Hi. How is everyone’s June going? Summer is busy, right? So much to do. We were cutting the yard this weekend and are putting in a fence around the vegetable garden this year due to deer. It’s like the story of The Yearling but with a happier ending, lol.
My Preview post is very late this month and I sort of debated whether to do one at all since I have my Summer Reading list going on, but just highlighting these new releases doesn’t mean we have to read them right at this very moment. They can be “on the radar” sort of speak for whenever is a good time to get to them. So let’s go ahead with it and talk about some new June releases.
But first, in book news I see that the Women’s Prize for Fiction will be announced this Thursday. Wow it’s a big one. Has anyone read the six books on the shortlist, or any of these? I happen to be reading one right now: Aube Rey Lescure’s novel River East, River West, which I’m liking, and I noticed that a Scribner edition of Irish author Claire Kilroy’s novel Soldier Sailor is out this month (and will be talked about below). I have no idea who will win the prize, but I wonder if Anne Enright and Claire Kilroy are favored. I have read Australian author Kate Grenville before, her 2005 historical novel The Secret River was well done.
And now for June releases, there’s a lot of books coming out this month, whoa. Many popular authors have new novels coming out, including: Claire Lombardo, Joseph Kanon, Tracy Chevalier, Joyce Maynard, Chris Whitaker, Sarah Perry, and Rachel Cusk among others. Their books all look good, though I’m looking at a few other picks, notably Julia Phillips’s second novel Bear (due out June 25), which is set in the San Juan islands in Washington state, and Kirkus says is about two sisters, bonded in the care of their dying mother, who are divided by their reaction to a wildlife intruder. Apparently it plays out like a modern-day fable about sisterhood, class, and our ties to the natural world. So count me in.
Next up is Irish author Claire Kilroy’s novel Soldier Sailor (June 4), which looks intense and is about a mother’s first few years in the life of her son. In it the publisher says: “Kilroy conjures the raw, tumultuous emotions of a new mother, as her marriage strains and she struggles with questions of equality, autonomy, and creativity.” I think the novel is going to be a strong cup of coffee.
It seems over the past several years there’s been a bunch of these raw, intense novels about early motherhood in all its glory. I’ve read a few of these, including Rachel Yoder’s Nightbitch, Helen Phillips’s The Need, and Lisa Harding’s book Bright Burning Things. Whoa they’d peel the paint off the walls but are so good too.
I’m also curious about French author Valerie Perrin’s novel Forgotten on Sunday (out June 4) about a 21-year-old nursing assistant at a retirement home in rural France and the nearly 100-year-old resident whom she comes to swap life stories with.
Tina over at the blog Turn the Page says Perrin is a go-to author and has her on her 10 Books of Summer list. Perrin’s earlier novel Fresh Water for Flowers was a big bestseller in Europe in 2020. And so many readers on Goodreads love Perrin so I need to try her out. I think she has three English-translated novels out now, or you can read her in her native French. Parlez-vous français?
Then there’s Ann Leary’s book of essays I’ve Tried Being Nice (out June 4) that looks a bit fun. Kirkus says: It’s a “humorous and honest tale of a woman and her struggle as a people-pleaser.” And Oprah Daily says: “Leary looks back on her younger years to recount awkward run-ins with fans of her famous husband, recovering from alcoholism, and that time a bat (yes) latched onto her pajama pants.”
I’ve read just one of Leary’s novels The Good House from 2013, but I’m curious if this collection will remind me a little of Ann Patchett’s book of essays These Precious Days, which I liked, or her book This Is a Story of a Happy Marriage. If you liked those, Leary’s is probably worth checking out.
Last up in books is Flynn Berry’s novel Trust Her (due out June 25), which is a sequel to her 2021 book Northern Spy and takes place three years later … when Irish sisters Tessa and Marian Daly, former MI5 informants, learn that you can never really walk away from the IRA. Uh-oh. Sounds like trouble.
I’ve read two of Flynn Berry’s other books (both about sisters living double lives so to speak), so I better see this one through as well. Berry is a young author (age 37) with four books and seems to have a knack for suspense stories set in Ireland. I like how the pull and rifts between the sisters are a force.
As for what to watch this month, the movie The Great Lillian Hall (HBO Max, May 31) looks good about a beloved aging Broadway star (played by Jessica Lange) who struggles with confusion and forgetfulness in preparing for her next big role. She ends up battling to make opening night.
Lange is still churning out great performances long after her roles in King Kong and Tootsie made her an actress to watch, so catch her if this might appeal to you. I don’t think I’ve seen Jessica Lange in a role since her wonderful performance in the HBO movie Grey Gardens from 2009.
In TV series this month, it appears they’re running a new remake of Presumed Innocent (you remember the 1987 novel and 1990 movie), starting on June 12 on Apple TV+. This time Jake Gyllenhaal plays Rusty Sabich, the unfaithful husband who’s charged with a horrific murder and his wife is played by the talented Ruth Negga.
But who knows how they will handle the whodunit ending. I recall them being a bit different in the book versus the 1990 movie, but maybe it’s not as much as I remember. The new version has seven episodes for viewers to find out. It’s received pretty good reviews, but I’m not sure yet if I need to revisit Rusty Sabich and his story yet again.
And if you were a GoT fan, you’ll be happy that Season 2 of the prequel House of the Dragon is starting June 16 on HBO. It has eight episodes and was filmed primarily in Spain and England. I’m one of the few on earth who never watched Game of Thrones (perhaps I’ll blame my husband), but it’s never too late.
If you’re not into GoT, there’s always Season 3 of the kitchen/restaurant dramedy The Bear on Hulu starting June 27, which I haven’t seen either. Or there’s the movie Fancy Dance coming to Apple TV+ on June 28, which stars Lily Gladstone as a Native American hustler whose sister goes missing and she takes off with her niece to keep the family intact. It looks like an intense drama, and the movie title seems a bit like a misnomer.
As for music in June, Bon Jovi, Jim Cuddy, The Decemberists, and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats all have new albums coming out this month. Of these, I’ll pick Nathaniel Rateliff & his band’s new album South of Here (due out June 28) as my top choice. He’s a great singer and musician with some heart and soul about him. Here’s the band’s single Heartless off the new album. Enjoy.
That’s all for now. What about you — which releases this month are you looking forward to? Happy June to you.
Pretty, pretty photo of summer in your ‘hood! Yes, summer is busy. I have a lot of yard work to tackle before our visitors arrive in a couple of weeks. Want the place to look nice and tidy for them! But the weather is super nice now, too, so I’m out walking for at least an hour every day. Helps to have a good audiobook going… but I just gave up on Cormac McCarthy’s “The Passenger” and am now reading something a bit lighter and more entertaining (“Meredith, Alone”). Stay tuned for a list of the books I’ve given up on this year!
I’m glad you did this preview post, as I enjoy hearing all about what’s up and coming. I’d forgotten all about Joyce Maynard’s new book coming out this month. I’ll probably hold off and maybe gift it to my mom for Christmas. We both loved Count the Ways. Bear sounds wonderful, too. I love the San Juan islands and will be eager to immerse myself in that setting. I got a comp audio edition of Forgotten on Sunday, which should be good. I have Fresh Water for Flowers on my nightstand and may sub that in on my Summer Reading list. I enjoyed Ann Leary’s The Good House, so I’ll give her collection of essays a try, too. I remember laughing out loud when I read The Good House. Not sure if you read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, but the follow-up (Familiaris) comes out this month. The audiobook is a whopping 37 hours! Eeek.
We plan to watch Presumed Innocent… yes, we saw the original with Harrison Ford. For now, I’m hooked on Your Honor (Brian Cranston) and Madame Secretary (Tea Leoni). Both are very good. We just finished The Responder (Martin Freeman), which was also very good. And, hooray for season three of The Bear! Can’t wait!!
Have a good week/month, Susan!
Hi Lesley, thanks. Great hearing from you … and life at the Cove. Your walks must be gorgeous there.
I’m glad if this preview can be a reminder. I’m looking forward to trying Perrin (something lighter) but I don’t have a copy yet. The Leary book looks entertaining. Though I’m sort of focusing on my summer reading list but it’s going slowly. We listened to some of Edgar Sawtelle on our road trip but then Robert wanted to stop it. I’d gathered what was going to happen. Maybe I’ll go back to it sometime though I wasn’t loving it at the time. You’ll have to see what the new one is like.
We liked the show Your Honor. I’ll look for The Responder … haven’t heard of that one. Presumed Innocent should be a doozy judging by the trailer.
I’ll be stopping by your site soon. Enjoy your June!
The Women’s Prize is packed with goodies (none of which I have read 🙂 ). Enright may have an edge; I think she already won another award with this one. I have my eye on Bear, but I’ll be reading Tracy Chevalier’s latest and two or three releases (if I can buy them) that are on the short side, to see if I can match last year’s reading pace. Presumed Innocent sounds good, as does House of the Dragon. I may watch them when all the episodes are out. As you know, I’m a fan of GoT and re-watched the whole series fairly recently, but I haven’t tackled HOTD waiting for the new season to be released.
Hi Carmen, I was thinking of you and know you are my GoT expert. So I’ll be curious what you think of HOTD. It must have taken quite awhile to rewatch all of GoT, whoa. It might take me years, lol.
Good to know you’ll be reading Chevalier’s. I’ve read two of her novels but I should read a couple more. I think you’re right about Enright — that she’ll likely win it — unless the judges try to surprise us. I have read one of Enright’s — The Gathering and I didn’t care for it. So I’m a bit hesitant to try her again. Hmm.
Enjoy your reading this month. Your reviews are always helpful on GR.
Of the books that are coming out, I would be most interested in the book by Valerie Perrin, although I don’t know anything about any of them. Since I love spy fiction, I should at least look into the book by Flynn Berry.
I may have to read Presumed Innocent. I saw the original film when it came out (I think) and was bothered by the ending. I never wanted to read the book… but I did not know that the book had a different ending. I am not particularly interested in seeing a remake, but maybe someday I will change my mind.
Hi Tracy, I just went and rechecked about the ending of Presumed Innocent — and I recollected the endings between book & 1990 movie being different … but perhaps they weren’t all that different — so I’ll have to amend my post. My memory was that they were vastly different but I should’ve rechecked it … as the culprit is sort of inferred in the book I think and more explicit in the movie. Sorry to be incorrect on this. I remember being gripped by the book back in 1987.
I hope the Perrin book will be good and I’m not sure if you would like the Berry books …. as you are the spy book expert … and they might be a stretch — but see what you think. Enjoy your June!
Thanks for all that information. Especially about Presumed Innocent. I do remember being very disturbed by the ending of the movie. Which is strange considering all the thriller types of movies I watch nowadays. It is probably the difference between psychological tension and physical violence, and the reason I have a problem with some Ruth Rendell / Barbara Vine novels. Even so, I will probably be more open now to reading the book, and the good news is that last night I found an eBook copy within my approved price and I can try it anytime I want.
That sounds good Tracy. I wonder if the novel has aged well or if it’s dated. I’m sure it has somewhat. I remember thinking Turow was great after that novel but then I listened to an audio of a recent book of his and it didn’t like it at all. So perhaps that was much better than his others.
Oh, I’ll have to get a copy of Flynn Berry’s latest as I enjoyed Northern Spy.
Your photo is so pretty and makes me realize how much I am missing the sun. It’s been foggy since early May at home and now I am in Ithaca, NY and it’s been cloudy and raining. I’m not asking for much, just an hour or so of sunshine. Please!
Hi Helen, yeah we had a rainy May so I can relate wanting to see the sun, but it is here now, yay! I hope you get to see the sun soon. Makes such a difference.
See what you think of the new Flynn Berry novel …. I didn’t realize there was going to be a sequel. But the troubled sisters are back! Happy reading. I hope your travels are still enjoyable in NY.
I have read a book by Anne Enright before but I am not familar with Claire Kilroy. You have many authors here I am eager to try so…my list gets longer 🙂 Oh, Flynn Berry! I read her two previous novels set in Northern Ireland and i like her quite a bit. Need to buy that one!
Thanks for the mention about my blog and Valerie Perrin. I liked Fresh Water for Flowers more than Three but still, both have intriging plots. I will start the latest one by Perrin this month. I discovered her during August’s Women in Translation event.
Great idea for the fence. It gets hot here early and my garden did not go in so…the deer and rabbits will be disappointed. haha
Hi Tina, ha the critters will be disappointed for no garden. We have the new deer fence up around ours and it’s pretty sturdy ha. Like a fortress.
I’m glad you talked up Valerie Perrin … so we readers know. Sometimes foreign authors don’t get the attention here, so we don’t hear about them right away. But I’m keen to add her to my TBR. I hope you enjoy her latest novel. And Flynn Berry’s. I’m trying to stick to my summer list but other books seem appealing.
I read Enright’s novel The Gathering and didn’t like it much — so don’t know if I will read her Wren, Wren novel. But maybe. We’ll see.
Happy June to you!
Haven’t read any of those books. My own summer reading list is full of lighter stuff: romances, fantasy, a few thrillers. The basic ‘popcorn’ reads. ;D And I’m a big Bon Jovi fan so I’ll definitely be checking out their new album. Happy summer reading!
Hi Lark, yeah nothing wrong with summer popcorn reads, good for the beach bag. A couple of these are lighter summer books — Valerie Perrin is … and Flynn Berry’s is spy suspense and Ann Leary’s seems humorous memoir stuff. I like mixing heavier reads with lighter ones — otherwise I agree, it’d be too much.
Good to know you like Bon Jovi. I met him once on the street in Washington, D.C. — I kid you not. That beautiful hair. He was friendly 🙂 and down to earth.
That is so cool! I would have been so flustered and awkward running into Jon Bon Jovi on the street somewhere. I’ve seen him in concert several times. He does seem like a very down-to-earth and nice guy.
Yeah I don’t think I could talk much. What happened was: I just was seated at a restaurant on Conn Ave when my friend comes in and says Jon Bovi’s outside and I was like whaaaat?? And I rushed out there and there he was outside on the sidewalk … and I think my friend talked to him and he said he was doing a show in town the next day. Man I was like a bumbling fool but it sure was memorable. Ha.
I like the title I’ve Tried Being Nice and Joseph Kanon’s book Shanghai set during World War II has me very interested. I saw a documentary on this subject. About 1800 Jewish refugees from Germany were able to get visas in the late 1930’s to Shanghai and they lived there throughout the war. A bond developed between the refugees and the people of Shanghai. A very moving documentary. Plus Shanghai by Joseph Kanon is getting good reviews
Hi Kathy, good to know! What an interesting documentary and fact about Shanghai that I’m not sure I knew about. You have me now interested in the Kanon book. I admit Shanghai books do interest me. I’m reading one set there now called River East, River West by Aube Rey Lescure. I have a couple on my shelves that are nonfiction Shanghai books that I haven’t gotten to. But it seems a fascinating place — just the West influences & the East combined.
Thx for the info. & Happy reading in June.
I’ve read a couple of Flynn Berry’s books including Northern Spy. Will have to watch for this one. Not sure how I feel about Presumed Innocent being redone. I find it a bit funny that we have reached the time where some of my old favorites are being filmed again with new cast. Does that mean I’m old? LOL
Ha Kay, I know what you mean. They’re doing all these remakes from the ’70s and ’80s as if we don’t remember those films then. What are they going to do next — remake The Godfather? Crazy. Just leave them be! We might be old but we remember the movies. Lol.
See what you think of the new Flynn Berry book. Hmm. Happy June to you.
There are SO many new books I want to read, yet my backlist TBR is already unmanageable! Sigh. Of the books you’ve pictured here, I’m most interested in the Ann Leary essay collection and Forgotten on Sunday (but I’ve promised myself I’ll read Fresh Water for Flowers, which I already own, first!) Plus there are the new releases by Claire Lombardo and Joyce Maynard… and don’t get me started on much-anticipated fall releases. Guess I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with all the choices, lol!
Hi JoAnn: yeah I agree. There’s so many books on the TBR I don’t where or what I’m doing, lol. But I guess I should stick to my summer reading list, although I do want to sneak other books in. The Leary book looks entertaining and I want to try out Valerie Perrin soon. I hope she’ll be as good as everyone says. Keep your head above water — so to speak. & Happy June!
Wow, thank you so much for this preview! It’s good to know what to look out for. I’m a huge fan of The Bear and I didn’t know Season 3 is coming out this month, I’m so excited! I’m also a fan of GoT but I haven’t started watching House of the Dragon yet. I hope you have a wonderful June!
Hi Haze, thanks. I’m so glad this post helped. A lot of people seem to love The Bear … but which network do you watch it on? I thought it was on Hulu but what’s that in Canada? I hope you enjoy that and House of the Dragon. Have a great June.
One of my favorite mystery writers is Jane Casey and the newest in her series comes out at the end of June. My sisters and I can’t wait! I used to order them from Book Depository so I didn’t have to wait for the US edition but now I feel it is important to support the US edition (even if it meant I didn’t have it for my sister’s birthday last week).
Hi Constance, wow that’s good to know. I will have to check out Jane Casey books. Another to add to my TBR. I had to look her up since I didn’t know of her … but now I see she’s an Irish crime writer. So is her new one A Stranger in the Family? I hope you enjoy it and let us know if it’s one of her best. Thanks for the tip about her books. They sound good! Have a great week.
I had high hopes that I would have read many of the Women’s Fiction nominees by now, but I really flubbed it. I even got many of them from the library but they all came in at once at exactly the wrong time to fit them in. The one I’ve heard the most buzz about is definitely Soldier Sailor, but that doesn’t usually work out very well for the book.
Several of your June releases caught my eye. I’ll take a closer look at those for sure, and that Jessica Lange movie on Max is one I’m going to look for soon. She’s one of those actors I can never take my eye off of when she’s in a scene.
Have a great summer…looks like you’re off to a great start.
Thanks Sam. Appreciate it. Yeah the Women’s Fiction Prize sort of snuck up on us and I meant to read more of the nominees too. I’m curious who will win tomorrow! The Booker winner is on my list this summer. And I am reading now River East, River West which I am liking. I think you read that one right?
I need to find the Jessica Lange movie too. I think we get HBO so I’ll look for it; it sounds poignant. And she’s always great.
Have a great reading month!
There are some very interesting entries in the June publications sections and I’ll definitely be adding some of them to my (very long) TBR list.
Hi Dorothy, yeah I know things are piling up on the TBR list. Will it ever go down a bit? I was surprised so many popular authors have books due out this month. It’s crazy. Enjoy your reading.
Summer here won’t be quite as busy as the school year usually is, fortunately. June has been calmer, especially now that the bees are finally out of the house. I’m really looking forward to Bear too. I do enjoy Ann Leary’s writing and will have to check out I’ve Tried Being Nice. It does sound fun! I haven’t been listening to much music outside of what my daughter plays. She’s been playing a lot of music by a band that performs what she calls history metal. The songs she likes to share with me are all about World War I and World War II. I am not sure what I think of it–it’s not really my style, but I like that she has an interest in history. I hope you have a great week, Susan!
Thanks LF. I have not heard of history metal or its sound, wow … I will have to see what that is. How unusual. But is good she likes history from it.
I’m glad you got the Bees out of the house … I will visit your site to see what happened but what a relief I’m sure. Gosh. I hope it wasn’t hugely expensive.
Glad to hear things are calmer there. The Ann Leary book – I hope will be entertaining. Happy June to you!
River East, River West was an impressive book. Hope you like it when you finish it.
Harvee https://bookdilettante.blogspot.com/2024/06/travel-can-be-fun-or-not-sunday-salon.html
Hi Harvee, I am liking the novel and it’s hard to believe it’s a debut. Very well done. Enjoy your weekend.
Tracy Chevalier has written some really good books — all the ones you described are intriguing, but especially the one from her which will be published in a few days. I’m intrigued by quite a few of your reviews.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Hi Mae, Chevalier is a good author … I like her historical tales though I’ve only read two. She has a couple others I’d like to read. I hope you like her new one.
I’m always so behind on books like the Women’s Prize books — I don’t only read genre fiction, but it is the majority. I’ll have to see if anything sounds tempting! Hope you enjoy. 😀
Hi Nicky, I heard that Brotherless Night was the winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction on Thursday. Whoa I knew nothing about it but I will add it to my TBR list. I’ve only read one from the shortlist. See what you think of them, Cheers!
I have not read any of these. I hope you have a great weekend!
Hi Cindy, thanks. It’s been a rainy weekend so far … but I guess we need the rain so I can’t complain too much. It’s good for the plants. Enjoy yours.
I’m so glad you didn’t skip this month. You shared a lot of books that I’d not yet heard a lot about, and I thank you for that.
I especially like the sound of Forgotten on Sunday and Soldier Sailor.
Good luck with your fencing project.
Thanks Deb. We got the fencing project done …. and it’s a bit immense the structure surrounding the vegetable garden … more than I wanted but it’ll keep the critters out. I guess deer can jump six feet so you have to build them 7′.
I’m glad the preview is helpful. I’m putting these on my radar list while still working on my summer list. June is going by in a hurry. Have a great week.
Thanks for telling me Jessica Lange has a new movie out!!! She is GREAT in American Horror Story!!!!!
I do not remember remember the 1987 novel and 1990 Presumed Innocent movie but might attempt to watch the Jake G version cuz he looks kinda creepy.
Finally, House of Dragons!!!! It’s been so long I need to see a recap video of S1 before I watch S2.
Yasssss S3 of The Bear. I’m glad they jumped on filming that right away while our memories are somewhat fresh.
Hi Jinjer, you’re on top of these shows, yeah! I just watched the Jessica Lange movie last night on HBO … it’s a sad one and a little too close to what happened with my mom. But Lange was great as usual.
You’re right: Jake G might make a good creepy Rusty Sabich. See what you think.
Have a great week. I’m going to stop by your site. Cheers.
Very excited for season 3 of The Bear. An absolutely excellent show.
I have read none of the books up for Women’s Prize, but not surprising since I am usually late reading new books. However, I am interested in reading both Claire Kilroy and Kate Grenville, so maybe I should start with these.
Fresh Water for Flowers is on my summer list, and Forgotton on Sunday has a very appealing premise.
Good luck with the deer deterrent fence. We have deer in the open space across from our house, but so far they haven’t ventured into my garden. Famous last words!
Yes, summer is very, very busy, but so wonderful. I am enjoying every day, even the hot ones that force me inside to read!
Happy June!
Hi Jane, glad to hear it’s going well there. Our fence is up and installed … the deer last summer liked our zucchinis a bit too much. I hope your garden is safe!
I’m glad you are trying Valerie Perrin’s books as well. You can vet them if you get to them before me. The Women’s Prize has some good ones too on the shortlist I think. I’ll likely read a few off it.
And I will see if we get The Bear show up here. If you think it’s good. I think it’s on Disney+ here which we don’t get. Uh oh. Enjoy it for us! Happy reading.
I’m curious about Bear. I wasn’t crazy about Julia Phillips’s first book, but the setting and premise of Bear have me intrigued.
Hi Diana, I hope Bear will be good, a bit of hype about it. I never got to Julia Phillips’s first novel so this will be my first time trying out her writing. Fingers crossed. I too like the book’s setting of the San Juan Islands. Have a great week.
Thanks for reminding me about the Women’s Prize announcement this week. I made a commitment to myself to read two of the finalists this year. So far I’ve only read The Wren, the Wren. I liked it okay, but it wasn’t a book I loved. My comment after completing it was “Well, that was quite literary.” Which shouldn’t be a bad thing but…you get my point.
I’m looking forward to warmer weather. So far we’ve been quite cool this late spring.
Hi Anne, Yeah I read Enright’s novel The Gathering and didn’t love it either so I haven’t picked up Wren, Wren … but it appears another novel won the prize. Thanks for stopping by. We’ve had cooler temps & rain too, but it’s better for the earth than the heat and fires we had last spring so I guess I’m happy with that. Have a great week.
Forgotten on Sunday sounds very interesting. I love cross-generational friendships and the perspectives they grant.
Hi Stephen, thanks for stopping by. I was glad to find your blog recently. The Valerie Perrin novel does look interesting. I’m glad another blogger pointed her books out to me recently. Have a great week.
We gave up on gardening but when we did do it, we needed an electric fence to keep the critters out.
I never did compile a summer reading list. But it’s never too late!
I like the sound of The Great Lillian Hall. I enjoy learning about how actors perform their craft.
Hi Joy, interesting to hear about the fence you used. We built a 7 foot fence surrounding an area for our vegetable garden. It’s sort of a big thing to put in – but I guess that’s what we had to do in order to keep it from being eaten.
I recently watched The Great Lillian Hall movie with Jessica Lange … and it’s a fictional story about an actress on Broadway… who faces some issues. Check it out if you get a chance. Cheers. & happy reading!