My journey into the Advanced Reader Copy word, navigating the alleyways and hidden bypasses of the NetGalley universe, has sometimes left me unsure of when things are hitting the actual shelves. I have found myself talking about books I want to read like I’m an intrepid time traveler. (“Oh! You’ll love this book! It either came out six months ago, when I read it, or it’ll be out in early 2027. I’ll have to check.”)
My personal spreadsheet for ARCs has grown from a simple list to a fully decorated and color-coded enterprise of its own. (Is there anything more delightful than a well-made and maintained spreadsheet?) With so many books to review, I don’t love everything I get my hands on, but here are a few true standouts.
These are the upcoming releases I’m most excited to see hit the shelves as we head into the summer. Grateful to all of these publishers for the ARCs.
Most Anticipated Upcoming Releases
Canon, Paige Lewis. Viking Penguin. May 19, 2026
Every single page of this novel is an absurdist delight. What a gift for folks who love epics, myths, and a completely bonkers ride. The whole book is a fantastical, hilarious exploration of theism and human agency. This is one of my favorite reads of the year. I cannot wait for it to be widely released. Full Review on GoodReads.
Talking to the World, Rebecca Chace. Red Hen Press. May 19, 2026
It took a minute for the characters to click for me—I had a bit of trouble keeping them straight until I got a bit into the narrative—but once they did, I was fully invested. My guess is that this will get pegged as a book about female friendship, but it’s more about the way we all reckon with our lives shifting as we get older. These four friends, reflecting on their lives over several decades, are less interrogating their relationships to each other as they are their relationships to themselves. Full Review on GoodReads.
The Typing Lady: Stories, Ruth Ozeki. Viking Penguin. June 2, 2026
I’ve been a fan of Ruth Ozeki for so many years that I almost wish I lived in a universe where that wasn’t true just so I could have experienced this collection not yet knowing how intricate, delicate, and wild it would be. Ozeki is known now for her tendency toward meta fiction, and this collection jumps in and out of structure and narrative device with all the ease and skill we have come to expect. (She’s a titan of literary fiction for a reason.) Full Review on GoodReads.
Contrapposto, Dave Eggers. Knopf. June 9, 2026.
For a good part of my life, “What Is the What,” was my answer to “What’s your favorite novel?” But at some point, I stopped reading Eggers. Dipping back in feels like a return to an experience I didn’t realize I was missing. Olympia and Cricket are just exquisitely drawn characters. The characters are just a smidgen older than I am, and watching them live through the 90s and early aughts stirred up so many memories of my own. A gift of a book. Review on GoodReads to come.
Country People, Daniel Mason. Random House. July 7, 2026
What a delight of a novel: a bit of a literary caper, with a cast of misfits attempting to unearth a completely bonkers conspiracy that serves to drive the plot. Heaps of classical references are sprinkled throughout, many of which I could see on the page but not quite catch. (Milton isn’t my jam, and I did just fine.)
This is a story about misfits, about not fitting in even though you think, on paper, you will. Full review on GoodReads.
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