Top Ten Reads for June
From a novel of identity and resistance, written from behind bars to the perfect guide to 'dangerous art'. From a disquieting, speculative novel from a legend of British sci-fi to a pithy exploration of what it means to cook for one in a society designed for couples and families. Presenting your Top Ten Reads for June
Land
Land
2nd June
A multigenerational epic inspired by O’Farrell’s great-great-grandfather, who worked on the Ordnance Survey maps of Ireland, with haunting vividness and humanity, Land conjures a nation blighted by catastrophe, and a family trying to find their way afterwards, caught in the crosshairs of history. Merging colonisation, rebellion, love, loss and survival, it is a novel to sink into—as intricate as a map, as multilayered and mysterious as the land it depicts—that confirms O’Farrell as a writer at the height of her powers.
A Mask the Colour of the Sky
A Mask the Colour of the Sky
4th June
Winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, this novel of identity and resistance was written behind bars by a Palestinian political prisoner. Khandaqji was arrested in 2004 at the age of 21 for his political activities and continued to write from prison. He was released in 2025. Following Nur, a Palestinian refugee from a camp near Ramallah, who moves through a world previously off-limits after finding an Israeli ID card, A Mask the Colour of the Sky is translated fiction at its most rich, relevant and powerful.
Flamboyance
Flamboyance
4th June
Blending social and cultural history with personal perspective and a rich cast of characters including Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, Elton John and Chappell Roan, the author of Fire Island: A Queer History explores the idea of flamboyance and how it offers a way of being in the world that we all need.
Stolen Revolution
Stolen Revolution
4th June
This riveting microcosmic book by two Iranian journalists immerses us in the entwined stories of six fellow Iranians who have lived through the arc of their country’s modern history, among them Mehdi Karroub–a devotee of Ayatollah Khomeini who rose to power with the Iranian revolution of 1979—and 1990s—born Rozhin Yousefzadeh and Kosar Eftekhari who escaped their gendered home-town destinies and joined the mass protests of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Tehran. A book to read now to understand the spirit of the ordinary people behind the warmongering rhetoric and tragic headlines.
Villa Coco
Villa Coco
9th June
From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the brilliant Less, Villa Coco follows a young American archivist who takes a job with an eccentric Italian Baronessa at a Tuscan mansion that is packed with curiosities. There he must adopt a bewildering array of traditions and superstitions, while battling an ancient septic system and receiving a carousel of colourful guests. Like that elusive perfect negroni, this is the injection of Italian warmth we all need.
A Real Piece of Work
A Real Piece of Work
11th June
The debut novel from the author of Nero Book Award-shortlisted memoir The Tidal Year is an intricate, poignant story of complicated families, exploring who owns grief and who gets to tell the story of those who are gone and those left behind. Bromley perfectly captures the relationship exclusive to siblings, brothers and sisters being uniquely qualified to both infuriate and understand you like no-one else.
The Spinster Cookbook
The Spinster Cookbook
11th June
A pithy exploration—written with warmth, humour, insight (and recipes!)—of what it means to cook for one in a society designed for couples and families. Exploring shopping, leftovers, solo meals, dinner parties for one and more, it is also a manifesto for living, and finding independence, pleasure and self-expression through cooking.
Depraved
Depraved
18th June
An award-winning philosopher who specialises in aesthetics, Dixon is the perfect guide to 'dangerous art'. Identifying five types of immoral art, this provocative book takes us on a journey through some of the most volatile and contentious works ever produced—from prehistoric sculpture to extreme metal music, Renaissance paintings and video games.
The End of Everything
The End of Everything
18th June
This disquieting, speculative novel—Harrison's first since The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again won the Goldsmiths Prize in 2020—unfolds in the aftermath of an extended crisis, part ecological breakdown, part invasion by an incomprehensible alien species. International communication and travel have broken down and the population has adopted a stripped-back coastal way of life. Philip makes a living from dredging artefacts from the sea to sell and discovers an object, or creature, whose presence begins to further collapse the walls of reality.
The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI
The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI
23rd June
“It's not enough to ask what the technology does—we have to understand who it's doing it for and who it's doing it to.” The author of the brilliant, bestselling Enshittification turns his critical gaze toward Artificial Intelligence in The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI, exploring what's good, bad and (profoundly) stupid about AI. Doctorow expertly analyses the current climate, but also asks what happens once the AI bubble bursts, directing us toward a future where it works for us, rather than us working for it.
