This Month in Adult Books: July 2023

Reading recommendations for adults
July 11, 2023
Featured Title
The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye
In this modern day reimagining of Shakespeare a couple meets for the first time in a small Alaskan town, except it isn’t the first time, as Sebastien knows all too well. He is Romeo and Helena his Juliet and they are fated to meet and fall in love with over and over through time. And each and every time their relationship is doomed. But this time they are determined to change the ending of the most tragic love story in history. A perfect choice for fans of romance, literary retellings, or authors like Curtis Sittenfeld.




What's New This Month
July is prime summer reading time, featuring some great beach reads such as California Golden by Melanie Benjamin, a novel about a female surfer and her daughters in 1960’s Malibu. If you would prefer something with a little more action, Chameleon by Remi Adeleke is an action thriller written by a former Navy SEAL that is perfect for fans of Jack Carr or Mark Greaney.
 
Even the nonfiction books are perfect for the beach, like The Underworld: Journeys to the Depths of the Ocean by Susan Casey. It’s a fascinating journey into the history and technology of deep-sea exploration along with the incredible geology of the ocean floor made all the more relevant by current events.  
What's Hot This Month
 If you enjoyed Yellowface by RF Kuang check out these similar picks.  
What We're Reading
Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar
"When I told people I was reading a book on parking, they had questions and most voiced an opinion that it must be quite dull. That is the farthest thing from the truth. This book was actually incredibly interesting. If you are interested, even casually, in city planning or in the housing crisis, this book is a must. Read it and find out how parking is actually the main factor in the decline of downtowns, suburban sprawl, development costs and rental and real estate prices. The US, says Grabar is underhoused and overparked. Learn about how it has been weaponized by a variety of forces to prevent whatever it is they are opposed to, from environmentalists to wealthy residents. Learn about the war over parking fees, why violence can happen over parking spaces, and so on and so on. Don’t be fooled by the naysayers, as the subtitle says, parking really does explain the world. Even if you’re not interested in city planning or housing, you will be by the time you finish this book. A great choice for nonfiction readers, those interested in social issues and those who enjoy books about the importance of seemingly irrelevant things."
 
For more lists of recommended reads from the book world and beyond: