NPR has rounded up 13 new book releases for August 2026, pitched as ideal reading for the "dog days of summer" and offering an escape from the heat with stories ranging from small towns to Hollywood glamour. The selection spans established literary names and covers a wide range of genres and themes, from historical fiction to political critique.

Notable titles include Paul Yoon's dog-narrated novel "Etna", Téa Obreht's multi-era saga "Sunrise", and Chang-rae Lee's coming-of-age story "A Tender Age". Other highlights are Richard Russo's "Under the Falls", Liane Moriarty's decade-later sequel "Big Little Truths", Rachel Cusk's "Life of M", Peter Rock's survival tale "Makeshift", Jill Lepore's non-fiction critique "The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State", and Edwidge Danticat's "Dèy", alongside further picks such as Claudia Rankine's "Triage" and Emil Wilson's graphic novel "The Nightingales".