What to read next: a book you can see on TV, a vacation rom-com, a tale for dog lovers
Labor Day is just around the corner, which means you probably need a book to luxuriate in for a long weekend. The Amazon Editors have a few suggestions! We’ve also got reviews for books adapted to screen (streaming and theaters), books you can read with your kids (especially if they love robots or dogs), and so much more.
TV shows adapted from novels can be a big win: you either discover a great read or you’re reminded of one. Bad Monkey just dropped on Apple TV+ and it’s a clever, uproarious walk down memory lane for me. I had forgotten just how funny the Carl Hiaasen novel was, but if there’s anyone better able to bring Andrew Yancy—former detective dinged down to food inspector, snarchitect of most of the disasters that befall him—to life than actor Vince Vaughn, I can’t think of them. Taking jabs at everything from McMansions to greedy widows, if you can stand being reduced to manic guffaws in public, this is the perfect late summer beach read. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
A few things to know about the new bisexual romantic comedy from the author of Red, White & Royal Blue: your wanderlust will be so triggered that you will immediately book a vacation, you will probably gain at least five pounds while reading, and you will have no regrets. This is the perfect book to indulge in during our last few weeks of summer. This story follows Theo and Kit, estranged exes accidentally brought back together on a romantic food and wine tour of Europe years after their breakup. They’ve both been following their dreams and grown more confident, and of course, they’re completely over each other. To prove it, they challenge each other to a hookup competition. What could go wrong? But as Theo and Kit travel from one incredible locale to another, tasting incredible food and wine, they begin to realize that what they truly crave might be what’s been missing all these years. Sumptuous, funny, and sexy, this is a book to savor. —Abby Abell, Amazon Editor
With The Wild Robot premiering in theaters on September 27, now is the ideal time to dive into this beloved three-book series for middle-grade readers. The Caldecott Honor-winning book and best-seller tells the story of a robot who has to adapt to survive in the wilderness. The narrative is bittersweet, but Roz, the robot, does thrive and create an unexpected animal family. Peter Brown (who also illustrated Creepy Carrots) has spoken about his inspiration for Roz: “I loved imagining scenes of nature living in surprising places. And that got me thinking about scenes of unnatural things living in surprising places,” he said on his website. “I wanted to tell the story of a robot who finds harmony in the last place you’d expect. I wanted to tell a robot nature story.” It’s one of my 10-year-old son’s favorite series of all time—and of countless other readers aged 7 to 10 and beyond. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
When I listened to this audiobook, I got so caught up in it that I ended up weeding the entire front yard because I didn’t want to turn it off. Griffin Dunne eloquently captures the experience of growing up in a family with complicated dynamics and famous faces. His aunt is the acclaimed writer Joan Didion, his best friend was Carrie Fisher, his parents were part of the lively Hollywood inner circle hosting parties with the likes of Tennessee Williams and Sean Connery. There is tragedy, comedy, and a whirlwind who’s who of Hollywood and the literary elite that has surrounded Dunne all his life. And he lays it all before us, like the incredible storyteller he is—the highs, lows, and everything in between. — Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor
The first week of school is just around the corner, and if you’re looking for a book to get your kids primed for their English literature homework, Love That Dog by Newbery-winner Sharon Creech is perfect. I will freely admit that I am a crier, and this story about a boy’s love for his dog has tugged at my heart for years. I go back to it frequently, and each time, I’m never prepared for how it makes me feel. Told in verse, the author cleverly incorporates many of the most famous poems that young children study in school through the voice of a young boy processing the trauma of the death of his dog. If you’re a dog person, you know how real that trauma is. And if you have kids who are also dog people, there are few books that will so clearly prepare them to face that inevitability. —Ben Grange, Amazon Editor
Out this week: one of our Best Books of the August. Fans of Anthony Doerr, Geraldine Brooks, and Abraham Verghese will fall head over heels for Elif Shafak’s extraordinary new novel, which spans centuries and continents. Following three main characters from the 1800s to present day, Shafak weaves a story rooted in the lives of Arthur “King of the Sewers and Slums,” Narin, and Zaleekah, all of which coincidentally center around ancient Mesopotamia and the rivers (and rulers) that made this mythical land what it was. There Are Rivers in the Sky has everything you could want in an epic: curious connections between characters, despite the centuries in between; the hook of hope you harbor for each, who seek to understand their identities (race, class, and origins, while struggling within their circumstance, and navigating ambition, love, or loss). As with big historical fiction, you’ll learn along the way, parsing together the clues that make the past come rushing into the present. Like the Tigris that binds these characters together, this is big, powerful, and memory-making: a favorite of the year. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
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