Summer is here! Relaxation is in the air everywhere, and schools are beginning to take their long summer breaks. Which reminds us, 2026 high school graduates can receive a gift voucher if they show (a picture of) their diploma!
– Awards! Last month was Pride month (in case you missed all the pride flags and displays everywhere), and per tradition the winners of the Lambda Literary awards have been announced, in all the various LGBTQIA+ categories. Congratulations also go to the winners of the 2026 Orwell Prizes: Karen Bartlett for The Escape from Kabul and Ben Lerner for Transcription. And now that Sophie has finally finished reading along with, and reporting on, the 2025 prize, she can straightaway dive into the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize shortlist! Almost one down already, 8 more to go…
– Lists! Still searching for the perfect summer read? LitHub has helpfully rounded up their 50 top summer books for you to choose from. And if you’re feeling brave (and want people to leave you alone as you relax), here are Bookriot‘s compilation of “unhinged romance books” to read on the beach. Also, keep an eye out right here on this blog for our own Summer Reads compilation coming up later in the month…
– Birthday essentials: Last weekend marked the 250th birthday of the USA (…depending on where you start counting, of course…), and Publishers Weekly compiled a rather excellent list of the 15 essential works American literature to mark the occasion. Steinbeck, Ellison, Le Guin, Butler, Morrison — quite the varied list, and we love it. LitHub also has a wonderful “reparative mini-reading list” in honor of the 250th birthday.
– Trending on screen: The Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills. Following the disappointing news about the cancellation of the Prime adaptation of the Wheel of Time after 3 seasons (frankly just another reason to quit anything Amazon-related), the classic fantasy series is reportedly back stronger than ever. There are an animated series, feature movies, and a video game in the works, and the company that owns Jordan’s works has partnered with the producer of Arcane, which is exciting news for fans of WoT (like Damla herself!)
– Screen-adjacent: LitHub has a “what to read next based on your favorite A24 movie” list.
– Looking for a meet-cute? According to an interesting article by 1000 Libraries, bookshops in South Korea have become hotspots for singles to browse books as well as their soulmates. Bookshops – and particularly the independent kinds – have always been attractive and soul-feeding community spaces, so it makes sense that many readers would seek connection (whether romantic or platonic) among the shelves.
– Buzzing: want to know what one of the most hotly-requested titles is at the moment? Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. Pretty sure you weren’t expecting that for a hot summer read! We’re educatedly guessing the publisher didn’t entirely anticipate the book’s popularity either, as they’re reprinting, and we’re still waiting for our stock to arrive (but you can reserve your copy here of course). Book Marks has a list of reviews to choose from if you’re still on the fence.
– And finally: we made into a Japan Times article about the popularity of A Dictionary of Color Combinations! We’re hoping we’ll be able to restock it in the future, after the devastating fire laid waste to the Dutch distributor’s warehouse.
