The Best Grown-Up Reads of
May 2020
by the Brightly Editors
Like the most impatient toddlers trying the fruit snack challenge, we just can’t wait to share May’s best new books for grown-ups (and also eat some fruit snacks). From a survival guide for the middle school years to a seriously cute meet-cute, the latest reads are full of top-notch parenting knowledge, unbridled glee, and food for thought. Wash it all down with a tongue-in-cheek wine manual, and we’ll see you next month for more!
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And Then They Stopped Talking to Me
Thoughts of our children entering the notoriously difficult years of middle school can send the best of us spiraling, but Judith Warner is here to help. Through social history and scores of interviews with experts, educators, and parents, Warner presents crucial takeaways about the shaping forces of middle school, including how parents may unwittingly make them worse (inspired, often, by their own middle school experiences). This indispensable text shows parents how to best support their children during a tumultuous and formative period.
(On Sale: 5/5/20) -
Experimenting With Kids
Available from:Are you, like us, loving all the fruit snack challenges going around? The adorable trend that experiments with little ones and delayed gratification — a throwback to the 1972 Marshmallow Test — is right up Shaun Gallagher’s alley. With Experimenting With Kids, Gallagher encourages parents to get to know their mysterious offspring through simple experiments that test mental, physical, and social growth. If summer means more family time, spend it having fun!
(On Sale: 5/5/20)Also available from: -
How to Drink Wine
Available from:Ever glanced at a wine list and pointed, overwhelmed, at the first name you recognized? With this cheekily illustrated guide, sommelier Grant Reynolds and writer Chris Stang demystify and celebrate wine, from grape to glass. The book starts off with a glossary and FAQ that clarifies sommelier lingo, then moves into the 29 wines you actually need to know, and how to find the best fit (or fits!) for you.
(On Sale: 5/12/20)Also available from: -
Latitudes of Longing
If you’ve been cooped up too long, this lush and expansive novel might be just the ticket. Woven through with magical realism and divided into four novellas named for their South Asian atmospheres — the Andaman Islands, the edge of Burma, Ladakh’s snow deserts, and Kathmandu’s valleys — the book follows the interconnected lives of strangers all longing for connection, to one another and to the natural world.
(On Sale: 5/19/20) -
Happy and You Know It
This laugh-filled mystery revolves around an effortlessly cool, often out-of-touch playgroup of rich new moms and the down-on-her-luck musician hired to entertain their babies. Claire is more surprised than anyone that she’s fully charmed by her new employers, even as their shocking secrets come to light. A commentary on the double bind of motherhood and misleadingly curated social media feeds, it’s also a testament to female friendship.
(On Sale: 5/19/20) -
Beach Read
Available from:You’d think that a romance writer and a novelist of “serious” literary fiction, both trying to ride out their writer’s block in neighboring beach houses, would quickly become nemeses. Instead, January Andrews and Gus Everett strike a deal: they’ll see the world from each other’s eyes. She’ll write a Great American Novel; he’ll write a love story. It’s all professional — until it blooms into something more.
(On Sale: 5/19/20)Also available from:
