9 New Books for July
This month, we’ve got our eyes on The Sunset Crowd, Ripe, and seven other titles by writers on the West.
ALL-NIGHT PHARMACY, BY RUTH MADIEVSKY
Madievsky’s unnamed narrator, a recent high school graduate, is entangled with her older sister, Debbie, who flirts with danger, drugs, and sex work. But when Debbie disappears, her sibling is left with her own pill addiction, fueled by her job at a hospital, and no plan—until Jewish refugee Sasha shows up, claiming to be psychic and ready to save her. Catapult, July 11
BOGIE AND BACALL, BY WILLIAM J. MANN
Lauren Bacall was only 19 when she began a relationship with 45-year-old Humphrey Bogart. In this new book, Mann considers the myriad difficulties she endured. Bacall lived for decades after Bogart’s death and eventually married again, and Mann investigates all of this, offering an unflinching yet sympathetic examination of her career, her romances, and her legacy. Harper, July 11
DENIAL, BY JON RAYMOND
Raymond’s novel revolves around a Pacific Northwest journalist named Jack Henry, who in 2052 experiences the devastating effects of climate change and the criminality of oil executives and lobbyists. Many of them were caught and convicted, but not a certain Robert Cave, who has escaped to Mexico, according to a tip. The news offers Henry a shot at saving his career, and armed with a fake identity, he flies south, where he makes contact with Cave. Simon & Schuster, July 26
THE LIBRARIANIST, BY PATRICK DEWITT
Bob Comet may appear to be a content—albeit painfully introverted—retired librarian, but when he starts to volunteer at a local senior center, a specter from his past shows up, reminding him of decades of unresolved pain. From his miserable childhood to his complicated relationships as a young man, Bob reveals the secrets of his mind and heart while illustrating the fact that every life contains marvelous insights into the mystery of existence. Ecco Press, July 4
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE: THE EAGLES’ RECKLESS RIDE DOWN THE ROCK & ROLL HIGHWAY, BY MICK WALL
The Eagles are best known for the hits that made them the top-selling rock band ever, but behind the scenes, things were a lot more complex. Music journalist Wall presents a candid look at the offstage drama, fights, and addictions that haunted the group. The book is a portrait of the times as well, highlighting the pressures and pleasures of Los Angeles in the 1970s. Diversion Books, July 11
THE MAJORITY, BY ELIZABETH L. SILVER
Drawing from the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Silver’s novel depicts a fictionalized Supreme Court justice who navigates the misogyny of the world in which she finds herself. Even as she shoulders her own burdens of love, career, and motherhood, Justice Sylvia Olin Bernstein also seeks to be a force of moral reckoning. In The Majority, readers are given a look at a vivid life. Riverhead Books, July 11
RIGHTING THE AMERICAN DREAM: HOW THE MEDIA MAINSTREAMED REAGAN’S EVANGELICAL VISION, BY DIANE WINSTON
Ronald Reagan knew that evangelical Christians could help him win reelection in 1984. Less recognized, journalist and professor Winston argues, is the role played by the media. Using extensive research and political analysis, Winston connects Reagan’s messaging directly to press reports, illuminating how careless reporting affected the election and forever changed U.S. democracy. University of Chicago Press, July 28
RIPE, BY SARAH ROSE ETTER
A toxic job and a demanding boss provoke a black hole of anxiety in Cassie, a tech worker in Silicon Valley whose life has become a nightmare. In a culture defined by extreme class inequality, she watches the mental health of her colleagues deteriorate until she is forced to decide whether she is going to prioritize her well-being—at the expense of everything she has worked for. Etter’s novel delivers an incisive critique of corporate work culture. Scribner, July 11
THE SUNSET CROWD, BY KARIN TANABE
Evra Scott seems to have it all: she is a fashion icon whose parents are among Los Angeles’s best-known couples, and she is the girlfriend of Hollywood screenwriter Kai de la Faire. Evra, though, isn’t the only character in Tanabe’s novel eager for fame and fortune. There’s also Theodora Leigh, an ambitious assistant set on becoming a producer, and Bea Dupont, a photographer with feelings for Kai. St. Martin’s Press, July 4
