Librarian Newsletter: August 2026
Hello,
In this issue, we have read-alike recommendations for the new David Sedaris essay collection, The Land and Its People, along with other globetrotting books in our Global category.
We also bring you and your patrons a “beyond the book” list of various types of reading, including poetry, philosophy, and scientific literature, referenced in the fascinatingly nonlinear novel Mad Eden by Morgan Thomas.
Plus, check out our most anticipated list for the second half of 2026 to find new and upcoming releases, our full selection of August previews, and recent and future online discussions and Ask the Author interviews.
— The BookBrowse Team
Read-Alikes: The Land and Its People by David Sedaris
BookBrowse handpicked read-alikes help you recommend books when one a patron requests isn't available, or when they’re looking for a similar title. For someone interested in The Land and Its People by David Sedaris, we suggest:
The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine
Look Alive Out There by Sloane Crosley
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
Global Books
The Land and Its People by David Sedaris, recently featured in our digital magazine, is just one of 250+ books in our Global category, featuring both fiction and nonfiction that is globally relevant or set in multiple locations around the world.
This is one of 100+ themed categories available to BookBrowse members and subscribing libraries.
Non-members can enjoy a limited version of our category lists.
Beyond the Book: A Mad Eden Reading List
In Mad Eden, Morgan Thomas constructs a story that is nonlinear, circuitous, and sometimes downright diversionary, thinking outside the narrative box. One of Ro's most charming qualities as a narrator is their tendency toward reference and allusion—to poems, books, scientific studies, and more.
Here we explore some of those references, including work by Lucie Delarue-Mardrus, Victoria Chang, Plato, and more.
Our Most Anticipated Books for July-December 2026
2026 has already been exciting for books, and the second half is looking especially enticing.
Here we have a wide range of contemporary and historical fiction, mysteries and thrillers to keep you up at night, speculative works that reckon with past, future, and parallel worlds, and nonfiction to reckon with the current one.
Book Club Discussions
Find inspiration for your book club(s) among our more than 200 past discussions.
We’re currently talking about Too Old for This by Samantha Downing and How to Kill a Crime Writer by Sarah Lotz, among other books. Starting August 13, we feature The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin.
Ask the Author Interviews
BookBrowse regularly hosts Ask the Author sessions in our community forum. You and your patrons are welcome to follow along and post questions in any interviews that interest you. See our recent conversation with Catherine Lloyd, author of Chelsea Girls.
New & Notable Books in August
We've carefully selected 80+ of the most noteworthy books publishing in August—check them out!
Individual members and subscribing libraries can see, sort, and download the full list for all months. Non-subscribers can view books up to the current month and a limited selection of future books.
