Jail time for librarians and widespread book bans are coming down the pike, as a federal judge allows a new Arkansas law to take effect.

Act 372 passed in March 2023 but faced several years of litigation over its constitutionality. The law has two especially troubling provisions:

A Trump-appointed Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals judge ruled July 30 that the law is constitutional and that the arguments made to halt the law were based entirely on hypotheticals. Except those hypotheticals aren’t; they’re based on the professional experience of library and bookstore workers.

Plaintiffs in this case have the opportunity to appeal the decision, but no action has been made as of writing. 

This law will impact you even if you don’t live in Arkansas, and even if you live in a “good” “blue” state. We’ve already seen what book censorship laws in Texas have done to the publishing industry, and we’ll certainly see where and how other means of educational control will impact young people over the next few years.

Read more about the decision on Arkansas Act 372 and learn how to get involved in protecting the right to read in the state. – KJ

The dog days are literally here as the week’s biggest new release is Paul Yoon’s Etna, which recounts the “odyssey” a veteran takes to return home from war…except the veteran is a dog who narrates the tail tale. (No, his name isn’t Argos. IYKYK.)

That might sound like a gimmick, but the reviews so far are quite positive, and dog people will be delighted to know that Yoon’s own four-legged pal inspired the story.

Also hitting shelves:

📚 Build your TBR with our New Release Index, available exclusively to All Access members.

Kiss of the Butterfly meets Midnight Mass 

Horror dances on gossamer wings in Jeremy Robinson’s Nectar, illustrated by Annapaola Martello and Francesco Francini. 

Butterflies with a taste for human blood descend on a quaint village off Salem, Massachusetts, and the village descends into madness in this supernatural thriller perfect for fans of ‘Salem’s Lot, Let the Right One In, and 30 Days of Night.

The world of modern thrillers has two just eras: Before Gone Girl and After Gone Girl. Gillian Flynn’s 2012 instant blockbuster didn’t invent the unreliable narrator, of course, but it broke the mold and ushered in a new era of domestic thrillers focused on toxic relationships and female antiheroes.

Often imitated, never duplicated—to say a book is “the next Gone Girl” is to spoil it from the outset—Gone Girl continues to put up big numbers.

Flynn didn’t just change publishing with the ultimate unlikable female narrator. Main character Amy Dunne’s legendary “Cool Girl” speech entered the discourse and has become a fixture in feminist media analysis.

🎧 Hear our conversation about this groundbreaking novel and its continuing impact on Zero to Well-Read.

Even in a historically slow publishing month—which August tends to be—there are still more new books than any reader can possibly make time for.

Goodreads has combined early reviews and data about titles users are adding to their “Want to Read” shelves to identify some of the most anticipated books of the month.

Where the algorithm goes, Goodreads follows, so this list, like most crowdsourced lists these days, is heavy on genre and commercial titles. That’s not a judgment, just a statement of fact. Lit fic readers have plenty to look forward to as well, including new novels from Chang-rae Lee, Téa Obreht, and Edwidge Danticat.

✅ Check out the whole list.

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Don’t miss this great opportunity to stock up on classroom libraries, curriculum resources, and personal reading before the school year begins.

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Here is a handful of mystery/thrillers for your late summer consideration. And if you are thirsty for more, check out our extended picks.

Ghost in the Night by Tiffany D. Jackson
For fans of middle grade mysteries, supernatural, and ghost tours

Following her grandmother’s death, 12-year-old Harmony Roundtree is touring the country with her guitarist dad rather than being home in Harlem. While staying in Savannah, Harmony is determined to prove ghosts exist, but ends up instead with a murder mystery connected to the woman her father is staying with.

Murder At The End of the World by Akane Araki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood
For fans of detective duos, Japanese murder mysteries, and “an asteroid is about to hit the earth” settings

If there are only two months left to live—an asteroid is about to hit the earth—what’s the point of solving a murder? Turns out some people are trying to go about their lives as usual until they figure out what to do. Enter Haru, a university student getting her driver’s license, and Isagawa, her instructor/former police detective. When they find someone stabbed to death, they decide to investigate since the police most likely won’t.

Fruit Fly by by Josh Silver*
The BBC picked this as a 2026 must-read, and comparisons to Yellowface abound. A blocked writer co-opts the story of a vulnerable person, but the deception unravels as secrets come to light. 

The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian
For fans of literary crime novels and fictional memoirs

In the summer of 1978, 18-year-old Mira Winston’s life was changed forever after she accidentally killed someone. While at a country club, she hit a golf ball that hit a young caddie and killed him. The incident means that she doesn’t head to Yale, an affair with a much older man is revealed, and eventually, there’s a trial.

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Tracy Borman is the chief historian of Historic Royal Palaces. Her new novel, The House of Boleyn, is out today from Grove Atlantic. Below, she discusses myths and misconceptions about Anne Boleyn.

I’ve spent most of my career studying Anne Boleyn and have an almost daily reminder of her bloody fate at the Tower of London, where I work when I’m not writing books.

Her story has been told many times, but in my new novel, The House of Boleyn, I wanted to bring a fresh perspective—and, crucially, to strip away the layers of myth and misrepresentation that have distorted it over the centuries. 

To do so, I set it entirely at Hever Castle, the Boleyns’ beautiful and much-loved family home. It was fascinating to explore what this famous family was truly like behind the courtier mask: how they used Hever to escape the snakepit of Henry VIII’s court, plan their next move, enjoy their triumphs, and lick their wounds.

There was not a nook or cranny of this fairytale-like castle that I didn’t explore while conducting my research. I was thrilled to discover a secret cupboard hidden in the panelling of Anne Boleyn’s bedchamber, where I like to think she concealed her secret love letters!

On the subject of Anne’s love life, perhaps the most remarkable discovery I made was that her heart lay not with Henry VIII but with someone closer to home (I’m not going to say who—that would spoil the book!).

I also loved bringing the lesser-known Boleyns out of the shadows, in particular Anne’s formidable grandmother Lady Margaret Butler and her sister-in-law Jane, Lady Rochford, who is so often—and, as I found out, unjustifiably—cast as a villain.

Having spent years immersing myself in the Boleyns’ story, what became startlingly clear was how misunderstood they have been. Contrary to the popular image of Anne’s father, Thomas, as a grasping courtier who pushed her into Henry VIII’s path to further his own ambitions, the evidence strongly suggests that he tried to protect Anne from a king he knew to be deadly.

Neither did Anne herself aim for the crown from Day 1. In fact, she did everything she could to avoid it.

But there’s only so long you can say no to Henry VIII.

Looking for the best books of 2026? You’ve come to the right place. ThriftBooks has selected 140 of the best books of the year so far across today’s most popular genres, from literary fiction and contemporary novels to romance, mystery, fantasy, young adult, children’s books, and non-fiction.

Whether you’re searching for an award-worthy novel, the latest BookTok favorite, an unforgettable thriller, or an inspiring non-fiction read, this curated list highlights the standout books readers are talking about in 2026. Every title is available at ThriftBooks, where you’ll find millions of new and used books at prices you’ll love.

Did you know? Dennis Lehane once said he didn’t want to write the screenplays for adaptations of his books because he had “no desire to operate on his own child.”

✈️ Pack a one-sitting read for your next flight.

😎 Bust your summer TBR with the New York Times‘s best new books of August.

📚 Check out the best books people have discovered through the Read Harder Challenge.

🏃‍♀️ Train your attention to read more and scroll less with this author’s 8-week program.

💗 Expand your literary horizons with the best recent poetry books.

Written by Rebecca Schinsky, Kelly Jensen, Jeff O’Neal, and Danika Ellis. Thanks to Vanessa Diaz for copy editing.

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