The co-op bookstore for avid readers

Tertulia Staff Picks: 10 Books Coming in July That We Can't Wait to Read

Tertulia Staff Picks: 10 Books Coming in July That We Can't Wait to Read
Tertulia Staff Picks: 10 Books Coming in July That We Can't Wait to Read
Tertulia staff •
Jun 27th, 2025

Every month, we share the books we can't wait to read. Our July staff picks include: Gary Shteyngart's new novel about a diverse, modern American family's grappling with our unstable moment, a hotly anticipated debut from Brooklyn writer Katie Yee, and a new story collection from the acclaimed author of The Anthropologists.


FICTION

Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart (July 8)

Selected by Emmanuel Hidalgo-Wohlleben

I've been following Gary Shteyngart on social media for years—always with a mischievous grin and martini in hand—without ever actually reading one of his novels. His latest book finally hooked me with what sounds like a brilliantly messy portrait of the American experience through a family spanning Russian, Jewish, Korean, and New England WASP heritages navigating these difficult and unstable times both at home and abroad.


Long Distance: Stories by Aysegül Savas (July 8)

Selected by Fernanda Gorgulho

One of my favorite books last year was The Anthropologists, a subtle, intimate novel about two people building a life far from home. So I’m excited that Turkish author Ayşegül Savaş is back this summer with Long Distance, a collection promising more of her precise, tender insights into intimacy, and the quiet space between people.


Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee (July 22)

Selected by Romina Raimundo

Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar opens with a devastating one-two punch: the narrator's husband confesses to an affair over dinner (with someone named Maggie), then she's diagnosed with breast cancer—so naturally, she names the tumor Maggie too. Sounds like the kind of brilliant, darkly funny memoir proves that finding humor and meaning in the middle of chaos is essential.


Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey by Kathleen Kaufman (July 29)

Selected by Natalie Shaw

I'm preparing myself to be mesmerized by this gothic seance drama following Nora Grey, a woman who literally mesmerizes her audience - and risks being branded a witch until she's whisked into Edinburgh’s elite Spiritualist circle. What draws me in is how this book promises to explore power, performance, and what it means to shape your own story when the world keeps trying to write it for you.


All the Men I've Loved Again by Christine Pride (July 8)

Selected by Iliyah Coles

Everyone needs a good romance fix every once in a while and I need a break from watching Love Island. This one's a sweet college romance equipped with an appropriate amount of love triangles, scandal, and What Ifs. We even get to see them 20 years into the future pondering their What Ifs of the past... Love Island could never!


Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie (July 8)

Selected by Fernanda Gorgulho

After getting a brutal one-star review and accidentally sleeping with the critic who wrote it, a struggling actress turns her show into a viral takedown. Set at the iconic Edinburgh Fringe and written by an arts journalist who spent years covering the festival, this novel promises a sharp and funny look at how we see ourselves and the stories we tell both onstage and off.


The Confessions by Paul Bradley Carr (July 22)

Selected by Romina Raimundo

Any fellow Black Mirror fans out there? Carr’s latest book introduces us to LLIAM, the world’s most powerful AI which suddenly goes dark. Chaos ensues—markets crash, planes freeze on runways, humanity falls into panic. Then the real terror begins. Mysterious letters arrive across the globe, each one beginning with: We must confess. And what follows? People’s worst secrets, crimes, betrayals—exposed. Black Mirror could easily do a whole series on the post-apocalyptic scenario of what might happen after the fall of an IA controlling everything.


NONFICTION

A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst (July 8)

Selected by Fernanda Gorgulho

This has been one of the most talked-about nonfiction reads of the season, and I get why: a shipwreck, a rubber raft, a marriage pushed to the brink—all a true story. I’m so curious to see how this survival story turns into something deeper about love, obsession, and the quiet madness of being stuck with your person for 117 days at sea.


CIA Book Club by Charlie English (July 1)

Selected by Emmanuel Hidalgo-Wohlleben Romina Raimundo

I am a big history and foreign policy buff so I love a spy thriller that happens to be true – like this narrative by former Guardian jourrnalist Charlie English about the CIA's secret mission to flood Soviet-controlled Poland with banned literature during the Cold War. Given our current moment of rising authoritarianism and book bans, it should be fascinating to read how literature once fought back against those who would silence it.


Algospeak by Adam Aleksik (July 15)

Selected by Iliyah Coles

Okay so it's embarrassing to admit, but I'm such a grammar and linguistics nerd. I love tracking how words transform and how we rediscover their meanings through different generations. And social media has completely changed the game. I'm still confused when I hear kids use the word "skibidi."