It’s already been a tough year. But spring means rebirth and renewal — and also an opportunity to enjoy a good read on a park bench, in your backyard, or just about anywhere else. No matter how you’re feeling, there’s bound to be a book to lift your spirits, make you think, or just give you a much-needed laugh.
Whether you’re looking for funny essays by one of America’s most popular comedians, a thoughtful look at the career of a hip-hop legend, a biography of one of the nation’s foremost authors, or an appreciation of the birds that remind us what it means to be mindful and grounded, we’ve got you covered with 34 books coming in the next three months that will be well worth your time.
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“Big Chief”
Author: Jon Hickey
What It’s About: Debut San Francisco author Hickey’s novel follows a young Anishinaabe lawyer who runs a casino with his friend, the tribal president. Their grip on power is threatened by an activist who has been making national waves. Hickey is already drawing comparisons to Tommy Orange and Louise Erdrich.
Publication Date: April 8
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“My Documents”
Author: Kevin Nguyen
What It’s About: The latest from The Verge journalist and novelist Nguyen (“New Waves”) follows four Vietnamese American cousins whose lives are thrown into disarray after the U.S. government imprisons people of their heritage following a series of terrorist attacks. Two cousins are sent to prison camps, while two remain free.
Publication Date: April 8
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“Vanishing World”
Author: Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
What It’s About: From the Japanese author whose darkly funny “Convenience Store Woman” and disturbing “Earthlings” were both hits stateside, this one follows a woman who was conceived naturally by her parents — in a version of Japan in which artificial insemination is the norm, and sex is taboo.
Publication Date: April 15
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“One Death at a Time”
Author: Abbi Waxman
What It’s About: In the latest novel from Waxman (“The Bookish Life of Nina Hill”), a former actress with a drinking problem, smart mouth and bad temper is falsely accused of murder, and teams up with her zoomer sobriety coach to clear her name.
Publication Date: April 15
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“Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools”
Author: Mary Annette Pember
What It’s About: Ojibwe reporter Pember’s debut book is a history of so-called “boarding schools” in the U.S. from the mid-19th century to the 1930s, in which Native children endured unspeakable brutality. One of the children sent to a school was Pember’s mother, whose trauma she writes about in the book.
Publication Date: April 22
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“Zeal”
Author: Morgan Jerkins
What It’s About: The latest from acclaimed author Jerkins (“This Will Be My Undoing”) is a sweeping epic about multiple generations of descendants of Harrison and Tirzah, two star-crossed lovers who led separate lives in the days after the Civil War.
Publication Date: April 22
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“The Golden Hour: A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood”
Author: Matthew Specktor
What It’s About: L.A. author Specktor (“Always Crashing in the Same Car”) returns with a cross-genre book about the film industry, informed by his experiences growing up with his parents, CAA agent Fred Specktor and screenwriter Katherine McGaffey Howe.
Publication Date: April 22
SEE ALSO: Sign up to see Matthew Specktor and Meghan Daum appear on SCNG’s Bookish on April 18
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“Better: A Memoir About Wanting to Die”
Author: Arianna Rebolini
What It’s About: In her new memoir, novelist Rebolini (“Public Relations,” written with Katie Heaney) tells the story of her long battle with suicidal depression, which at one point led her to write goodbye letters to her husband and son, and considers how we might help people who want to take their own lives.
Publication Date: April 29
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“The Sea Gives Up the Dead: Stories”
Author: Molly Olguín
What It’s About: From beloved Pasadena indie publisher Red Hen Press, a short story collection that blends fairy tales, fantasy, and horror. The book won the prestigious Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction.
Publication Date: April 29
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“Turning to Birds”
Author: Lili Taylor
What It’s About: Taylor, familiar to moviegoers for her roles in films including “Say Anything” and “I Shot Andy Warhol,” took a break from acting and found herself fascinated by the birds that surrounded her. This essay collection urges readers to practice mindfulness and pay attention to the world that surrounds us — including our friends in the sky,
Publication Date: April 29
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“Everyday Intuition: What Psychology, Science, and Psychics Can Teach Us About Finding and Trusting Our Inner Voice”
Author: Elizabeth Greenwood
What It’s About: What exactly is intuition? That’s the question Greenwood tackles in her latest book, which takes a deep dive into the mysterious ability. Greenwood uses data to explain how intuition isn’t the same thing as anxiety or wishful thinking and examines the role it plays in our everyday lives.
Publication Date: May 6
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“My Name Is Emilia del Valle”
Author: Isabel Allende, translated by Frances Riddle
What It’s About: California-based Chilean American author has been a literary superstar ever since the publication of her 1982 debut novel “The House of Spirits.” Her latest follows the title character, a 19th-century journalist in San Francisco who covers the Chilean Civil War of 1891 and reconnects with her estranged father.
Publication Date: May 6
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“Words for My Comrades: A Political History of Tupac Shakur”
Author: Dean Van Nguyen
What It’s About: It’s been nearly 30 years since rap legend Shakur was shot and killed in Nevada, leaving a lasting sense of loss in the hip-hop world. Music writer Nguyen explores Shakur’s cultural impact in this book about the political influences on his music.
Publication Date: May 6
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“The Director”
Author: Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Ross Benjamin
What It’s About: The latest from the acclaimed German author (“You Should Have Left”) is a historical novel about G.W. Pabst, the Austrian filmmaker who returned to his home country from Hollywood during World War II and was ordered by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to make movies for the Nazi regime.
Publication Date: May 6
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“Poetry Is Not a Luxury: Poems for All Seasons”
Author: Anonymous
What It’s About: The title of this poetry anthology comes from the late, legendary poet Audre Lorde — it’s also the name of the Instagram account with more than 840,000 followers that inspired the book. It contains poems from some of today’s best working poets, including Ross Gay, Rita Dove, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Victoria Chang.
Publication Date: May 6
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“Big Dumb Eyes: Stories From a Simpler Mind”
Author: Nate Bargatze
What It’s About: “Reading, I believe, is the key to smart,” joked stand-up comedian Bargatze in his first “Saturday Night Live” monologue. His debut book is a humorous (of course) essay collection in which he writes about his life as a “non-genius.”
Publication Date: May 6
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“Sympathy for Wild Girls: Stories”
Author: Demree McGhee
What It’s About: The debut book from San Diego author McGhee, published by the award-winning Feminist Press, collects short stories that explore the lives of queer Black women as they search for intimacy and places to belong.
Publication Date: May 6
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“The Dark Maestro”
Author: Brendan Slocumb
What It’s About: Musician and teacher Brendan Slocumb has made a career out of writing classical music-themed thrillers (“Symphony of Secrets,” “The Violin Conspiracy”). His latest novel follows a cello prodigy who has to enter witness protection with his family after his father turns state’s evidence against a group of criminals.
Publication Date: May 13
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“Bochica”
Author: Carolina Flórez-Cerchiaro
What It’s About: The debut book from Colombian author Flórez-Cerchiaro is a Gothic horror novel that follows Antonia, a woman who returns to the possibly haunted mansion where she and her cursed family used to live after it is converted into a luxury hotel.
Publication Date: May 13
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“The Emperor of Gladness”
Author: Ocean Vuong
What It’s About: Poet Vuong stunned readers with his bestselling 2019 debut novel, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.” His latest work of fiction follows Hai, a 19-year-old who plans to take his own life, but meets an elderly widow with dementia who talks him out of it; he becomes her caretaker and friend.
Publication Date: May 13
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“Mark Twain”
Author: Ron Chernow
What It’s About: Acclaimed biographer Chernow, whose book “Alexander Hamilton” was the inspiration for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s blockbuster musical, returns with an account of the life of one of America’s most important authors.
Publication Date: May 13
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“It All Felt Impossible: 42 Years in 42 Essays”
Author: Tom McAllister
What It’s About: McAllister, who earned rave reviews for his novel “How to Be Safe,” gave himself a literary challenge: Write an essay for every year of his life, each one no more than 1,500 words. This book collects these touching and funny essays, with topics as varied as learning to ride a bike as an adult and working long hours at a cheesesteak shop.
Publication Date: May 14
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“Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson”
Author: Tourmaline
What It’s About: Artist and filmmaker Tourmaline tells the life story of Johnson, the pioneering performance artist and transgender activist who famously threw the first brick in the Stonewall uprising, a watershed moment for the LGBTQ+ in the U.S.
Publication Date: May 20
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“Things in Nature Merely Grow”
Author: Yiyun Li
What It’s About: Li, author of novels including “The Vagrants” and “The Book of Goose,” is one of the country’s most deservedly acclaimed writers. Her latest book is a memoir that reckons with the unthinkable: the loss of both of her teenage sons to suicide.
Publication Date: May 20
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“Frontier: A Memoir and a Ghost Story”
Author: Erica Stern
What It’s About: In this hybrid-genre book from indie press Barrelhouse, author Stern writes about her own experiences with complications during labor, and intersperses her story with a fictional tale of a woman who died during childbirth in the Wild West.
Publication Date: June 3
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“Charlottesville: An American Story”
Author: Deborah Baker
What It’s About: Baker, who was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her biography of poet Laura Riding, tells the story of the deadly violence that unfolded in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August of 2017, when racist and neo-Nazi groups held a rally in the college town.
Publication Date: June 3
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“Flashlight”
Author: Susan Choi
What It’s About: One of the most anticipated books of the season, Choi’s follow-up to her National Book Award-winning “Trust Exercise” follows the aftermath of the disappearance of a Korean-Japanese man who was walking on a beach with his 10-year-old daughter.
Publication Date: June 3
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“Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told”
Author: Jeremy Atherton Lin
What It’s About: UCLA-educated Atherton Lin won the National Book Critics Circle Award for his previous book, “Gay Bar”; his latest is a memoir that chronicles his relationship with a British man that began in 1996, as the U.S. Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act.
Publication Date: June 3
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“Midnight at the Cinema Palace”
Author: Christopher Tradowsky
What It’s About: The debut novel from the Minnesota-based writer and artist follows a group of three queer friends in 1990s San Francisco as they explore the city during the height of the AIDS epidemic and before the dawn of the Internet.
Publication Date: June 10
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“Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers”
Author: Caroline Fraser
What It’s About: Fraser won critical acclaim — and the Pulitzer Prize — for “Prairie Fires,” her biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Her latest book tells the story of murderers including Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway, and Richard Ramirez, and argues that environmental destruction might be to blame for the way they turned out.
Publication Date: June 10
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“This Is Not a Ghost Story”
Author: Amerie
What It’s About: The first novel for adults from the singer-songwriter (“1 Thing”) is a satire about a Black man who dies and finds himself resurrected as a ghost — the first verifiable one in human history — in Los Angeles.
Publication Date: June 10
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“The Girls Who Grew Big”
Author: Leila Mottley
What It’s About: Oakland author Mottley shocked the literary world with her 2022 novel “Nightcrawling,” which she published at the age of 19, and made her the youngest author to ever be longlisted for the Booker Prize. Her latest follows a group of teenage mothers living in the Florida panhandle.
Publication Date: June 24
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“Fresh, Green Life”
Author: Sebastian Castillo
What It’s About: Castillo (“Salmon”) is one of the most original authors working today; his darkly funny latest novel follows a writer — also named Sebastian Castillo — who breaks his self-imposed yearlong exile to attend a New Year’s Eve party, where he hopes to connect with his former love interest.
Publication Date: June 24
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“Television for Women”
Author: Danit Brown
What It’s About: Brown brings more than a touch of dark humor to this novel that follows Estie, a woman who gives birth and finds that motherhood is not the fulfilling experience she hoped it would be. The book is drawing comparisons to Rachel Yoder’s “Nightbitch.”
Publication Date: June 24