Childhood, mystery, and friendship: Our 10 favorite July reads
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Incisive stories – both fiction and not – about resilience, discovery, camaraderie, and forgiveness top our list of the 10 best books of July. Throughout this list, readers can find protagonists that grapple with life’s most powerful questions surrounding loss, healing, and the past.
Among our nonfiction picks, Colin Dickey paints a vivid picture of American politics with “Under the Eye of Power,” arguing that conspiracy theories are not new, fringe ideas, but have always driven the country’s politics during times of anxiety and transition. In “No Ordinary Assignment,” Jane Ferguson chronicles her childhood in Northern Ireland and a passion for journalism that takes her to war zones in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan.
Why We Wrote This
Our picks for July include books that travel to war-torn countries, grapple with the power of defying expectations, and explore the meaning of healing and forgiveness.
In fiction, Mark Billingham’s “The Last Dance” is a series starter chock-full of deadpan humor, compelling characters, exciting mystery, and poignant discussions of loss and love. With “One Summer in Savannah,” Terah Shelton Harris builds a stunning novel that deftly explores forgiveness and redemption through a story of homecoming and sexual assault.
Moving and smart, these works ask difficult questions and deliver persuasive insights.
1. Small Worlds
by Caleb Azumah Nelson
How does one claim one’s individuality in the midst of others’ expectations? Caleb Azumah Nelson’s novel focuses on Stephen, a London-born teen of Ghanaian immigrant parents, who walks away from a university education to pursue his love of music. Written in exquisite prose infused with lyricism, the book examines the unexpected repercussions of life decisions and explores such themes as faith, friendship, and authenticity.
2. Excavations
by Kate Myers
Why We Wrote This
Our picks for July include books that travel to war-torn countries, grapple with the power of defying expectations, and explore the meaning of healing and forgiveness.
In Kate Myers’ funny, flinty debut, four women converge at a Greek archaeological dig led by a preening professor. As the crew toils, they unearth the truth about the site – and their unscrupulous leader. Pocked with absorbing details, the novel applauds intellectual honesty and the thrill of discovery.
3. One Summer in Savannah
by Terah Shelton Harris
Terah Shelton Harris’ novel is an astonishing work of art about forgiving the unforgivable and finding redemption. When Sara returns to her hometown with her daughter, the product of a rape eight years earlier, she befriends her assailant’s twin brother, introducing him to his gifted niece. Together, they find a path toward healing and peace.
4. Promise
by Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ luminescent novel centers on the Kindreds, one of two Black families living in Salt Point, Maine, in 1957. Haunted by past injustices, and facing increasing threats to their safety, 13-year-old Cinthy, her sister Ezra, and their resolute parents rely on the sustaining love of family – present and past. It’s a devastating story of remarkable resilience.
5. After the Funeral and Other Stories
by Tessa Hadley
These extraordinarily well-crafted short stories reveal the profound interior lives of the characters. Tessa Hadley’s gift for immersing readers into fully drawn surroundings is captivating.
6. The Last Dance
by Mark Billingham
Deputy Sgt. Declan Miller – a recent widower, ballroom dancer, and devoted smart aleck – has a full plate. He’s investigating a double murder with new colleague Sara Xiu while quietly probing his wife’s unsolved homicide. Mark Billingham brings deadpan prose to the propulsive story, which champions partnership in its myriad forms.
7. Owner of a Lonely Heart
by Beth Nguyen
Beth Nguyen’s poignant memoir begins with her childhood in Michigan, where most of her family resettled after fleeing Vietnam just before the fall of Saigon. Her mother was left behind, and in spare prose, Nguyen grapples with her absence and its impact on her own identity as a mother.
8. Under the Eye of Power
by Colin Dickey
This provocative nonfiction book insists that conspiracy theories are not fringe to American society but have been a central feature of U.S. democracy. From the Salem witch trials to QAnon, Colin Dickey argues that irrational paranoia reflects anxiety at key moments of political and cultural transition.
9. No Ordinary Assignment
by Jane Ferguson
War correspondent Jane Ferguson’s courage and grit come through in this memoir, as she charts her lonely childhood in Northern Ireland and her determination to pursue journalism. The descriptions of her wartime reporting provide a dramatic view of conflicts in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan.
10. The Red Hotel
by Alan Philps
Shortly after the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, a small group of Anglo-American reporters traveled to Moscow to cover the conflict. Assigned to live and work in the legendary Metropol Hotel, they found their movements curtailed and their efforts thwarted by Soviet officials. A fascinating, insightful, and disturbing portrait of Western reporters working in a police state and how the experience changed their lives.
