Mellow August with its lazy ripeness and hazy summer breeze is the perfect month for escaping into a good book. Luckily, we’ve been busy bees harvesting the best of the best in all genres for your late summer flights of fancy. With our specially-crafted, mood dependent, Summer Reading and the latest in our many and varied fiction and non-fiction categories, we’re confident that, whatever your poison, there’s a taste sensation for everyone at Lovereading this month. Read on for more.

An August Gathering! - Books of the Month

As always, we’ve lovingly filled our August bookshelf with the very brightest talent in all genres. Our top pick is: Daughter of the House by Rosie Thomas – Beautiful, atmospheric sequel to The Illusionist: “Smell the greasepaint of the theatre, shiver at the chill of spiritualism, share the secrets of illicit affairs. A great read!” (Lovereading Reader Reviewer).

First Fruits - Debuts of the Month

August is a time of harvest and we’ve got some real peaches of first-timers for you this month. Don’t miss: The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan – Enjoyable, exotic, India-set mystery for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and for those who loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Or Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal – Joyful, quirky and heartwarming story with a heroine who, love her or envy her, you’ll never forget. ‘Captivating’, ‘a feast of a book’, ‘an absolute gem’ are just some of the superbly deserved accolades from our Reader Review Panel, given to Rembrandt’s Mirror by Kim Devereux. And Freedom’s Child by Jax Miller – ‘What a pulsating, driving rush this book is … superbly crafted … mesmerising and very hard to put down’ (Lovereading Reader Reviewer).

An Author Who’s Too Close to Home?

Not only is Too Close to Home the title of one of her books, but you sense that the unique voice of Susan Lewis’s spiralling family dramas comes from a place very near truth. You will be part of the family, feeling every heartbeat of their lives. And you’ll want to devour every one of her books. Luckily, we’ve got them. Here. Happy reading!

Sci-Fi Series of the Month from Jeff VanderMeer

If we told you that we’d found a hybrid of J.J. Abrams and Margaret Atwood you might think we’d gone mad. It would be Science Fiction indeed! But then along comes Jeff VanderMeer who, to all intents and purposes, is their lovechild – literarily not literally, if you see what we mean? Creepily brilliant and unforgettable, his Southern Reach trilogy – Annihilation,  Authority and Acceptance – is utterly awesome. Alison Flood, one of our Fiction editorial experts said, ‘I’m not sure I’ve read a trilogy which scared me, and stayed with me so much, for years.’

WWII – VJ Day Anniversary

August 15 sees the 70^th anniversary of the end of the mammoth conflict that shook the globe from 1939-1945 and we have a category of books – fiction and non-fiction – inspired by that incredible period in human history. Adventure, heroism, horror, cruelty, sacrifice, survival all abound and this category is a tribute to all who died and to those who lived through it.

New Work from New York – Jonathan Franzen

Novelist and die-hard New Yorker Jonathan Franzen has received worldwide acclaim for his work. The Corrections (2001) is a uniquely insightful exposé of modern America through the individual lives of the members of one family. Multi-award winning and an international bestseller, it has sealed its place as one of the great American novels. We are quietly excited (he wouldn’t want a fuss) about the arrival of his long-awaited new title, Purity, a dark-hued comedy of youthful idealism, extreme fidelity, and murder. It’s published in September.

Literary Festival Late Summer Update

This August and September look out for book festivals such as: Beyond Borders International Festival of Literature and Thought 22-23 Aug … Bewdley Book Week 7 – 13 Sep … The International Agatha Christie Festival 11-20 Sep … Bloody Scotland 11 – 13 Sep … Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival 17 – 20 Sep … Henley Literature Festival 28 Sep – 4 Oct. Happy Reading … P.S. The Man Booker Longlist has been announced. You can find them all here and despite the number of British contenders being reduced our office favs are still the home-grown Anne Enright and Tom McCarthy.