Everything Beautiful Began After By Simon Van Booy, out now 

Three young and lost people arrive separately in Athens, but come together in their searching for a summer that will change their lives forever.

To Sound in the Know: This is the debut novel from the Welsh-born New Yorker, whose story collection Love Begins in Winter won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award.

A Death in Summer By Benjamin Black, out now 

Diamond Dick blows his head off with a shotgun—or does he? Find out in the latest noir mystery from the Irish crime master.

To Sound in the Know: This is Man Booker Prize-winner John Banville’s fourth novel writing under his pseudonym.

Inside Scientology By Janet Reitman, out now

This delving inside the world of Scientology might not have entire access to the truth (who does besides High Priest Cruise?), but it’ll have enough deep digging to keep everyone talking.

To Sound in the Know: The book is born from Reitman’s 2006 Rolling Stone story about the controversial religion.

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History By Ben Mezrich, out July 12 

A NASA intern realizes that the moon rocks being discarded after being used in experiments might have another value—and he could be just the one to make a fortune from them.

To Sound in the Know: Mezrich’s last book, The Accidental Billionaires, was the basis for the movie The Social Network. It won’t be long before you’re munching popcorn to a big-screen version of this one, too.

The Devil All the Time By Donald Ray Pollock, out July 12

Violence, both in the name of justice and lawlessness, pulses through this novel set in mid-20th-century Ohio and West Virginia.

To Sound in the Know: Pollock enrolled at a creative writing program when he was 50—and sold his first story collection (Knockemstiff) while still in school.

The Griff By Christopher Moore, out July 19

Comic novelist Moore teams up with screenwriter Ian Corson on this graphic novel about an alien invasion being pushed against by a trio of feisty New Yorkers in an epic battle that stretches from Manhattan to Orlando.

To Sound in the Know: Moore has written 12 novels (Lamb, You Suck) and Corson directed Malicious, a 1996 Molly Ringwald movie. We hadn’t heard of it either.

Rules of Civility By Amor Towles, out July 26 

A young Wall Street secretary in late 1930s Manhattan is granted access to an unparalleled social world and all of the trappings those lofty heights bear.

To Sound in the Know: This is the debut novel from Towles, who in his “other” life is a principal at a Manhattan investment firm. A finance guy who can write? Look out, Michael Lewis.

In this novel from humor writer Rich, a one-time New York Press coverboy, a Manhattan prep school outcast named Seymour gets a makeover from Elliot Allagash, a wealthy and brash transfer student. 

To Sound in the Know: When hired by Saturday Night Live at the age of 24, Rich became the youngest writer in the show’s history.

State of Wonder By Ann Patchett, out June 7

A research scientist from Minnesota must go into the heart of the Amazon to find her missing former mentor, who is supposed to be researching a new drug for a pharmaceutical company but instead has gone a little Colonel Kurtz. 

To Sound in the Know: Early in her career, Patchett worked at Seventeen magazine, and later won the PEN/ Faulkner. Coincidence?

The Astral By Kate Christensen, out June 14

The faltering marriage between a poet and a nurse serves as the hinge for this novel set in gentrifying Greenpoint. 

To Sound in the Know: Christensen won the PEN/Faulkner Award for her 2008 novel, The Great Man.

Go the Fuck to Sleep By Adam Mansbach, out June 14

A children’s book for parents that says what anyone who’s confronted a screaming, stubborn child in the dead of night has wanted to say but can’t without getting CPS called on them. 

To Sound in the Know: The book has been on the Amazon top 10 list for weeks… and it’s not even out yet. Go the fuck to the bank, Mr. Mansbach.

The Murder of the Century By Paul Collins, out June 14

One summer day, body parts are found in Harlem, Long Island and the Lower East Side. As a mystery unfolds, so does a media war between moguls. Fiction? Not at all. Happened right here on June 26, 1897. 

To Sound in the Know: Collins is the editor of the Collins Library, a McSweeney’s imprint that republishes out of print books.

The Storm at the Door By Stefan Merrill Block, out June 21

This second novel from the Brooklynbased writer tells a love story within a world of mental illness, depression and a psychiatric hospital. 

To Sound in the Know: This novel is a fictionalized version of the lives of Block’s own grandparents. His first novel (The Story of Forgetting) was also inspired by his grandmother.

The Beginners By Rebecca Wolff, out June 30

A mysterious pair of newcomers come to a small town (with a dark past) where they become the object of attention for 15-yearold Ginger, who is eager to leave behind her childhood innocence. 

To Sound in the Know: Wolff is one of the co-founders of Fence, where she is still the editor and publisher. 

After her mother dies, a young woman moves home to Tokyo, where she meets a young man who has been the victim of childhood trauma. Or maybe, as she finds out, it has something to do with a cult… 

To Sound in the Know: In her native Japan, critics resist Banana, while her (mostly young) fans treasure her themes of youthful alienation and wandering.

Your Voice in My Head By Emma Forrest, out now

This memoir from the British journalist

follows her path from 22-year-old living the fast life in Manhattan (newspaper job, published novel) to the depression and mania that followed in its wake.

To Sound in the Know: Forrest’s writing career began with a story she wrote about Madonna for the London Evening Standard… when she was 13!

The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You By Eli Pariser, out now

An in-depth look at how our Google/ Facebook/Yahoo overlords are using our personal information to filter search results so we see what they think we really want to see.

To Sound in the Know: Pariser is the former executive director of MoveOn.org.

I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive By Steve Earle, out now

And you thought the man could just play guitar. This debut novel, set in San Antonio during the time of the JFK assassination, follows a morphine addict who performs illegal abortions and is haunted by the ghost of Hank Williams.

To Sound in the Know: Earle also released an album of the same name.

Vaclav and Lena By Haley Tanner, out now

Two children meet in an ESL class in Brighton Beach, and fall in (kid) love. When Lena disappears, Vaclav spends years pining after his lost love until… 

To Sound in the Know: Tanner was born in the Bronx and now lives in Williamsburg. Sell out.

Orientation: And Other Stories By Daniel Orozco, out May 24

This debut collection of short stories features tales of the lives of bridge painters, police officers, dictators, office temps and factory workers.

To Sound in the Know: Orozco has published pieces in the Best American Mystery Stories, Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays. Clearly, he’s bester than you.

A family of immigrants fleeing Soviet Latvia in the 1970s hashes out intergenerational conflicts as they wait to leave Rome for the West in this debut novel.

To Sound in the Know: Bezmogis is himself an immigrant from Latvia. He arrived in Toronto in 1980 and now lives in New York. So he’s actually a double immigrant, if coming to the U.S. from Canada counts. Does it?

Mister Wonderful: A Love Story By Daniel Clowes, out April 12 

This graphic novel, born in the pages of the New York Times Magazine, stars Marshall, a grumpy 40-year-old, divorced gem of a guy, who is just searching for the perfect (by his own precise definitions) female counterpart.

To Sound in the Know: Two of Clowes’ previous graphic novels, Ghost World and Art School Confidential, have already been made into movies.

Bossypants By Tina Fey, out now 

Part memoir of her journey from Pennsylvania to Chicago to 30 Rock, part insight on the state of modern comedy. All funny.

To Sound in the Know: It’s Tina Fey and already nobody will shut up about it. What else do you need to know?

The Pale King By David Foster Wallace, out April 15

… sort of IRS trainee David Foster Wallace arrives at his new exam center in Peoria to find that boredom isn’t just yawninducing—it’s also threatening humanity.

To Sound in the Know: Little, Brown wanted to release the book April 15 (what was previously tax day, get it?), but Amazon started selling it early, causing a bit of a kerfuffle among bookstore owners. And you know what happens when bookstore owners get mad…

The Tragedy of Arthur: A Novel By Arthur Phillips, out April 19

The Brooklyn-based novelist gets playful in his latest, where the twin children (one of them named Arthur Phillips) of a forger help him to get what he claims is a long-lost Shakespearean play authenticated and published.

To Sound in the Know: Phillips is a former Jeopardy champion, which means he’s stared into the eyes of the Great Trebek and lived to tell the tale.

The Great Night By Chris Adrian, out April 26

A modern day retelling of Midsummer Night’s Dream set in a park in San Francisco. Three people bound for a party get waylaid by fairies (no Castro jokes), monsters and ghosts of their past relationships.

To Sound in the Know: Adrian, one of the New Yorker’s "20 under 40," is also a pediatric fellow in oncology at UCSF and has attended Harvard Divinity School. So yes, he’s a better human than you.

My New American Life By Francine Prose, out April 26

An Albanian immigrant au pair working in New Jersey has her idyllic if boring suburban existence interrupted by the arrival of a few dangerous countrymen toting guns.

To Sound in the Know: Prose is the president of the PEN American Center and we’re still convinced that her name is fake. 

The Lover’s Dictionary: A Novel By David Levithan, Out January A love story told in dictionary entries. It’s actually much more fun than it sounds.
To Sound in the Know: Levithan started years ago writing for the Sweet Valley High series. He totally knows Jessica Wakefield.

The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore By Benjamin Hale, Out February The memoirs of a chimp who can speak and who has also committed murder, falls in love with his doctor at a research institute, runs away to New York, performs Shakespeare, etc.
To Sound in the Know: Hale’s also a trompe l’oeil painter.

Swamplandia! By Karen Russell, Out February A 12-year-old alligator wrestler ventures out into the Florida swamplands in search of her lost sister, who has run off with someone named Louis Thanksgiving.
To Sound in the Know: One of The New Yorker’s "20 Under 40," this Washington Heights resident once worked as a vet tech.

My New American Life By Francine Prose, Out April In the aftermath of 9/11, a young Albanian woman living in New York with a tourist visa that is about to expire, gets hired to look after a rebellious teen in suburban New Jersey.
To Sound in the Know: Prose was born in Brooklyn, making her a rare breeda writer actually from the borough, and not one that just moved there to linger around BookCourt.

The Pale King By David Foster Wallace, Out April Wallace’s unfinished novel centers around a Midwestern IRS Office and includes a character named David Wallace.
To Sound in the Know: Five excerpts from the book have appeared in print,ut it should be nice to have all of these things in the same place.

The Tragedy of Arthur: A Novel By Arthur Phillips, Out April Brooklyn-based author Arthur Phillips has written an intro to a recently discovered new play by Shakespeare. Or at least, that’s the premise of this novel. Unless it’s real, in which case holy crap! New Shakespeare!
To Sound in the Know: His last novel is being adapted into a movie musical.

This posthumously released
collection includes both classics and four new stories from the Faulkner
Award-winning novelist and short story writer, who died this past
March.

To Sound in the Know: Hannah was a famous personality in the lit
community—there’s even a rumor that Hunter S. Thompson once called him
crazy, which is like being called evil by Satan.

Whiskey:
A Global History By Kevin R. Koar, out now

A look at the lineage of
whiskey, from the origins of distillation in Egypt (the Sphinx loved
those Sazeracs) to its evolution in Ireland, Scotland and the U.S.,
including a breakdown of whiskey types, cocktail recipes and stories
about the “water of life.”

To Sound In the Know: Kosar, who is a
researcher and writer for The Library of Congress, once wrote for New York Press. I’d say that was a lateral move.

Stieglitz,
Steichen, Strand By Malcolm Daniel, out now

This volume showcases
photographs on display at the Met by three of the 20th century’s most
famous photographers.

To Sound in the Know: This book accompanies an
exhibition of the same name showing through April.

Great
Food, All Day Long By Maya Angelou, out Dec. 14

Finally, all those Maya
Angelou fans that wonder when one of America’s great poets will write a
cookbook have an answer: now.

To Sound in the Know: Angelou’s secret is
simple: eat whatever you want, when you want, just in small portions.

Baby
By Paula Bomer, out Dec. 15

In this biting debut collection, Bomer
tears apart the Brooklyn family crowd. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

To Sound in the Know: Bomer also co-publishes Artistically Declined
Press and edits Sententia, a lit magazine.

The
King of the Elves By Philip K. Dick, out Dec. 31

This is the first
installment of a series that will encapsulate all of Dick’s collected
stories. Included in this volume is Dick’s first published story “Beyond
Lies the Wub,” as well as classics like “The Preserving Machine.”

To
Sound in the Know: Disney is releasing an animated version of the
collection’s titular story.

Moon
Palace(Ink Series) By Paul Auster, out Dec. 28

The re-release of this
1990 Auster novel starring Marco Fogg, child of the ’60s pursuing his
puzzling fate, is the latest from the Penguin Ink Series.

To
Sound in the Know: The Penguin Ink Series has tattoo artists (Grez from
Massaqua, N.Y., in this case) imagine new covers to classic novels. Can
the back of your Kindle do that?

The
Celestial Café By Stuart Murdoch, out December

The Belle and Sebastian
frontman is releasing a collection of his online diaries from 2002-2006
that cover the band’s recording and release of Dear Catastrophe Waitress and The Life Pursuit.

To
Sound in the Know: Though the book won’t be available in most outlets
until January, those who hit up a Belle and Sebastian show can snag an
early copy in December.

Great
House: A Novel By Nicole Krauss, out now Four stories, eight chapters,
themes of loss and sorrow, all linked together through time and space
by… a desk. Must be one magical desk. To Sound in the Know: This is
Krauss’ third novel, which puts her one up on writer husband Jonathan Safran Foer. Plus, she’s given birth twice. Clearly she’s winning.

Blood-Dark
Track By Joseph O’Neill, out now The New York-based novelist delves
into his own past in this true-crime history about why both of his
grandfathers were imprisoned (one in Ireland, one in Turkey) during
World War II.

To Sound in the Know: O’Neill’s 2008 novel Netherland won
the PEN/Faulkner Award, which is remarkable since he had to spend half
the book introducing Americans to the rules of cricket.

Nemesis:
A Novel By Philip Roth, out now Roth returns to mid-century Newark
(will he ever leave?) to tell the story of Bucky Cantor, a playground
director who runs away to the Poconos. To Sound in the Know: This is
Roth’s 1,251st novel. Or something like that.

Bad
Science By Ben Goldacre, out Oct. 12 Goldacre examines the absurd, the
bogus, the untrue and the insane science that appears in our society. To
Sound in the Know: Goldacre writes a column of the same name in The Guardian.

Travels
in Siberia By Ian Frazier, out Oct.12 The humorist and essayist hits
the road and heads to Eastern Russia, which he explores with his
trademark wit and boundless curiosity. To Sound in the Know: Frazier has
worked for the Harvard Lampoon, Playboy and now, The New Yorker. Satire, sex and snobbery—quite the career path.

Palo Alto: Stories By James Franco, out Oct. 19 The actor currently starring as Allen Ginsberg in Howl reveals
his inner poet in this short story collection about the California
suburbs of his childhood. To Sound in the Know: Over the last several
years, Franco has studied writing at UCLA, Columbia, Brooklyn College
and is currently getting his PhD at Yale.

This memoir of a young actress’ romp
across Europe as part of a traveling playgroup has sex, humor,
misadventures—everything a good read (and a good trip) needs.

To Sound
in the Know: Read an excerpt from Shukert’s book here and tell all
of your friends how hilarious she is.

Rich Boy By Sharon Pomerantz, out Aug. 2

A
novel that traces the journey of a middleclass Jewish boy who
infiltrates the wealthy set, and rides with the tides from 1950s
Philadelphia to 1980s New York.

To Sound in the Know: More soft-focus prodding than tough examination of The American Dream, the novel will please those looking for a nostalgia trip.

Old Jews Telling Jokes By Sam Hoffman, out Aug. 31

Considering the title of this book is literal and total, what more need be said?

To
Sound in the Know: The book is a spinoff of the popular website
OldJewsTellingJokes.com where, well, again, it’s all in the title.

Freedom By Jonathan Franzen, out Aug. 31

In his first novel since The Corrections, Franzen
tells the story of a suburban family’s demise, reaching across the
years to touch on a wide range of themes from gentrification and sexual
abuse to Iraq sub-contracting and shady West Virginia mining deals.

To Sound in the Know: Franzen’s two most recent fiction pieces in The New Yorker were excerpts from this novel.

How to Become a Scandal: Adventures in Bad Behavior By Laura Kipnis, out Aug. 31

This book examines the obsession behind America’s favorite pastime:
watching people wreck themselves in scandal. Sorry baseball, you’re so
last century.

To
Sound in the Know: Kipnis (known for her writing on adultery, sex and
relationships) has referred to marriage as a “domestic gulag.” But how
does she really feel?

Skippy Dies By Paul Murray, out Aug. 31

This
novel examines how the titular character’s aforementioned death plays
out in a Dublin boarding school, including how it affects characters
including a midget basketball player and a hip-hop aficionado nicknamed
McSexecutioner.

To Sound in the Know: Already on the Booker short-list, it’s also being made into a movie.

Take Ivy By Shosuke Ishizu, Toshiyuki Kurosu, Hajime Hasegawa Photos by Teruyoshi Hayashida, out Aug. 31

Prep
is back! And so is this classic 1960s photo treatise on Ivy League
fashion shot through the lens of Japanese fashion gurus, featuring a new
English translation.

To
Sound in the Know: When the book was first published in 1965, it
created a madness for preppy style in young Tokyo. Who knows what havoc
it will cause in Williamsburg.

Termite Parade By Joshua Mohr,
out now

Three narrators combine to tell the story of how one violent
incident, as well as love and passion and all that, affected their
lives.

To Sound in the Know: Mohr also sings in a band called Damn
Handsome & the Birthday Suits.

Finny By Justin Kramon, out July 13

This Dickensian
tale follows the life of a 14-year-old girl who gets shipped off to
boarding school where she encounters characters
with names like Menalcus Henckel and Poplan.

To Sound in the Know:
Kramon is a graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop and has
written for the amazingly titled quarterly Glimmer Train.

Red Hook Road By Ayelet
Waldman, out July 13

Upper-class Manhattan and bluecollar Maine come
together in this story of family and tragedy.

To Sound in the Know:
Waldman, the author of nine other novels, is famously and obnoxiously
married to Michael Chabon. Their children have read
more books than you.

Savages: A Novel By Don Winslow, out July 13

Two Laguna Beach pot
dealers get tied up with a Mexican drug cartel. Violence, morbid humor
ensues.

To Sound in the Know: Oliver Stone has already signed on to
direct the film version of this story; here’s hoping he can get Kristin
Cavallari to joint the cast.

The Surf Guru By Doug Dorst, out July 15

A short story
collection from the man who penned 2008’s highly acclaimed novel Alive
in Necropolis.

To Sound in the
Know: Dorst’s first novel had two epigraphs, one by Joseph Conrad and
the other by Hanson. Yeah, “MmmBop” Hanson.

Talking to Girls about
Duran Duran: One Young Man’s Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut By
Rob Sheffield, out July 15

A music journalist looks back at his
adolescent stumblings in the ’80s, when Duran Duran ruled his days and
girls eluded him.

To Sound in the Know: The Brooklynbased writer is
currently a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, so something
went right for him.

Super
Sad True Love Story By Gary Shytengart, out July 27

In this satire, a
middle-aged Russian- American falls in love with a coquettish
Korean-American girl in a dystopian New York where people with enough
money live indefinitely.

To Sound in the Know: Shytengart is member of the New Yorker’s much
discussed “20 Under 40” list (a part of this novel appeared in an issue
of the magazine), which has inspired either admiration or rabid
jealousy depending on what kind of person you are.