Whether cosied up by the fire or sprawled in the sun, there is always occasion for a good book, no matter where the season may take you. Here, we deliver a line-up of recently released, unmissable reads that run the gamut from moving memoirs to gripping novels to escapist reads.
Gravity Let Me Go
by Trent Dalton
It feels fitting that Trent Dalton’s latest novel bears the word gravity in its title, given the weight his stories always hold. Set in suburban Brisbane, this work — which Dalton describes as “his most personal book yet” — follows journalist Noah Cork in the wake of the greatest scoop of his career: an exposé on a cold-blooded killer. But what Noah uncovers reaches far beyond the crime itself. The novel evolves into a meditation on love and marriage, the transformative power of storytelling, and the search for life’s true meaning — all delivered in Dalton’s trademark prose that is at once gripping, heartbreaking, hilarious, and profoundly life-affirming.
People Like Us
by Jason Mott
From the National Book Award–winning author of Hell of a Book comes a stirring meditation on identity, grief, and the stories we inherit. Two Black writers’ intersecting journeys blend reality with surreal, dreamlike turns, revealing humour, loss, and the true power and impact of love.
Moderation
by Elaine Castillo
In a future shaped by virtual reality and corporate power, content moderator Girlie Delmundo is climbing the ranks — until an unexpected connection forces her to reckon with reality. Witty, inventive, and razor-sharp, this is a love story tangled in algorithms, ambition, and the hazy landscape of human interaction.
I Am You
by Victoria Redel
Set in 17th-century Amsterdam, this sensual, atmospheric novel traces the tangled bond between two women — artist and muse, master and servant, lover and rival. Blurring the lines between obsession and devotion, I Am You is a richly painted story of art, identity, and power.
L.A. Women
by Ella Berman
Set against the glittering backdrop of 1960s L.A., this electrifying novel charts the complex friendship between two ambitious writers — until one vanishes, and the other sees an opportunity to rewrite her life as fiction. A fierce exploration of art, envy, and the price of betrayal.
Life, and Death, and Giants
by Ron Rindo
In a quiet Wisconsin town, a boy of impossible size and unexpected grace grows up hidden from the world — until fate intervenes. What follows is a luminous story of buried secrets, hard-won faith, and the extraordinary ways one life can transform many.
When the Cranes Fly South
by Lisa Ridzén
Translated from Swedish by Alice Menzies, this tender bestseller follows Bo, an ageing man facing the loss of his beloved dog — and his independence. A stirring, soul-deep journey of love, regret, and the fierce fight to hold on.
The Unbroken Coast
by Nalini Jones
Spanning the turbulent years when Bombay became Mumbai, this luminous debut follows the unlikely friendship between a retired historian and a fisherman’s daughter. Evocative and emotionally resonant, it’s a story of shifting coastlines and the search for home in a changing world.
Happiness and Love
by Zoe Dubno
At one excruciating dinner party, a woman is forced back into the orbit of her estranged best friends — an artist and a curator who epitomise everything she loathes. This sharp, merciless debut skewers materialism, self-obsession, and the sometimes shallow ambitions of the cultural elite.
The Irish Goodbye
by Heather Aimee O’Neill
One Thanksgiving weekend, three sisters reunite — each hiding a secret. When Cait invites a figure from their past to dinner, long-buried tensions erupt, forcing the Ryan girls to confront the events that shattered their family decades earlier and find a path to forgiveness.
Heart Lamp
written by Banu Mushtaq & translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi
Winner of the 2025 International Booker Prize, Heart Lamp illuminates the everyday lives of women and girls in southern India through 12 sharply observed, richly textured stories. With wit, compassion, and quiet fury, Banu Mushtaq crafts a vivid, unforgettable portrait of resilience and resistance.
Perfection
written by Vincenzo Latronico & translated from Italian by Sophie Hughes
Anna and Tom have everything a modern millennial couple could want — creative jobs, a cool Berlin apartment, and a lively social life. But behind the façade of conscious living and Instagrammable moments, disillusionment festers. Perfection is a sharp, stylish portrait of a generation lost in its own reflection.
Eurotrash
written by Christian Kracht & translated from German by Daniel Bowles
In this semi-autobiographical novel, a writer and his eccentric mother (fresh from a psychiatric clinic) set off on a chaotic road trip across Switzerland to rid themselves of her tainted fortune. Darkly funny and unflinchingly personal, Eurotrash is a razor-sharp reckoning with family, guilt, and legacy.
On the Calculation of Volume I
written by Solvej Balle & translated from Danish by Barbara J. Havel
The mesmerising first instalment in Solvej Balle’s acclaimed septology sees Tara Selter stuck in a time loop. As the world resets around her every single day, she alone carries memory forward, unti 365 days into the loop, she decides to look for an escape.
Dead and Alive
by Zadie Smith
In this incisive new essay collection, Zadie Smith turns her sharp, humane gaze to art, politics, film, grief, and place. From North-West London to New York, Dead and Alive is a brilliant meditation on culture, connection, and the texture of modern life from one of the most critical literary voices of our time.
Protocols: An Operating Manual for the Human Body
by Andrew D. Huberman
Renowned Stanford neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman delivers a clear, science-backed guide to mastering your brain and body. Protocols offers practical, customisable strategies to boost mental clarity, mood, energy, and physical performance — transforming everyday challenges into opportunities for lasting change.
Mother Mary Comes to Me
by Arundhati Roy
In her first memoir, Booker Prize–winner Arundhati Roy reflects on a life shaped by the formidable presence of her mother, Mary Roy — a trailblazing educator and uncompromising force. Tender, sharp, and unsparingly honest, it’s a story of love, rupture, and the making of a writer.
The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories That Define Us
by John J. Lennon
Written from inside prison walls, this groundbreaking work blends personal memoir with immersive journalism as Lennon shares the stories of four men who have killed — revealing their complex lives, search for redemption, and the human truths often lost in our true crime obsession.
Baldwin: A Love Story
by Nicholas Boggs
A revelatory portrait of James Baldwin through the relationships that shaped him. Blending archival research with lyrical insight, Boggs traces the emotional and creative bonds that fed Baldwin’s art — offering a deeply human perspective on one of the 20th century’s most vital voices.
Make It Ours
by Robin Givhan
Part biography, part cultural reckoning, Make It Ours traces Virgil Abloh’s extraordinary ascent — from outsider to Louis Vuitton menswear’s first Black artistic director. With sharp insight and rare access, Givhan explores how Abloh reframed luxury.
