Summer Reads, Rapid Readalikes, and More News for Library Workers

Welcome back, library friends. Today, we’re all about the books—new releases, summer picks, all the best reading suggestions for Pride Month, and some rapid readalikes for buzzy new books. Let’s dive in.

The Best Books of June

June picks from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kirkus, LA Times, New York Times, NPR, Reactor (fantasy, sci-fi), Star Tribune, USA Today, and Vulture. Book Riot’s favorite books of June, plus picks for mysteries/thrillers, romance, SFF, historical fiction, nonfiction, queer books, children’s books, and graphic novels.

Summer Reads

Summer picks from Goodreads, Kirkus, New York Times (fiction, nonfiction), and NPR. The New York Times issued a summer reading bucket list. Crime Reads released their huge most-anticipated list for the summer, and I love this list so much that I’m giving it its own bullet point. Book Riot picks the best beach reads of ALL TIME. The ultimate summer YA reading list.

More New Releases

The best recent translated fiction. 5 new Asian American horror novels. 6 new BIPOC books about family.

LGBTQ+ Reads

Barnes & Noble’s Pride Month reading list. Under-the-radar LGBTQ reads for 2026. 9 comics to celebrate Pride Month. 25 new queer YA books for your Pride Month TBR. LGBTQ+ audiobooks for the whole family. 30 queer SFF YA books. 30 great LGBTQ+ picture books for kids. 7 books about queer and trans lives on the prairie. 9 books by drag performers who have never been featured on Drag Race. Trans books to help you with the Read Harder challenge. 8 queer folk horror novels. 5 books with pansexual main characters. LGBTQ romances set in bookstores & libraries.

Rapidfire Readalikes For Buzzy Books

If you’re waiting for Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke, try…

Everyone Is Lying to You by Jo Piazza A high-impact thriller centered around the façade of social media influencers.

If you’re waiting for Keeper of My Kin: Memoir of an Immigrant Daughter by Ada Ferrer, try…

The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora by Elena Maria Sheppard A reflective memoir from a Cuban immigrant that touches on themes of migration, family, and memoir.

If you’re waiting for Kin by Tayari Jones, try…

Sula by Toni Morrison A classic novel centered around the lifelong friendship of two Black women, and how their connection changes when one of them leaves home, and the other is left behind.

If you’re waiting for Land by Maggie O’Farrell, try…

Bog Queen by Anna North Both are evocative, historical novels based around monumental discoveries with far-reaching consequences.

If you’re looking for even more new books, subscribe to the New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.