We are in one of the greatest times of year for sports, with the NHL and NBA Playoffs roaring on, baseball in full swing, and a host of other attractions including major golf and tennis championships. There are four books out now that will be perfect to deepen your history of the games we watch: 1996 A Biography, by Jon Finkel; Sparring with Smokin' Joe, by Glenn Lewis; and The Masters, by David Sowell.
Can't Knock The Hustle: Inside the Season of Protest, Pandemic, and Progress with the Brooklyn Nets' Superstars of Tomorrow
By Matt Sullivan
Dey Street Books; hardcover, 352 pages; $27.99; available today, Tuesday, June 22nd
The NBA's 2019-20 season was one of the most historic in the history of the league, as the sport dealt with the coronavirus pandemic, the untimely death of one of the greatest players of all-time, Kobe Bryant, and a burgeoning social justice movement after the death of George Floyd.
Small Bibles for Bad Times: Selected Poems & Prose
By Liliane Atlan - translated from the French by Marguerite Feitlowitz
Mandel Vilar Press; paperback, 170 pages; $21.95
Liliane Atlan was a visionary French writer of plays, poetry, and prose, whose work was inspired from having to hide, with her sister Rachel, with a family in the Auvergne during the Holocaust.
With summer upon us, you might be thinking of what books to take on a trip or to read on a day at the beach. There are four new novels out that are sure to be perfect to get lost in: Sunrise by the Sea, by Jenny Colgan; What To Do When Someone Dies, by Nicci French; The Hot Summer of 1968, by Viliam Klimacek; and The Godmothers, by Camille Aubray.
The Box in the Woods
By Maureen Johnson
Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; hardcover, 400 pages; $18.99; Ahes 14 and up, available today, Tuesday, June 15th
Maureen Johnson is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen young adult novels, including the Truly Devious series, the Shades of London series, Suite Scarlett, and 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Her collaborative books include Ghosts of the Shadow Market (with Cassandra Clare), as well as Let It Snow (with John Green and Lauren Myracle), which was also a hit feature film on Netflix.
Glory Days: The Summer of 1984 and the 90 Days That Changed Sports and Culture Forever
By L. Jon Wertheim
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; hardcover, $27.00; available Tuesday, June 15th
There are times in history that feel like turning points, where things happen that you haven't seen before, and set the tone for the foreseeable future. The summer of 1984 was just that for sports, entertainment, and the United States overall.
There are three new books that are quite compelling reading to dive into: Anne of Manhattan, a modern retelling of the classic Anne of Green Gables by Brina Starler; How to Kidnap the Rich, a compelling look into the elite in India by Rahul Raina; and The Hidden Palace, Helene Wecker's historical fantasy that is a follow-up to The Golem and the Jinni.
