Beyond the Bestsellers: Picks to Round Out Your Summer TBR
Sometimes smaller publishers have the most interesting books, and it can be especially fun to track down these gems in August for Women in Translation Month. If you’ve never heard of it before, WIT Month is a celebration of literature from around the world that has been translated into English. I’m a big fan, and I’ve discovered a lot of my favorite books in Augusts past.
But not everyone is looking for books in translation, and that’s fair. So below I have 10 recent releases, half celebrating WIT Month and half just great reads, from smaller presses. One of them is sure to catch your fancy, and you can check it out on the Libby App.
First, the not-Women in Translation Month picks:
Ferris Bueller...You're My Hero
by Jason Klamm
Oh yeah! It’s the movie book all of Gen X has been waiting for. Klamm hilariously chronicles his love of this John Hughes classic, the writing and filming in both Chicago and LA, as well as the aftermath, like what happened to the Ferrari. Even if you aren’t a Gen Xer reliving your childhood but just a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off fan of another generation, this book is sure to charm.
The Madman's Guide to Stamp Collecting
by Robert Irwin
Collectors of just about anything can be a little…weird. After all, becoming a fanatical collector requires a certain personality. But stamp collectors just might be in a category all their own. Irwin delightfully, and often hilariously, examines the unique world of stamp collecting over the centuries, from the real life aficionados to great fictional philatelists.
Cages
by Chantel Acevedo
In the midst of the Cuba Missile Crisis, Felix and Rene are having a forbidden affair—both are married to women, hoping no one at the zoo where they work will notice their glances and passing touches. But the whole world, including Felix’s life, is about to change forever. Through the eyes of those who knew him, Felix’s journey in exile to London and Miami unspools over decades.
The Sweetest of Lemons
by Daniel Nayeri
Did you know that some lemons can be sweet? At least one lemon a year at any rate. Inspired by Nayeri’s childhood in Iran, this magical, multilayered tale tells of a family journey to grandfather’s farm and the story they hear along the way about the miraculous sweetest lemon. The story is accompanied by Persian style artwork that is sure to captivate readers of all ages.
Abigail Trench
by Randy Overbeck
Do you love the TV show Turn or the book that inspired the series, Washington’s Spies? (I’m a huge fan of both!) If so, this historical novel is for you! Overbeck imagines a story for one of the still unnamed members of George Washington’s Revolutionary War spy ring, creating Abigail Trench, a Long Island farmer who finds herself displaced and working as a tutor to the children of a British officer stationed in New York City.
The Village on the Edge of the World
by Herta Müller
Nobel Prize winner Müller grew up in the shadow of WWII as an ethnic German in Romania. During the war, her father fought for the Germans, and her mother spent time in a Soviet prison. But it’s no easier as an adult, when her career was constantly threated by Ceausescu’s communist regime, until she finally went into exile in Germany. A riveting look at the great novelist’s life and the world behind the Iron Curtain.
Hollow Inside
by Asako Otani
Wanting a better apartment in crowded Tokyo, Hirai and Suganuma decide to start living together, even though both are professional women around 40. In her spare time, Suganuma makes 3D printed versions of people’s deceased pets, but her figurines might not be the only things that are hollow. Will either woman find love or fulfillment? This is a perfect read for fans of Sayaka Murata or Emi Yagi’s Diary of a Void.
A Party for Mousse
by Claire Lebourg
The adorable Mousse is back for his fourth picture book adventure, and this time, it’s Christmas! There’s so much to do, decorating the tree and mailing packages, and Mousse is loving his quiet holidays. But then his sister asks him to come spend Christmas with her in the city, and he has to adjust to a new style and pace for the season. The illustrations are beautiful watercolors.
On the Other Side Is March
by Sólrún Michelsen
This book deserves a special mention this WIT Month as the first title by a Faroese writer to appear in English. But it is more than just a publishing breakthrough. This poetic, short novel looks at several generations of women from the perspective of a 60 year-old woman trying to understand what is left for her, how her life will end, and what the future holds for her children and grandchildren.
The Very Secretive and Passionate Stella Miles Franklin
by Alexandra Lapierre
Stella wants more than the typical life for a girl growing up on a cattle farm in the Outback at the beginning of the 20th Century. Her first step on this journey is at just 20 to write the most sensational novel in Australia, My Brilliant Career, under the male pseudonym, Miles Franklin. But that is just her first step on a road that takes her to San Francisco just days after the earthquake, Jane Addams’s Hull-House, and even London, before returning home, where she establishes her country’s top literary prize.
And those are just a few of the under the radar picks from smaller publishers you can grab in the Libby App. Whether or not you’re celebrating Women in Translation Month.
Published Aug 25, 2026
Shelia Mawdsley
Shelia Mawdsley did everything from answering questions at the Reference Desk to tech training to running a classic lit book club in her 17 years in public libraries. Now she helps other public libraries make the most of their collections in Libby. In her spare time, she’s either writing or reading, usually with an opera playing in the background. If you ever run into her, ask Shelia about #WITMonth.