The Columbus Book Festival summer reading list

For many, summer is the perfect time to catch up on some reading, whether seated beach/poolside on family vacation or holed up in the AC as temps hover in the 90s.

If you’re looking for a few new reading suggestions, the Columbus Book Festival offers the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself to a bevy of new authors, a number of whom will appear in person at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s main location downtown on Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12.

A welcome addition to the city’s summer calendar, the festival features readings, panels, signings, and book sales galore. It’s truly a gem of a happening, especially for a bunch of literary types who aren’t exactly known for their gregarious event planning. But thanks to the Columbus Metropolitan Library Foundation, writers and readers have a space to congregate, connect, and put faces and voices to words and pages. 

Here are 13 books by attending authors you should consider adding to your summer reading list.

Backtalker: An American Memoir by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw (Featured Author)

One of the founders of critical race theory and a civil rights scholar par excellence, Crenshaw’s new book is a memoir tracing her American life, which began in Canton, Ohio. A fierce testament to Crenshaw’s intellectual power and her one-of-a-kind contributions to contemporary thought.

Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See (Featured Author)

The story of three Chinese women immigrating to 19th-century Los Angeles, See’s latest novel is a loving ode to friendship, love, and perseverance. 

The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu

A dizzyingly deep and fun romp, Chu’s sci-fi novel imagines a universe where complicated machinery known as the skunkworks controls the physics of parallel realities and the threat of quantum sabotage. 

The First Time I Saw Him by Laura Dave (Featured Author)

The much-anticipated sequel to The Last Thing He Told Me, which was made into an Apple TV series starring Jennifer Garner, Dave’s latest thriller continues the story of Hannah Hall, her stepdaughter, and her missing husband Owen.

Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey

Gailey’s horror novel explores Kindred Grove, an island community that puts on an annual Salt Festival. A lonely woman’s yearning for intimacy and self-improvement leads her directly into the throes of this mysterious, cult-like place.

Clutch by Emily Nemens

The story of five friends over two decades, the second novel from Nemens, the former editor of The Paris Review, is a big and big-hearted tale of the many obstacles facing women in modern life.

Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay (Featured Author)

A biting dystopian novel about a jaded gamer who’s hired to remote control a corpse across the country for a giant tech company. A bracing satire of high-tech corporate fascism, Tremblay’s latest is his best and most ambitious work yet.

We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune (Featured Author)

In a future where a black hole is on a collision course with Earth, married couple Don and Rodney, who’ve been together for 40 years, decide to spend their final days embarking on a road trip across the United States.

Love Letters to Other People by Shaylin Gandhi

A struggling mathematician returns to her hometown after a career setback and rekindles her romance with a former flame in this love story from the author of When We Had Forever.

Theories of Return by Sara Abou Rashed

A Columbus-based Palestinian poet and performer, Rashed’s debut poetry collection focuses on war, exile, motherhood, and the political realities of the diaspora. A truly vital work for our present moment.

Hollywood in Ohio by Conrade C. Hinds

An architect and an engineering instructor at Columbus State, Hinds’s nonfiction book explains how Ohio (and Ohioans) were instrumental in the formation of not only Hollywood the place, but also Hollywood the film capital of the world.

When the Revolution Comes: A Fight for the Future of the Working Class by Chris Smalls

A fascinating memoir chronicling Smalls’s efforts to create the first union for Amazon employees in America, When the Revolution Comes is a necessary call for working-class solidarity.

The Trouble with Loving Poets and Other Essays on Failure by Elizabeth Zalenski

An exciting debut collection of essays dealing with a wide range of topics – from roadkill to psychedelics – from a writer and editor who currently lives outside Akron.