Greetings from Three Lives & Company!

Each summer we booksellers take a break from our usual write-ups, seizing the first truly fine days of the year to wander the city, see a show, and, yes, to read in the park. (It hardly matters which park, or whether anyone else would use that word to describe your preferred patch of grass.) Instead of recommendations and recent favorites, this newsletter offers a preview of forthcoming titles for the summer and fall – more information is below.

As booksellers, of course, we cannot resist sharing a bit of what we’ve been reading. Sarah has recently loved two story collections, Pam Houston’s Cowboys Are My Weakness and Ben Shattuck’s The History of Sound; Marlowe has enjoyed Tom Stoppard’s classic play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and Sara Nović’s novel True Biz. Ryan, meanwhile, has delighted in historical fiction, first from Álvaro Enrigue – whose You Dreamed of Empires Ryan called “a hazy collection of set pieces, witty and brutal” – and then from Shirley Hazzard: her Great Fire, set in the aftermath of the Second World War, “is a serious, nuanced look at the ways people try to rebuild, or build anew, lives that have lost their foundations.” 

Lucas is midway through Art in a State of Siege, Joseph Leo Koerner’s fascinating, art-historical triptych, and has been singing the praises of Heart Lamp, Banu Mushtaq’s International Booker Prize–winning story collection. Joyce has sought pleasure in the wisdom of the past – Adam Nicolson’s philosophical digest How to Be – and the comforts of the backlist with Jane Gardam’s The Hollow Land and Crusoe’s Daughter, both re-reads. And Elaine may have the rest of us beat with a slew of small-press standouts: Andromeda by Therese Bohman, The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana, The Colony by Anika Norlin, A Leopard-Skin Hat by Anne Serre, and, for good measure, Carson McCullers’s The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.

Troy has also written up a mid-year Cookbook Corner that is perfectly timed for Pride Month, celebrated each year at Three Lives with a vibrant theme table – and shortened hours on Pride Sunday, June 29! (We will be open from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.) 

There is one last note before we go on. Like many of you, we were deeply affected by the news of Edmund White’s passing earlier this month. Ed was a true friend of the shop over the decades: each time he gave a reading it felt like a homecoming, so great was the love in the room. We will miss his visits, his gossip, and his good company. (1940–2025)

~ Forthcoming in Summer and Fall ~

For the last two years of summer newsletters we have invited former booksellers to share memories of their years at Three Lives, as well as recent and all-time favorite books; you can find those “alumni editions” archived on our website. But this summer we are looking ahead to the second half of the year: long seasons studded with excellent books from around the world (and across the centuries). Below you will find a catalog of sorts – a glimpse of great things to come. Our personal selections are marked with an asterisk and the names of the booksellers who chose them.

NEWLY PUBLISHED

Deep House: The Gayest Love Story Ever Told by Jeremy Atherton Lin (Little, Brown)

A new history of the fight for marriage equality, from the author of Gay Bar, a mainstay in our queer literature section.

The Golden Book of Words by Bernadette Mayer (New Directions) *Elaine

Associated with both the Language poets and the New York school, Mayer helped define the avant garde in twentieth-century American poetry; a new edition of her early work, and a fine introduction to her innovative style. 

Grand Finales: The Creative Longevity of Women Artists by Susan Gubar (W.W. Norton)

Louise Bourgeois, Gwendolyn Brooks, Colette, Isak Dinesen, Katherine Dunham, George Eliot, Marianne Moore, Georgia O’Keefe, and Mary Lou Williams: a study of nine “creative old ladies” and their fabulous final acts. 

Homework by Geoff Dyer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

A portrait of the writer as a young man, and a fascinating vision of mid-century Britain.

The Island by Antigone Kefala (Transit) *Toby

Originally published in Australia in 1984; now available (for the first time in the U.S.) as a beautiful paperback from Transit Books.

Parallel Lines by Edward St. Aubyn (Knopf)

Keen family drama from the author of the Patrick Melrose novels.

The Shooting Party and Winter Journey by Isabel Colegate (Counterpoint) *Miriam

Stylish reissues of two beloved novels, which Miriam, in an earlier newsletter, has praised for their “clean, elegant prose,” “engaging plots” and “occasional surprising twists.”

That’s How They Get You: An Unruly Anthology of Black American Humor (Pantheon, edited by Damon Young)

Twenty-four humor pieces by Black writers, including shop favorites Hanif Abdurraqib and Kiese Laymon. 

JUNE

Bug Hollow by Michelle Huneven (Penguin Press) *Miriam

California in the 1970s and beyond: a family transformed by loss, exploring new forms of love and unexpected paths toward acceptance. 

Misbehaving at the Crossroads by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (Harper)

Essays centered on the lives of Black women, historical and contemporary, from the author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois. 

Room on the Sea by André Aciman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Three novellas, each set in a seaside locale, from a master of sensual melancholia. 

Sing to the Western Wind by Tariq Mehmood (Verso) *Toby

How does a 70-year-old nonbeliever end up carrying a suicide bomb through the streets of Manchester? A novel made of memories, a life made (and unmade) by the forces of history. 

The Stone Door by Leonora Carrington (New York Review Books)

Hard to find after its first U.S. publication in 1977, an esoteric gem of a novel from a Surrealist visionary.

JULY

The Accidental Garden by Richard Mabey (New York Review Books)

A memoir from one of England’s great nature writers, exploring “gardens, wilderness, and the space in between.” 

Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from My Palestine by Sami Tamimi (Ten Speed)

The first solo cookbook from a chef famous for his collaborations. Here he celebrates vegetables – “boustany” is Arabic for “my garden” – and the vibrant roles they play in Palestinian cuisine. 

Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyễn (Catapult) *Marlowe

Two Asian American trans women set out to conquer the men’s professional indoor volleyball league. Hyperaware sports satire, tech-mediated queer romance, and fun with puns. 

I Found Myself: The Last Dreams by Naguib Mahfouz (New Directions, translated by Hisham Matar, with photographs by Diana Matar) *Lucas

Late stories from the Egyptian Nobel laureate: dreamlike tales, beautifully translated by Hisham Matar (My Friends, The Return), with haunting photographs throughout.

Into the Sun by C.F. Ramuz (New Directions, translated by Olivia Baes and Emma Ramadan)

“Climate fiction” avant la lettre: a Swiss town thrown into apocalyptic chaos as the Earth hurtles toward the sun. From the author of Great Fear on the Mountain, a staff favorite.

Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu (Little, Brown) *Marlowe

Best friends take the big city: camaraderie, competition, and coming-of-age in the New York art scene of the 1990s. A highly anticipated debut.

Long Distance by Ayşegül Savaş (Bloomsbury) *Toby, Miriam

The first story collection from the author of The Anthropologists and White on White; subtle, cunning, contemporary.

Memories that Smell Like Gasoline by David Wojnarowicz (Nightboat) *Sarah

Sketches and stories from an artist and activist whose work continues to inspire (and enrage); with a new introduction by Ocean Vuong.

Pan by Michael Clune (Penguin Press) *Lucas, Elaine

A teenager’s first experience of panic attacks kicks off a metaphysical journey into the nature of consciousness. Adolescent angst uncannily decoded. 

Sakina’s Kiss by Vivek Shanbhag (McNally Editions, translated by Srinath Perur) *Ryan

A disturbing visit from two strangers in Bangalore reveals a marriage – and a nation – divided on itself. (Shanbhag’s earlier novel Ghachar Ghochar is a perennial favorite at Three Lives.)

Vegas: A Memoir of a Dark Season by John Gregory Dunne (McNally Editions) *Lucas

A nightmare cross-section of the city, in prose both startling and grotesque.

Vera, or Faith by Gary Shteyngart (Random House)

Hyphens abound in the multi-ethnic home of the Bradford-Shmulkins, as daughter Vera, half-Korean and half-Jewish, seeks friendship and family in an America unraveling at the seams. From the author of Our Country Friends and Super Sad True Love Story.

Visions and Temptations by Harald Voetmann (New Directions, translated by Johanne Sorgenfri Ottosen) *Lucas

Armchair (or deathbed) travels through Heaven and Hell; the last in a trilogy of novels about ancient eccentrics trying – and failing – to know it all.

AUGUST

The Aeneid by Virgil (Liveright, translated by Scott McGill and Susannah Wright)

A blank-verse rendition of the epic of Aeneas, from a pair of translators unusually attuned to the sounds of the original Latin; with an introduction by Emily Wilson.

Fonseca by Jessica Francis Kane (Penguin Press) *Joyce, Toby, Miriam, Elaine

Two elderly sisters seek an heir for their silver mine and its sizable fortunes; Penelope Fitzgerald, a distant relation, answers the call. Catch number one: the treasure lies in Mexico. Catch number two: she’s not the only one who’s been invited. A novel not to be missed.

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (Harper) *Marlowe

From the author of Babel and Yellowface, a trip to Hell . . . and back? One can hope.

Putting Myself Together: Writing 1974– by Jamaica Kincaid (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

A treasure trove of collected nonfiction, with an introduction by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Solitaria by Eliana Alves Cruz (Astra House, translated by Benjamin Brooks)

Architectures of alienation: a mother and daughter move like shadows through the penthouse suite of the wealthy family they live to serve. Cruz’s first novel to be translated into English.

SEPTEMBER and BEYOND

Art Work: On the Creative Life by Sally Mann (Abrams) *Troy

Advice and adventures, from the author of the extraordinary photography memoir Hold Still.

Bread of Angels by Patti Smith (Random House)

A new memoir from an icon.

The Four Spent the Day Together by Chris Kraus (Scribner) *Sarah

A caustic and compassionate look at the darkest facets of American life – rural poverty, senseless murder, addiction, online obsession – from a writer who has never been anything but brilliant.

Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat (Random House) *Troy

Eight years after her blockbuster debut Salt Fat Acid Heat, Samin is back: according to Troy, this is “the most exciting table of contents I’ve seen in a cookbook, ever!”

Heart the Lover by Lily King (Grove) *Elaine, Miriam
From the author of Writers & Lovers, a new novel about readers and lovers: fast friendships, first romances, and the choices that reverberate.

A Little Life Box Set (Four Volumes) by Hanya Yanagihara (Vintage)

Tenth-anniversary spectacular: a four-volume box set with original artwork, a new foreword from the author, and an afterword from Neal Mukherjee. This is a “one shot,” which means reprints are doubtful – pre-orders may be placed by phone or email at any time.

Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter (Nightboat) *Troy

Porter’s debut novel – a singular vision of queer life in 1990s London – has found a first-rate U.S. publisher. (Three Lives will no longer carry the U.K. edition; the wait will be worth it.)

The Pelican Child by Joy Williams (Knopf) *Lucas

Dark dreams on a dying planet: eleven perfect stories from a living legend.

Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon (Penguin Press) *Ryan, Lucas

Your guess is as good as ours on this one.

The Silver Book by Olivia Laing (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) *Troy

Tom Ripley by way of Federico Fellini; queer love and danger in the floating world of Cinecittà, the Italian film studio, in the months leading up to Pier Paolo Pasolini’s murder.

Something from Nothing by Alison Roman (Clarkson Potter) *Troy

A new Alison Roman cookbook is, in Troy’s words, “always reason to celebrate.” 

Statues in a Garden by Isabel Colegate (Counterpoint) *Miriam

The personal and the political commingle: a drama of passion in the looming shadow of the First World War. From the author of The Shooting Party and Winter Journey (see above).

The True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine (Grove) *Troy

From the author of An Unnecessary Woman, another brilliant Beirut novel; a sixty-three-year-old philosophy teacher who can no longer live with – or without – his meddlesome mother.

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (Knopf) *Joyce

A scholar in postdiluvian 2119 searches for answers in the poetry of the early twenty-first century; speculative fiction from one of our great contemporary writers.

Will There Ever Be Another You by Patricia Lockwood (Riverhead) *Elaine

Internet-induced insanity becomes psychedelic transcendence; Lockwood demonstrates, yet again, that the best way out may well be through.

~ Troy’s Cookbook Corner ~

I am late to the party when it comes to John Birdsall’s writing. Many may know him from his work at Lucky Peach and his biography of James Beard, The Man Who Ate Too Much. But I first read Birdsall in the New York Times, in a piece called “The Forgotten Queer Legacy of Billy West and Zuni Café.” It was a real eye-opener about a restaurant I first went to in 1995. Since reading that article I’ve paid attention to what Birdsall writes – he is a truth teller, one who cares deeply about the queer community, honoring lives by shedding light on their origin stories, always in search of their humanity. I had known enough about Zuni Café to get myself there, but after reading Birdsall’s piece, I walked through that door the next time with a whole new understanding and appreciation. Now I understood what pulled me there in the first place: not just the food on the plate, but also the café’s queer magic.

With all that in mind, I was especially eager to read Birdsall’s latest, What Is Queer Food?: How We Served a Revolution (W.W. Norton). When I tell people about it in the shop, most ask, “What is queer food?” Birdsall defines it early on: “Queer food is ordinary food transformed by context, part of a narrative of disobedience, to become something with collective power.” Birdsall goes on to write, “In the conscious act of naming queer food, this book describes: how a bunch of so-called freaks and deviants built community despite ferocious odds; how we queers defined queerness on our own terms, through hard-won transformations of family, nurturance, joy, pleasure, and desire. How in doing so we changed how everyone eats; how now we all, queer, not-queer, take food for granted as an essential marker of a culture, a movement, an identity, a dream.”

The book begins with Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, at the table in Florence, in the summer of 1908: a scene that “sets the future of their shared domestic life – a life they will not be able to tell the whole truth of, but one in which food and the table become an axis of queer agency.” Reading those lines, I thought immediately of Maira Kalman’s painting, in Cake, of Gertrude and Alice sitting at their table. Maira’s caption reads, “Every Sunday they ate a lemon pound cake and made plans for the week.” An ordinary moment, yet extraordinary. Here Birdsall quotes Stein, reminding us “[h]ow sweetly we are fed”; and now, more than a hundred years later, we all may sit at the table of our own making, finding affirmation every day in the rituals of eating.

Justin Burke has written a cookbook, Potluck Desserts: Joyful Recipes to Share with Pride (Countryman), based on the life-saving importance of embracing his queerness, finding his community, and going to his first queer potluck – a decision that changed his life forever. 

Why queer potlucks? Because they “have a unique history of resilience, community building, and resistance,” Burke writes. “Now, food in queer communities is more than just sustenance; it’s a way to forge relationships, create safe spaces, create a platform for activism, and collect our narratives. . . . Queer potlucks, with their laid-back charm, have become a sanctuary for unconditional acceptance, a space for chosen family-making. In a world that sometimes doesn’t get us, these gatherings become a refuge where we can be ourselves, share stories, and savor the richness of life.”

With an open heart and generosity of spirit, Burke shares and savors throughout the book, both in his essays and in his many “homey” recipes – Shirley’s Cake (made with mandarin orange), Butter Pecan Icebox Cake, or how about a Blueberry Upside-Down Corn Cake? With Potluck Desserts as our guide, let’s make it a summer of bringing people together, building one another up, and eating more dessert! 

Cookbooks that have caught my eye to help get you through the summer and beyond:

Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the Most Important Meal of the Day by Meera Sodha (Flatiron)

The Italian Summer Kitchen by Cathy Whims (Countryman) 

Seasons of Greens: A Collection of New Recipes from the Iconic San Francisco Restaurant by Katie Reicher (Weldon Owen) 

Marcella’s Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan, with a new foreword by Molly Baz (Knopf; first published in 1986, and don’t miss the new documentary Marcella, directed by Peter Miller)

The Scarr’s Pizza Cookbook by Scarr Pimentel (4 Color) 

Salsa Daddy: Dip Your Way into Mexican Cooking by Rick Martinez (Clarkson Potter) 

Fat + Flour: The Art of a Simple Bake by Nicole Rucker (Knopf)

Malai: Frozen Desserts Inspired by South Asian Flavors by Pooja Bavishi (Weldon Owen) 

Salt Sugar MSG: Recipes and Stories from a Cantonese American Home by Calvin Eng, with Phoebe Melnick (Clarkson Potter)

Food Person by Adam Roberts (Knopf; a novel about the love of cookbooks)

~ Staff Favorites Now in Paperback ~

In Tongues by Thomas Grattan (Picador)

All Fours by Miranda July (Penguin)

The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing (W.W. Norton)

Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl (Random House)

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (Avid Reader)

~ Signed Editions ~

Fiction

Sing to Me by Jesse Browner (Little, Brown)

Flashlight by Susan Choi (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Gaysians by Mike Curato (Algonquin)

Little Elliot, Big City by Mike Curato (Henry Holt)

Here Is a Book by Elisha Cooper (Abrams)

The Bombshell by Darrow Farr (Pamela Dorman Books)

Some Strange Music Draws Me In by Griffin Hansbury (W.W. Norton)

Trust Issues by Elizabeth McCullough Keenan and Greg Wands (Dutton)

The Director by Daniel Kehlmann (Summit, translated by Ross Benjamin)

Twist by Colum McCann (Random House)

The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose (Ballantine)

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Ballantine)

The Antidote by Karen Russell (Knopf)

All the Mothers by Dominica Ruta (Random House)

Parallel Lines by Edward St. Aubyn (Knopf)

To Have and Have More by Sanibel (Zando)

Float Test by Lynn Steger Strong (Mariner)

The Road Between Us by Bindu Suresh (Assembly)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Viking)

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (Viking)

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles (Viking)

Table for Two by Amor Towles (Viking)

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Press)

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (Copper Canyon)

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong (Penguin)

So Far Gone by Jess Walter (Harper)

Nonfiction

What Is Queer Food? by John Birdsall (W.W. Norton)

The Believer by David Coggins (Scribner)

From Ted to Tom: The Illustrated Envelopes of Edward Gorey edited and signed by Tom Fitzharris (New York Review Books)

Flight of the Wasp by Michael Gross (Grove)

Still Life with Remorse by Maira Kalman (Harper)

Walk With Me: Hamptons by Susan Kaufman (Abrams)

Walk With Me: New York by Susan Kaufman (Abrams)

Dining Out by Erik Piepenburg (Grand Central)

The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger (Harper)

Dear New York, I Love You by Ria Sim (Countryman; please let us know if you would like a personalized copy of Ria’s book!)

Family Style by Peter Som (Harvest)

When It All Burns by Jordan Thomas (Riverhead)

~ The Three Lives & Company Bestseller List ~

1. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong (Penguin Press)

2. I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally (Gallery)

3. Dear New York, I Love You by Ria Sim (Countryman)

4. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Vintage)

5. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (Penguin)

6. Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Random House)

7. All Fours by Miranda July (Penguin)

8. The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook by Meredith Hayden (Ten Speed)

9. One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune (Berkley)

10. Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (New York Review Books, translated by Sophie Hughes)

11. The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl (Random House)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

SPECIAL ORDERS:

A reminder that we specialize in special orders. In our small shop it's always a challenge to find room for all the new, notable, and exciting books; if you'd like a book that we don't have on hand, we are always happy to order it for you. We place orders almost daily and the usual turnaround time for a special order is two business days. For some books it may take longer, but we'll be sure to discuss the particulars with you before we place an order. Additionally, we can ship books to you anywhere within the United States. Give us a call, send us an email, or stop in any time.

PREORDERS:

We are happy to take preorders for forthcoming titles, and we will let you know as soon as the book arrives. We are all too familiar with the fervid desire to possess a new book at the first possible moment, and we will do everything in our power to make sure the book lands in your hands hot off the presses.

GIFT CERTIFICATES:

We offer gift certificates, which you may purchase in any amount.