121. Sensational summer book releases paired with satisfying backlist reads

Get ready to load your summer totes (ahem…your summer Novel Pairings totes, more to come on that) with lots of good reads; we’re talking about our most anticipated summer reads on today’s episode! We’ve carefully culled our long lists of interesting books coming out this summer to provide some high-interest titles that are sure to topple your TBR while also providing backlist books that will pair perfectly and are available right now.   Today we talk about forthcoming humorous memoirs (including one woven with lots of 90s nostalgia), a searing, fictional critique of contemporary publishing, and plenty of engrossing tales you’ll want to curl up with poolside. And if that’s not enough, we take a shot at solving the mystery surrounding the unnamed Flatiron title prior to it being settled by the New York Times (and Chelsey will add amateur sleuth to her list of alternate career options should occasion arise).   We love discussing books and reading with all of you and hope you’ll join our group of nerdy readers at patreon.com/novelpairings. Annual subscriptions are now available at a discounted price!   Books Mentioned Yellowface by R. F. Kuang Disorientation by Elian Hsieh Chou Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel All Sinners Bleed by S.A. Crosby Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke My Murder by Katie Williams Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey Chouette by Claire Oshetsky  Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder Banyan Moon by Thao Tai Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo  Loot by Tania James The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson Wannabe: Reckoning with the Pop Culture that Saved Me by Aisha Harris Piccolo is Black by Jordan Calhoun Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens A Dangerous Business by Jane Smiley Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O’Donoghue The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi Babel by R. F. Kuang Half-Life of a Stolen Sister by Rachel Cantor Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell History’s Angel by Anjum Hassan Members Only by Sameer Pandya The Lost Ranger by Peter Heller Congratulations, the Best is Over! by R. Eric Thomas Here for It by R. Eric Thomas  Tom Lake by Ann Patchett Our Town by Thorton Wilder