The best new books to read in August 2023 feature new books by bestselling and award-winning authors including contemporary and literary fiction, sci fi, mysteries and thrillers, and essay collections. Enjoy the dog days of summer and prepare for the upcoming fall season with these 10 new highly anticipated August books. Available to purchase now or preorder, these are the most anticipated books of August 2023.

The Best New Books To Read In August 2023

1. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Release Date: August 1

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

2. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Release Date: August 8

From James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah’s Book Club pick Deacon King Kong and the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, a novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them.

3. Prophet by Helen Macdonald and Sin Blaché

Release Date: August 8

From the extraordinary minds of award-winning and New York Times–bestselling author of H Is for Hawk Helen Macdonald and first time author Sin Blaché, Prophet is their electric debut, a tantalizing adventure fusing noir, sci-fi and a slow burn queer romance―set in a universe just one perilous step from our own.

4. The Invisible Hour: A Novel by Alice Hoffman

Release Date: August 15

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

5. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Release Date: August 15

From the author of Skippy Dies comes Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting, an irresistibly funny, wise, and thought-provoking tour de force about family, fortune, and the struggle to be a good person when the world is falling apart.

6. Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

Release Date: August 29

Sometimes bad things happen to good people, so good people have to do bad things.

7. Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Release Date: August 29

When a father goes missing, his family’s desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and one another in this thrilling page-turner, a deeply moving portrait of a family in crisis from the award-winning author of Miracle Creek.

8. The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner

Release Date: August 29

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets, and a life-changing journey.

9. Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue

Release Date: August 29

Based on the true story of two girls who fall secretly, deeply, and dangerously in love at boarding school in 19th century York, Learned by Heart is a heartbreakingly gorgeous novel from the bestselling author of Room and The Wonder.

10. The Deadline by Jill Lepore

Release Date: August 29

A book to be read and kept for posterity, The Deadline is the art of the essay at its best.

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