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Publishing can’t agree on how many seasons there are or when they start and end, but I’ve decided there are three: Winter (January-April), Summer (May-August), and Fall (September-December). Summer reading season is upon us, and while school may be letting out, you don’t have to send your brain on vacation, too. Here are ten upcoming releases to keep you engaged and on the upswing.
Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Pyschedelics by Ernesto Londoño (May 7): A New York Times reporter who sought psychedelic treatment for clinical depression explores the risks and potentials of this growing area of mental health treatment.
You Only Die Once: How to Make It to the End with No Regrets by Jodi Wellman (May 7): In the vein of Annie Dillard (“How you spend your days is how you spend your life.”) and Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks, psychologist Jodi Wellman provides guidance—quizzes, step-by-step plans, quotes, and more—for making a meaningful life.
Team: Getting Things Done With Others by David Allen and Edward Lamont (May 21): David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity was the first business book that changed my working life, and I still call on its core principles 13 years later. Here, Allen expands his concepts to help us create more effective, efficient teams and collaborations.
Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valued Connections by Anna Goldfarb (June 4): Deep relationships are the strongest predictor of wellbeing, and they’re not easy! Who better than the New York Times’s friendship correspondent (how do I get that gig?) to create a step-by-step guide to making and keeping friends? If this is up your alley, don’t miss this list of great books about friendship we featured here on BLTB a few months ago.
12 Trips in 12 Months: Make Your Own Solo Travel Magic by Jen Ruiz (June 4): This one gets a special place in my heart because like Jen Ruiz, I’m a woman who loves to travel alone, and I’m continually baffled by how the world just does not know what to do with that. In the run-up to her thirtieth birthday, Ruiz decided to stop waiting until the “right time” (i.e. after finding a husband and starting a family) to pursue her dream of traveling the world. She set out to take 12 trips, and she ended up taking 20. Grab your passport and get inspired.
The Art and Science of Connection: Why Social Health is the Missing Key to Living Longer, Healthier, and Happier by Kasley Killam (June 18): The potent combination of technology that makes us feel connected without having to leave the house and a global pandemic that required isolation has resulted in a crisis of social fitness. Take stock of your own social fitness and strengthen your relationship muscles with Killam’s actionable guide to building community and forming connections that will help you thrive.
The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning by Samhita Mukhopadyay (June 18): The former executive editor of Teen Vogue blends memoir and feminist theory to argue against hustle culture, fake-it-til-you-make-it, and all things #girlboss, and call for a reimagining of ambition and the meaning of work.
The Quiet Damage: QAnon and the Destruction of the American Family by Jesselyn Cook (July 23): As another fraught election season revs up, far too many families are still feeling the impact of the QAnon conspiracy theories that peaked in 2020. Through the stories of five families, investigate reporter Cook uncovers the depth and damage of QAnon’s impact.
Please Unsubscribe, Thanks!: How to Take Back Our Time, Attention, and Purpose in a World Designed to Bury Us in Bullshit by Julio Vincent Gambuto (August 8): Marie Kondo but for your social and spiritual life. Reclaim your time by unsubscribing from small things (email marketing) and big ones (relationships, obligations, etc) that no longer serve you. Gambuto aims to help you get clear on what matters and clear out all the rest.
Believe in the World: Wisdom for Grown-Ups from Children’s Books by Amy Gash and Elise Howard, illustrated by Eleanor Davis (August 20): A perfect gift for yourself and the bookish ones you love, this gorgeously illustrated tome collects quotes and wisdom from a diverse array of children’s books.