remember, and even shape, what we see as we snooze. From your wildest dreams to end-of-life dreams, don’t sleep on this revelatory read about your slumbering brain’s power. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
With Kamala Harris now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, stories about her love of food and cooking are resurfacing, which made me remember this fascinating read. In the US, many have participated in the great American pastime of awkward conversations around the Thanksgiving table. Arguably as much a sport as flag football, this occasions people of different faiths, political bents, and philosophies, to break bread together, but not break each other. After bonding over the superiority of canned cranberry sauce compared to homemade (the suction that emits as it exits the can is the sound of Thanksgiving!), you really don’t care to. A feeling of conviviality overtakes, and you find that you actually have a few things in common with the person you enthusiastically trolled on social media only a day before—things you can build on. Dinner with the President is a gripping gastronomic history that explores this non-trivial phenomenon on a grander scale, revealing the ways in which savvy POTUS have harnessed the political power of culinary communion. Dig in. —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor
I'm about to start episode four of the Apple TV+ series, Presumed Innocent, adapted from the Scott Turow novel of the same name, and I'm enjoying it so far. One thing: there's a moroseness to Jake Gyllenhaal's features that runs counter to the image I have of Rusty Sabich as an all-American alpha male, something that makes his downfall all the more dramatic. Maybe I'm conflating the character in the novel with the way Harrison Ford played him in the movie adaptation. And not to name drop, but I had lunch with author Laura Dave last week and she tipped us off to some of the major differences between the book and Apple adaptation. All of which to say: this novel, a nail-bitingly suspenseful trip through the darkest corners of the human heart—not to mention the justice system—is now top of my list to re-read, and if you haven't already, I highly recommend you check it out, too. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
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