Reading, watching, listening, and gaming recommendations from the staff of the American Writers Museum.
We can’t recommend these books, films, shows, plays, albums, and games highly enough! Check back every month for more entertainment recommendations, from classics that we revisit over and over to new favorites. If you’re looking for your next book or movie or show or whatever, you came to the right place.
Many of our June book recommendations are also available on Bookshop.org, which benefits independent bookstores. We also strongly encourage you to support your local bookstore by visiting them in person or ordering online through them directly.
This month at the American Writers Museum! The titles below correspond to upcoming programs, author talks, and events hosted by the AWM. Follow the links to learn more and register to attend, and view all upcoming events here.
Woman in the Making by Rory O’Neill
June 16, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, American Writers Museum
Register Here
From the publisher: “Woman in the Making is the unforgettable story of how a little boy from a small Irish village in the west grew up to become Panti Bliss, Queen of Ireland and voice of a brave new nation embracing equality, all the colours of the rainbow and, most of all, a glamorous attitude.”
In partnership with the Consulate General of Ireland, Chicago, we are thrilled to host O’Neill for Bloomsday, a global celebration of Irish writer James Joyce that commemorates the events of his 1922 masterpiece, Ulysses. O’Neill will be joined in conversation by AWM President Carey Cranston to discuss Joyce’s work through an LGBTQ+ lens. Learn more about this event and register for free here.
—Nate, Content & Exhibits Manager
New episodes from the AWM Podcast Network! These writers and their works were recently featured on one of our popular podcast series, either as guests and/or subjects. Follow the links to learn more and listen to each episode, and visit the AWM Podcast Network Hub for more.
Isaac Bashevis Singer: The Collected Stories edited by Ilan Stavans
Listen to Nation of Writers: Isaac Bashevis Singer here
From the publisher: “First published ten years ago to mark the centennial of the birth of Isaac Bashevis Singer, one of ten American writers to be awarded the Nobel Prize and perhaps the most influential and beloved Jewish American author…this three-volume edition brings together for the first time all the story collections Singer published in English in the versions he called his ‘second originals’—translations he supervised and collaborated on himself, revising as he worked.”
Ilan joined me on this episode to discuss the life and legacy of Singer. Ilan is an erudite scholar and an impassioned speaker, with Singer being one of his favorite subjects. I recommend listening to this episode, then visiting the AWM to check out our current special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture!
—Nate, Content & Exhibits Manager
of Women: 20 Japanese Female Poets / 20 Waka Poems by Naoko Fujimoto
Listen to AWM Author Talks: Naoko Fujimoto here
From the publisher: “Naoko Fujimoto translates her poems (that are written in English on flat paper) into words and images to create a contemporary picture scroll. The picture scroll in Japanese is Emaki and the style has been popular since the 7-16th centuries in Japan. It is still a widely recognized art style in Japan and the rest of the world. Emaki is akin to a current graphic novel / poetry / comic.”
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Naoko about this new collection. Our conversation was recorded in the American Writers Museum and it was a true delight for me to chat with Naoko. Give it a listen!
—Nate, Content & Exhibits Manager
The full list of AWM Staff Picks! Here is what we’ve been into recently. Let us know what writing has captivated you in the comments!
A Nation Wrestles with God: American Prophets, Philosophers, and Firebrands edited by Ilan Stavans
From the publisher: “Spanning more than 400 years of spiritual transformation and imagination, this book collects diverse writers whose daring texts incited change and continue to influence a growing nation. In this anthology, you will find the stories, poems, letters, speeches, sermons, essays, song lyrics, comic strips, newspaper columns, and commentaries that awoke new generations to free religious thought, from the pre-colonial to the present day.”
This anthology was published in collaboration with the AWM and our special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture, on display now. Stavans, the editor of the anthology, also consulted on our exhibit. Which makes this anthology the perfect companion piece to American Prophets!
—Nate, Content & Exhibits Manager
Dancing on the Wall by MUNA
From Pitchfork: “The self-professed ‘queer joy mini-skirt rollerblade’ band embraces a darker palette and angstier themes on its fourth album, though pleasure, community, and sex remain lodestars.”
—Courtney, Assistant Director of Education
Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Langbein
From the publisher: “40-year-old Jean Dornan cannot escape the summer of 1998, when…she embarked on an inappropriate relationship with her professor. Now, decades later, when that professor contacts her out of the blue with an invitation to his retirement ceremony, Jean’s long-standing malaise becomes an emotional crisis… In a frenzy of guilt and regret, Jean finds herself praying to Monica Lewinsky for forgiveness as if she were a secular saint… To Jean’s shock, Saint Monica appears—powerful, radiant, wise, and witty—and guides Jean like the Ghost of Christmas Past back to the summer of 1998… Told in flashbacks, replete with Saint Monica’s flinty, fiery insights and interspersed with retellings of the lives of real historical martyrs, Dear Monica Lewinsky is a tender, hilarious, and wholly original examination of desire and its costs, of appetite and its denial, and of certain defeat and surprise renewal. It asks what grace and forgiveness might look like both in our own individual lives and as a society.”
—Annie, Administrative Associate
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
From the publisher: “A brilliant novel that enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero’s unforgettable journey to maturity. Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses. Through all of it, he reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities.”
—Sydney, Systems Operations Coordinator
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
From the publisher: “Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy. Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body. Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force. Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.”
—Matt, Community Engagement Manager
If Books Could Kill podcast hosted by Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri
In If Books Could Kill, hosts Michael and Peter break down airport bestsellers that have poisoned the American mind, from Atomic Habits and Rich Dad, Poor Dad to He’s Just Not that Into You and The Five Love Languages. The hosts do an incredible job of breaking down these bestsellers and diving deep into why, more often than not, there’s nothing really there—all in hilarious fashion.
—Matt, Community Engagement Manager
Live in London! (BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall) by St. Vincent and Jules Buckley
From Higher Plain Music: “A kaleidoscope of vintage, alternative, and electro rock, now orchestrated thanks to Jules Buckley. Celebrating her BBC Proms performance, Live in London! is a sumptuous feast for fans of St. Vincent and also orchestral arrangements of rock music. Featuring 19 tracks from across St. Vincent’s catalogue, Jules Buckley has worked absolute magic to transform each song into something entirely new. Yes, the origins are often there, but this isn’t simply a ‘stick some strings on it’ affair. Many of the tracks have been completely redesigned around the orchestra, and it shows.”
—Maya, Marketing & Creative Associate
Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick
From page one of influencer and podcaster Brooke Averick’s debut novel, I was hooked. The voice of protagonist Phoebe Berman takes readers by the hand and pulls them into the narrative equivalent of a dance floor playing early-2000s rom-com soundtracks.
I am in the slight minority in that I did not consume much of Brooke’s digital content before reading the book (though I’m definitely getting into her podcast now!). With limited knowledge of Brooke’s internet presence, I was compelled to read this book primarily by its high-concept storyline. Phoebe Berman, a pre-K teacher with intimacy anxiety, sets out on a mission (complete with a color-coded list) to lose her virginity within 30 days before turning 30. Averick masterfully balances playful humor with honest, unfiltered depictions of mental illness. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much and felt so seen simultaneously. It’s no wonder that readers are saying Phoebe feels like a close friend.
The words that come to mind about my experience reading Phoebe are heartfelt, relatable, and above all, fun. This book feels like a compelling love letter to all of the rom-com books and movies Phoebe and I grew up on. I can’t wait to see what Averick writes next!
—Sydney, Systems Operations Coordinator
Presumed Innocent created by David E. Kelly, based on the novel of the same name by Scott Turow
From Rotten Tomatoes: “A horrific murder upends the Chicago prosecuting attorney’s office when one of its own is suspected of the crime, leaving the accused fighting to keep his family together. Enlivened by an outstanding ensemble, Presumed Innocent isn’t guilty of upstaging the original movie but acquits itself well as an entertaining courtroom drama.”
—Maya, Marketing & Creative Associate
The Testaments created by Bruce Miller, based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood
From Rotten Tomatoes: “A new generation of young women in Gilead grapples with the bleak future that awaits them. The Testaments ably continues The Handmaid’s Tale’s fight through a coming-of-age lens in a slow-burning world builder that features an excellent cast of fresh talent.”
—Matt, Community Engagement Manager
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
From the publisher: “Working at the local processing plant, Marcos is in the business of slaughtering humans—though no one calls them that anymore. His wife has left him, his father is sinking into dementia, and Marcos tries not to think too hard about how he makes a living. After all, it happened so quickly. First, it was reported that an infectious virus has made all animal meat poisonous to humans. Then governments initiated the ‘Transition.’ Now, eating human meat—’special meat’—is legal. Marcos tries to stick to numbers, consignments, processing. Then one day he’s given a gift: a live specimen of the finest quality. Though he’s aware that any form of personal contact is forbidden on pain of death, little by little he starts to treat her like a human being. And soon, he becomes tortured by what has been lost—and what might still be saved.”
—Maya, Marketing & Creative Associate
That’s Not How It Happened by Craig Thomas
Written by the co-creator of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, the audiobook is narrated by that show’s stars, Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders.
More from the publisher: “This smart, funny, bighearted novel for fans of Kevin Wilson and Monica Heisey, follows a family turned upside down after Hollywood decides to make a movie version of their lives… As their lives are chewed up and spit out by the Hollywood machine, triggering old resentments and launching new betrayals, will any of them even recognize the ‘inspiring’ family in this film? Or will this ‘feel-good’ movie be the end of them?”
—Annie, Administrative Associate
Visit our Reading Recommendations page for more book lists.