This Month in Adult Books: July 2024

Reading recommendations for adults
July 11, 2024
What We're Reading
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
"This is astonishing, horrifying, compelling, and immensely interesting. I could probably add a few more adjectives if I wanted. Simply put, it is incredible. I was blown away by Higginbotham’s previous book, Midnight in Chernobyl, but this one is even better. It takes the reader into NASA and Morton Thiokol starting with the Apollo capsule fire in 1967, charting a path of external forces and internal decisions that led directly to the tragedy in January 1986. It was never an accident. It wasn’t even human error. It was hubris that steered the organizational culture straight into magical thinking and the inevitable, almost criminal, negligence which resulted in the loss of the crew. Readers get to know the people who made the decisions or fought against them, as well as the astronauts who lost their lives and their families, something which puts a human face on this heartbreaking tragedy. There’s a lot of detail here, and reading about the day of the explosion with its cascade of ignored warnings is agonizing, but this is masterful storytelling you do not want to miss. Readers who enjoy history, science books, adventure novels, disaster epics, true crime or any sort of narrative nonfiction, should most definitely check it out."

What's Hot This Month
Some great reading suggestions inspired by the Paris Olympics.


Featured Title
The Singer Sisters by Sarah Seltzer
Music, family and secrets are at the heart of this debut novel which takes the reader from the folk music scene of the 1960s to the 1990’s alt rock era and into a family with connections to both eras. Daughter Emma is on tour in 1996 looking to score a record deal. She draws her inspiration from her mother Judie, a folk music legend, who mysteriously withdrew from the public eye years ago. When long held secrets are revealed, the family drama provides further inspiration for Emma’s songwriting, but at what cost? This is a great choice for popular fiction readers and fans of such books as Daisy Jones and the Six or The Final Revival of Opal and Nev.



New and Upcoming Titles
There is an incredible wealth of debut novels coming this August, such as They Dream in Gold by Mai Sennaar, a novel spanning two decades starting when two people meet in a New York City Jazz club in 1968. Off the Books by Soma Mei Sheng Frazier is a debut from a Bay Area author which offers an American road trip novel with a twist.
 
It also offers some exciting returns like The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey, a new space opera from the author of The Expanse series, and I Need You To Read This by Jessa Maxwell, the author of The Golden Spoon, about a woman who takes on an advice column after the previous columnist gets murdered. Soon threatening letters and the revelation of dark secrets threaten all she holds dear.  
For More Reading Suggestions:
  • 33 New Novels for Summer from The New York Times
  • The July List from LibraryReads
  • Staff Nonfiction 2024 Favorites from NPR
  • Staff Fiction 2024 Favorites from NPR
  • The Ultimate Summer 2024 Reading List from LitHub