With August just around the corner, the end of summer is near. Luckily, the endless releases of upcoming books don’t pay mind to such things. With more options in-store (or online if that’s your preference), these next entries introduce interesting nonfiction books that are sure to keep you engaged. With such long titles, fall will come in the blink of an eye.
The Bookshop: A History of The American Bookstore by Evan Friss
Bookshops have something enchanting in the way you’re suddenly drawn into the many, many options of books to read as soon as you enter. You can almost feel your mind become an infinite void of unlimited knowledge. Why not celebrate that feeling by reading the history of how bookstores/bookshops came to be and how they’re still an essential part of American culture?
Friss collects the history of bookstores by gathering diary entries, interviews, letters, and more from booksellers who love what they provide, culminating in a love letter to the institutions that spark creativity and thought in those who decide to walk into the giddiness and roam through shelves of countless books. It’s also a small warning of how even with beloved places, they might be lost to the changing times. Release date: August 6, 2024.
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group of Victorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World by Edward Dolnick
We all know that dinosaurs walked the earth millions of years ago, but during the Victorian Era, the sophisticated people of England did not, leading to a book that follows the titular eccentric group who traveled the world unearthing fossils of a bygone era. Based on the true tale of these paleontologists, Mary Anning, William Buckland, and Richard Owen — all with their quirks that’ll help with their hopeful discoveries — Dolnick creates a narrative that feels more like fiction than a piece of detailed but uneventful information thrown into the pages, giving an entertaining history lesson of how the world became more self-aware of their past. Release date: August 6, 2024.
A Measure of Intelligence: One Mother’s Reckoning with the IQ Test by Pepper Stetler
The history of the IQ test is probably something nobody paid special attention to or ever thought about how it came to be. Unfortunately, Stetler had to think about this after the help she needed for her daughter, Louisa, who has Down syndrome, required her to take an IQ test for school support. It made Stetler question why. It’s almost like the answer was something like, “We have to make sure your daughter’s intellect stays the same,” as if not believing that Louisa does have Down syndrome. This prompted Stetler to dive down a deep hole into how far back the start of the IQ test went and the ugly truth behind this test. A disturbing but eye-opening read you will want to get into. Release date: August 6, 2024.
Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church by Eliza Griswold
There seems to be an ongoing theme of spreading the word of Jesus as of late, which is what the Christian faith has always been about. Now, people struggle to keep that faith in God as they attempt to find his word somewhere in this world. The Circle Church in Philadelphia, which began as a small group, has turned into a congregation with four other locations, only to find many troubles and obstacles along the way. This book is about how they overcame those struggles for the sake of saving lives, and who better to write this compelling story than Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eliza Griswold? Release date: August 6, 2024.
A Survivor’s Education: Women, Violence, and the Stories We Don’t Tell by Joy Neumeyer
TW: Mention of Abuse Against a Spouse
Writing is a way to formulate your thoughts, look back, remember significant times, and process those thoughts and emotions. Neumeyer tells her side of what happened between an abusive partner, and despite initiating a Title IX case against him, somehow he’s considered the victim in the situation. Despite all the threats, assaults, and manipulation she’s endured before breaking off their relationship, somehow Neumeyer is found to be in the wrong. While finding the answers herself through writing, she investigates and learns how violence against women is just as prevalent and disturbingly normal as what happened during her college years at Berkeley. Release date: August 20, 2024.
Sell Like A Spy: The Art of Persuasion from the World of Espionage by Jeremy Hurewitz
In the wrong hands, this book could probably make someone an ultimate manipulator. Or, in the least catastrophic scenario, make someone a charismatic and successful person working their way through life with charm and wit. Learning from spies to “fake it till you make it” makes sense if you take away the idea of spies being stoic geniuses who are elite at retrieving sensitive information needed to get the job done.
Hurewitz’s book collects a few methods for people who, in learning to understand emotion and motives, connect with others on a personal level to get closer to loved ones if help is needed. From interviews with FBI agents, CIA case officers, and many officials and intelligent officers, Hurewitz has written a foolproof playbook on how to draw out information from people to better understand them, or even become the best salesperson you can be. Release date: August 27, 2024.
With such a wide variety of books for the next month, from dinosaur fossil hunting with high-maintenance, eccentric people to the history of our beloved bookshops we need to preserve for the future, did any of these options interest you? Let us know on Instagram, X, and Facebook!
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