โThe world may be mean, but people don’t have to be, not if they refuse.โ – Colson Whitehead, The Underground Railroad
Capital from Zero: Reading Marx in the Age of Climate Catastrophe by Kลhei Saitล; translated by Brian Bergstrom
nonfiction / economics / sociology / politics / history.
The follow-up to his global bestseller Slow Down and a new introduction to Marx’s Capital, Capital from Zero is a reading guide, a manifesto, a revision, and a reclamation of Marx’s foundational work of political theory. Building on his signature argument of “degrowth communism”, Saitล’s introduction brings Capital squarely into the 21st century, offering a uniquely non-Western, non-dogmatic and eco-socialist reading of the famous text.
Saitล is a singular intellect with an essential and innovative point of viewโa fresh new voice in Marxist theory who will sit alongside David Harvey and Thomas Piketty in educating and guiding the next generation of radical intellectuals. The book reconstructs Marxโs Capital from a totally new perspective based on more recent research findings, liberating Marx from old dogmas of the Soviet socialism and aiming to rekindle our ability to envision a more equal and sustainable society beyond capitalism.
“[Capital from Zero] is at once a rigorous return to Marxโs core categories and an original intervention in debates on ecology, the commons, and digital capitalism.” – Howard Prosser, Thesis Eleven
“…vividly highlights the distortions of a stalled capitalism… and advocates for a degrowth economy.” – ๅฒฉๆฌ่ซ, no+e
Cool Machine by Colson Whitehead โ
fiction / historical fiction / mystery / suspense.
1981. New York City is beginning to emerge from financial ruin and decline, energized by rampant real estate development and a Wall Street unchained by Reagan-era predatory capitalism. Up in Harlem, successful business owner/master fence Ray Carney has just been named Sterling Furnitureโs Dealer of the Month. When the banks wonโt give his beloved wife Elizabeth a loan for her new travel agency, however, Carney gambles on one last heist, and finds himself entangled with a legendary criminal mastermind.
1983. To some, Carneyโs friend and partner in crime, Pepper, is a stone-cold sociopath. To others, a top thief with questionable people skills. Either way, heโs feeling his age in his troubled gut and his aching bones. When he takes on a bodyguard gig as a favor to Elizabeth, heโs plunged into the alien territory of the East Village art and club scene. Luckily for him, whether youโre uptown or down, everyone speaks the same language of violenceโPepper is a native speaker.
1986. Carney has always been haunted by his inability to save his cousin Freddie. Now, twenty years after Freddieโs death, he has a chance to rescue Freddieโs son from the violent forces of the city. But coming out of retirement and teaming up with Pepper again will mean risking the safety and security heโs spent decades building for his family, with only one shot to get it right.
With his usual pitch-perfect prose, Whitehead paints a portrait of a city in transition, where shimmering skyscrapers rise to the heavens as displaced people huddle in abandoned tunnels below. In a dazzling display of protean imagination, Cool Machine roves all over the city, from Windows on the World to the Meadowlands, to show that in New York, and in the lives of Whiteheadโs vivid characters, itโs whatโs below the surface that reveals the truth.
“…transcendent and wildly entertaining… Itโs the greatest New York novel in years.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“A master novelist in full command of his powers as a storyteller, prose stylist, and social observer.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
โColson Whitehead has won the Pulitzer Prize two very well-deserved times, and Cool Machine is the latest in his staggeringly poignant oeuvre. New York City as it existed in the 1980s serves as the backdrop for this novel, and Whitehead masterfully leverages both its grit and glamour to stunning effect. Youโll follow businessman Ray Carney, his wife, Elizabeth, and a kingpin named Pepper across the city, the decade, and insurmountable change.โ – Ella Ceron, Harper’s Bazaar
“Every page is incandescent with longing, doubts, calculations, and determination as Whiteheadโs magnetic characters are pushed to the limits and the city roils. Whitehead gets every gritty, absurd, tender detail just right as he maps the eighties zeitgeist and its foreshadowing of our own, revealing an immense web of malfeasance. This is a masterwork of crime fiction infused with labyrinthine suspense; brilliant, witty, and dynamic social insights; and profound questions of survival.” – Donna Seaman, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight Against Equality in America by Kim Phillips-Fein
nonfiction / history / politics.
The story of American history is often told as a hard-won march toward the promise of equality, derived from Thomas Jeffersonโs famous proclamation that โall men are created equal.โ
But this inspiring story obscures a parallel tradition: an enduring and organized argument against equality itself. Again and again, influential Americans have asserted a fundamental inequality among human beings, arguing that the social, economic, and racial hierarchies in which some groups of people rule over others are not only natural but good.
In Country of Lords acclaimed historian Kim Phillips-Fein traces this argument for inequality through six vivid archetypes. She discusses the natural aristocrats, such as John Adams, who feared the tumult of too much democracy; the social Darwinists, led by Yale professor William Graham Sumner, who blamed the poor for their own miseries; those who preached a gospel of production, including Henry Ford, who wanted an industrial hierarchy in which the โbestโ people ruled over compliant inferiors; utilitarian racists who advocated for eugenics and a racial hierarchy; meritocrats like Harvard psychologist Richard Hernstein who described an economic caste system based on โintelligenceโ in his co-authored book, The Bell Curve; and most recently, technocrats who seem to see themselves as superior because they are closest to the machines destined to outstrip and supplant fallible flesh-and-blood humanity.
The anti-egalitarian lineage Phillips-Fein traces is both clear and deeply unsettling. It challenges readers to think about the fragility of the ideal of equality and to reckon with the disturbing arguments of those who have campaigned against it over the past two and a half centuries. Country of Lords is essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the widening gap between the nation we claim to be and the nation we are becoming.
“…striking… a rousing and worrisome counter-history of a uniquely American strain of anti-democratic political thought.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“A searching work of history that speaks ably to how we got where we are today…” – Kirkus Reviews
“…impeccably crafted… Each chapter unfolds like a discrete tale but plugs into her broader thesis… Phillips-Fein is a graceful writer and balletic thinker; her opening paragraph tucked me into its palm and held me rapt, right through to its conclusion… Country of Lords probes the fate of democracy while lamenting ominous trends… As this timely, incisive book suggests, liberty exists for the elect few, the rest of us be damned โ a notion as American as Mom and apple pie. Country of Lords belongs on the same shelf as recent landmark studies by Rana Dasgupta, Jill Lepore, and Quinn Slobodian.” – Hamilton Cain, On the Seawall
Dad, Love, Me: A Memoir by Matthew Quick
nonfiction / memoir / family.
On the surface, Matthew Quick seemed to have it allโa loving wife, a thriving career as a novelist, and a beautiful home. Heโd traveled all over the world advocating for mental health awareness, standing before crowds as a success story. But secretly, he was depressed and some days, he didnโt want to live.
Years earlier, when he first told his father he wanted to be a novelist, the response was immediate and brutal: โIdiot!โ That voiceโangry and belittlingโwould echo through Quickโs mind for years. He channeled his pain into his debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook, crafting a complex father-son dynamic drawn straight from his own life. The book became a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Still, the approval Quick longed for never came. His father remained cold and withholding. The deeper the rift between them grew, the deeper Quick sank into anxiety and addiction.
In this book, Quick takes readers deep into his psyche, as he wrestles with both his own mental health and his fatherโs cognitive decline. A health scare finally forces Quick to get sober, but then, overcome by creative paralysis, writerโs block threatens to end his career. The blank page is unbearable. As his desperation for healing peaks, Quick turns to a Jungian analyst he nicknames โZeus.โ In the safety of analysis, as Quickโs repressed pain and shame surface, he finally cracks. Just as he is putting himself back together, his father is diagnosed with dementia.
Suddenly, the clock is ticking. If there is ever going to be reconciliation, it has to happen now. Quick and his wife pack up their lives in coastal North Carolina, drive eight hours, and move into a house just around the corner from Quickโs parents, on an island right outside of Beaufort, South Carolina. There, as his father slips further and further away, Quick races to make a healing connection.
Dad, Love, Me is Quickโs raw, vulnerable, and deeply moving account of what it means to forgive a parent who never really knew how to love you. Itโs about wounds that never fully heal, and the power of showing up anyway. This beautifully brave and life-affirming memoir is a must read for anyone who has been starved of love but wants to keep loving anyway.
“Dad, Love, Me feels like sharing your deepest thoughts and fears with an intimate friend.โ – Pamela Klinger-Horn, The Indie Next List
โ[A] raw, heart-wrenching memoir, written in the second person as โa long overdue letter to my father,โ Quick explains… This absorbing book is his thoughtful, painful attempt to heal himself from the deep psychological wounds that have ached within him for decades.โ – Christina Ianzito, AARP
โIt turns out everything Matthew Quick has written up to this pointโall nine best-selling novelsโhave been prequels to this memoir; a book that should be considered his masterpiece… Powerful, painful, heart-wrenching, and heart-lifting, Matthew bravely lays bare his heart, soul, and most of all his relationship with his difficult fatherโฆ If we could all forgive as Matthew has forgiven his father, Michael, the world would be an entirely different place.โ – Jamie, The Southern Bookseller Review
The Flayed Man by Chloe Lauter
fiction / horror.
Ellis Karsten spends nights working triage in the ER and days having the same conversation with her mom. The early onset dementia is exhausting, but the real challenge is their curseโEllisโs family must feed daily on blood, or risk becoming mindless, skinless killing machines. When Ellisโs uncle, who supplies their blood, vanishes, she takes it upon herself to find a new source, aided by a prickly paramedic whoโs equal parts unpredictable and intoxicating. But as Ellis fights to balance her bloodthirsty nature with a new relationship, her momโs impossible demands transform into panicked warnings that a fabled monster, โThe Flayed Man,โ is stalking them.
As she traverses the desert in search of blood, Ellis risks her safety and her familyโs secret, until it becomes clear that her mom is right: something ancient and hungry is hunting them, and it has come for her mom. Blood hunger begins to overtake Ellis, transforming her body into something ghoulish and frighteningโexactly what The Flayed Man wants. In the end, she must decide who to trust, what sheโs willing to sacrifice, and whether she is worthy of a life, and love, beyond her curseโor if sheโs going to succumb to instinct and ravage the world.
“[An] unforgettable ride. The ambiance, the tension, and the relationship building in Lauterโs debut book are delectable.” – Adam Vitcavage, Debutiful
“[A] dazzling debut… The Flayed Man is a book that knows how to draw blood: combining a spine-tingling vampire story and a haunting depiction of familial love and the pain of caring from someone youโre not yet ready to lose. This is everything you want in a literary horror novel.” – Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books
“[A] journey of self-realization that is as adventurous as it is terrifying… not only heart-stopping horror but also a surprisingly touching look at caring for an elderly family member, the lengths you will go to for someone you love, and the power of unbridled commitment… Brutal, horrific, disturbing, yet amazingly heartfelt and touching, The Flayed Man deserves a spot on your summer reading list.” – Dave Dreher, Gruesome Magazine
The Mortons by Justine Larbalestier & Scott Westerfeld
fiction / suspense / mystery.
The Mortons are a modern-day, old-money dynasty with impeccable taste, from their exquisitely crafted cocktails to their expertly tailored vintage garments. They are also stone-cold killers. For the Mortons, homicide is heritage.
They, along with the other crime families, send their progeny to Helshire College, where legacy students learn to exercise control over their wealthy peers. Jessica Morton has always excelled at Helshire, secure in the knowledge that she is the prodigy of her generation. Now, having committed her first kill, it should be Jessicaโs moment, her honor. But that kill will cut more ways than one, unknotting a series of revelations spanning the Mortonsโ country estate, the New York City art world, and Helshire itself.
Sharp and hypnotic, The Mortons is an epic novel of alliances and power, loyalty and kinship, and the consequences of ruthless ambition.
“Once you start reading this one, you wonโt be able to stop! Just as the Morton family plannedโฆ” – Molly Odintz, CrimeReads
“[A] bracing and searching story about the lengths a child will go to make their family proud. Readers wonโt want to put this down.” – Publishers Weekly
“The plot unfolds at breakneck speed as the authors immerse readers in a world of ‘loyalty without care,’ so it’s all the more impressive how worthy of care Jessica turns out to be.” – Jennifer M. Brown, Shelf Awareness
The Story Keeper by Kelly Rimmer
fiction / historical fiction / mystery.
In the aftermath of a tumultuous year, Fiona Winslow finds solace in the decaying grandeur of Wurimbirra, the rambling family estate she once called home. Intent on restoring it, she discovers the keys to more than just the dilapidated mansionโbeneath the crumbling plaster and dust are secrets that have been buried for a generation.
When a curious book, The Midnight Estate, catches her attention in her late uncleโs library, Fiona is plunged into a tale that mirrors her ownโa story of love, loss and betrayal. But as the lines between fiction and reality blur, Fiona must ask herself: Is the true mystery the one hidden within the walls of her ancestral home, or is it within the pages of a book that chose her as much as she chose it?
Told in a dual narrative and set against the Gothic backdrop of Wurimbirra, Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of The Things We Cannot Say, weaves an intricate and compelling tale, inviting readers into the heart of a familyโs deepest secrets with an absorbing book-within-a-book mystery.
“[A] compelling gothic novel…” – Robin Beerbower, Library Reads, TOP PICK JULY 2026
“Haunted house, mystery, or family drama? This story-within-a-story tale blurs them all and keeps you guessing.” – Brandy Evans, The Indie Next List
“This is a book about stories. The ones we tell. The ones we inherit. The ones that get buried so deep they become part of the foundation of who we are without us even knowing they exist… beautiful… emotional without feeling overly dramatic, layered without being confusing, and deeply human in the way Kelly Rimmer writes women, survival, and the stories that shape us.” – Chrissy, Paperback Treasures
Three Reasons for Revenge by Dervia McTiernan
fiction / suspense / mystery.
Someoneโs watching. Someoneโs waiting.
Alexis Turner walks into the police station to report an assault. By the end of the day, she is nowhere to be found.
Soon after she disappears, three identical packages arrive at three very different doors: a respected psychologist’s home, a socialite’s mansion, and a struggling single father’s run-down apartment. Inside, each gift is perfectly tailored to its recipient โ and each will tear apart the life of its intended victim.
Detective Sergeant Judith Lee is smart and experienced, but this is no ordinary case. Someone with intimate knowledge of their targets is orchestrating these attacks. Someone who knows exactly how to hurt each victim where they’re most vulnerable.
As she races to uncover the connection between three unrelated people, Judith discovers she’s no longer just investigating the gameโshe’s being forced to play.
“McTiernan keeps readers deliciously off-balance in this moody, character-driven thriller… The authorโs plausible, sometimes jaw-dropping plot twists never strain credulity or come at the expense of her carefully calibrated character relationships. This will keep readers up all night.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] well-paced, complex thriller with disparate threads expertly woven into a satisfying whole. Perfect for fans of Liz Nugent and Karin Slaughter.” – Jane Jorgenson, Library Journal
“This intense, engrossing mystery explores how grief and trauma can impact peopleโs lives and the lives of those around them. There are many characters and storylines, but it all comes together nicely in the end, with twists and turns throughout. Morally gray characters combined with a bleak story make this perfect for readers who like their mysteries a bit twisted.” – Stephanie Howes, Booklist
Unsayable: A Life in Writing by Michael Cunningham
nonfiction / memoir / writing.
Go ahead. Try using language to slit the skin of mortality to see whatโs on the other side.
At the age of three, Michael Cunningham began obsessively collecting the names of things: oak, Chevrolet, finch, tulip, Tupperware… Each word rendered the world ever so slightly more understandable, more describable, kicking off a lifelong love affair with languageโone that would, eventually, maybe inevitably, lead him to become a writer.
In Unsayable, Cunninghamโs memories spill forth, and with them reflections on the craft of writing. He is fifteen, in a swimming pool at night, gazing at the first boy he ever fell in love with, who is lost in contemplative silence. He is a new college graduate, setting off for nowhere in a Dodge Dart, hoping to pull meaning (and a novel) from the expanse of America. He is on Cape Cod, regaling an elderly couple with invented tales of sexual escapades. He is in an art gallery, unwittingly having the first in a lifetime of conversations with the man he would marry. A thread ties each beautifully wrought moment to the next: what is unspoken, what wonโt yield to language, what is embellished beyond recognition, what is still left to say.
Luminous, perceptive, and powerful, Unsayable is an ode to literature, a meditation on craft, and an intimate account of a life spent trying to put into words that which resists depiction. This, it turns out, is the lifeblood of the fiction writer: the impossibility of capturing the human experience, and the relentless desire to try.
“…full of passion and joy at every turn. Unsayable is the type of book that will expand your heart and ignite your creative soul.” – Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books
“Fans curious about the source of Cunninghamโs ideas, writers seeking inspiration, and readers hungry for gorgeous prose will find all three here. Despite Cunninghamโs early warning that ‘any storyโฆ is an approximation of the unsayableโthat which we all know but canโt express in language,’ he expresses his knowledge with confidence and depth. This is a treasure.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Much like his Pulitzer Prizeโwinning novel, The Hours, that so elegantly slips through boundaries of time and space, this is a spiraling reimmersion in a singular writerโs journey. Cunningham traces his geography of ambition and romantic focus, from Stanford University to Cape Cod to New York City, landing his aerial perceptions with grace. When he recalls his euphoria one night, reading Whitmanโs Leaves of Grass, he quotes a passage that includes this line, ‘Dear friend whoever you are take this kiss.’ That a book can glide through time and kiss a future reader is a marvel, one that Cunningham, too, achieves.” – Raรบl Niรฑo, Booklist
Vera Stein Is Fine by Julie Murphy
fiction / romance.
Welcome to Starlight Palms, a favorite retirement facility among Hollywood actors and industry professionals tucked away just outside of sunny Palm Springs. Filled with forgotten scream queens, eccentric screenwriters, and heartthrobs of the past, it has a brand-new resident: Vera Stein, age forty.
Vera knows sheโs missed her chance at a life worthy of the silver screen, just like she missed her chance at ever finding true love. But Vera isnโt one to take chances. Sheโs spent most of her adult years caretaking for her dying mother and her movie star bossโs ego. Now abruptly houseless and jobless, Vera has nowhere to land, so to grandmotherโs house we go!
The Starlight Palms Senior Living Center is midcentury Hollywood down to its pastel-painted bones. This desert gem isnโt lacking in saucy plot twists (swinging seniors, anyone?) or a leading man: Elias Buckley, the on-site doctor and Veraโs former ill-fated college fling andโfor reasons that will stay in Vegasโlegally her ex-husband according to the state of Nevada.
Itโs not long before Vera falls into a job as the activities coordinator and under the spell of a certain smart-mouthed doctorโฆ Suddenly all those empty years in LA look less like mistakes and a lot more like backstory. With a fresh start at her fingertips, Vera begins to see that even with all the detours sheโs taken, thereโs still a Hollywood ending (and maybe even a happily ever after) in sightโฆ
“A perfect summer beach read.” – Red Carpet Crash
“Bestseller Murphy sparkles in this second-chance romance… Most charming here is the supporting cast, including Eliโs scene-stealing 15-year-old daughter, Brigid, and the raunchy retirees who lend the plot its humor. This will make for ideal poolside reading.” – Publishers Weekly
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