Summer books
Save some space in your beach bag for these 10 reads
1 I CAN’T MAKE THIS UP: LIFE LESSONS
by Kevin Hart 37 INK/Atria, non-fiction, on sale June 6 WHAT IT’S
In this ABOUT: memoir, the funnyman recounts his rise to the top from hardscrabble beginnings, making jokes along the way.
Hart has conWHY IT’S HOT: quered stand-up and movies (his hits include Think Like a Man and The Secret Life of Pets), so why not publishing?
2 MAGPIE MURDERS
by Anthony Horowitz Harper, fiction, on sale June 6
In a modern WHAT IT’S ABOUT: twist on the English manor house mystery, a London book editor investigates the suspicious death of one of her best-selling crime authors. WHY IT’S HOT: This Agatha Christie-inspired homage arrives a few months before a new, star-studded film adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express pulls into theaters this fall.
3 THE IDENTICALS by Elin Hilderbrand Little, Brown, fiction, on sale June 13
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Estranged adult twin sisters, raised separately after their parents’ divorce, must decide whether to reconcile when their father dies.
WHY IT’S HOT: Take the summer setting ( The Identicals hops between Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard) and the plot device of feuding sisters, and you’ve got the recipe for another Hilderbrand beach hit.
4 KISS CARLO by Adriana Trigiani Harper, fiction, on sale June 20 WHAT IT’S
ABOUT: In 1949 South Philly, an engaged World War II vet (now a cab driver) finds himself suddenly smitten with the Bard and Calla Borelli, who runs the local Shakespeare troupe.
WHY IT’S HOT: “A delightfully sprawling comedy full of extended families,” says Kirkus Reviews.
5 BUT SERIOUSLY by John McEnroe Little, Brown, non-fiction, on sale June 27 WHAT IT’S ABOUT: The brash tennis star (now mellowed a bit) is ready to volley again in this sequel to his best-selling 2002 memoir You Cannot Be Serious.
WHY IT’S HOT: In his second career, McEnroe has proved to be a champion tennis analyst, and his new book goes on sale just before he’ll call Wimbledon for ESPN and the BBC.
6 WOOLLY: THE TRUE STORY OF THE QUEST TO REVIVE ONE OF HISTORY’S MOST ICONIC EXTINCT CREATURES by Ben Mezrich Atria, non-fiction, on sale July 4
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Real-life thriller follows as Harvard geneticist George Church and his team attempt to “resurrect” the extinct Woolly Mammoth. WHY IT’S HOT: Mezrich has a flair for the cinematic: His The Accidental Billionaires became the movie The Social
Network, and Fox has snapped up film rights for Woolly.
7 THE LATE SHOW by Michael Connelly Little, Brown, fiction, on sale July 18 WHAT IT’S
ABOUT: Young LAPD Detective Renée Ballard — a new Connelly character — is banished to the night shift after filing a harassment complaint against a supervisor, but that doesn’t stop her from pursuing two cases involving female victims during the day.
WHY IT’S HOT: Connelly’s Harry Bosch novels are the inspiration for the Amazon series Bosch, and his The Wrong Side of Goodbye hit No. 1 on USA TODAY’s list.
8 SOUR HEART: STORIES by Jenny Zhang Lenny, fiction, on sale Aug. 1 WHAT IT’S
ABOUT: This debut collection of short stories about young women in New York City has a definite Brooklyn hipster vibe.
WHY IT’S HOT: Sour Heart is the first book from Random House’s Lenny imprint, run by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner of Girls fame.
9 MRS. FLETCHER by Tom Perrotta Scribner, fiction, on sale Aug. 1
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: A placid divorcée becomes obsessed with an X-rated website, while her jock son struggles with the gender wars waging at his college. WHY IT’S HOT: Perrotta’s often-satirical suburban tales include Election, Little Children and The Leftovers, the basis for the HBO series.
10 Y IS FOR YESTERDAY by Sue Grafton Marian Wood Books/Putnam, fiction, on sale Aug. 22
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: P.I. Kinsey Millhone is drawn into a disturbing case involving murder and a sexual assault at an elite private school.
WHY IT’S HOT: Grafton fans are counting down the days, and the alphabet, as her beloved series nears “Z.”