Books Briefing: A tiny artist’s community off the coast of Helsinki

Plus: Barbara Kingsolver's Appalachia.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story August 15, 2023 Artists who lease studio space on Harakka Island, including Marika Maijala, much reach it by rowboat.Saara Mansikkamaki for The New York Times Hi readers, For all we beat on about the glories of summer reading, of flopping down next to a body of water with a 650-page family saga, the season itself can be rather trying. The perils of a New York summer come for the book lovers, too. Leave a paperback on your fire escape overnight to find its pages swollen and cover curled into a sneer, thanks to 85 percent humidity or mysterious fluids dripping from the unit upstairs — or both. Read outside for more than 10 minutes near dusk and find yourself battling an army of mosquitoes and other bloodsuckers. Usually by this point in the year, I've had it. So I enjoyed a few recent pieces in our pages that lifted me out of my reality and into far more pleasant settings. I loved this story about the Finnish illustrator Marika Maijala and her studio on Harakka Island, which she reaches by rowboat. Same with an essay by our critic Molly Young about the wealthy eccentric Orson Squire Fowler, who proselytized about the virtues of octagonal houses. I hope these bring you some joy and, if you need one, a respite. See you next week. Joumana Khatib WHAT SHOULD YOU READ NEXT? 14 New Books Coming in August Novels from Ann Patchett and James McBride, a biography of the Chinese American movie star Anna May Wong and a handful of edgy thrillers — including one about a scuba driver swallowed by a whale. By The New York Times Books Staff 24 Works of Fiction to Read This Summer A sequel to Colson Whitehead's "Harlem Shuffle," new stories from Jamel Brinkley, a debut novel about a teenager who worked for Andy Warhol — and more. By Kate Dwyer Doeun Choi THRILLERS A Slow-Fuse Tale of Obsession and Marital Claustrophobia In Maud Ventura's "My Husband," a Frenchwoman cannot stop surveilling her spouse: "I think of my husband all the time; I wish I could text him all day." By Sarah Lyall What Book Should You Read Next? Finding a book you'll love can be daunting. Let us help. By The New York Times Books Staff Siobhan Gallagher YA/NYT 6 Thought-Provoking Y.A. Thrillers That Tackle Social Issues Angeline Boulley, the author of "Firekeeper's Daughter" and "Warrior Girl Unearthed," recommends exhilarating young adult books that explore important social topics. By Angeline Boulley 14 Nonfiction Books to Read This Summer Biographies of Anna May Wong and Alice Marble, a deep-sea exploration, a history of the race to the North Pole: Here's what to watch for this season. By Joumana Khatib and Neima Jahromi Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT In other news Barbara Kingsolver's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "Demon Copperhead," offered a variegated portrait of Appalachia, the region where she's lived and worked for years. In our latest literary guide, Kingsolver helps readers navigate this landscape, which says is "as bracing and complex as a tumbling mountain creek." Casey McQuiston's romance novel "Red, White and Royal Blue" has been a sensation on BookTok. So when it was being adapted for the screen, its director, Matthew López, knew the stakes were high: "I was never going to entirely fulfill the image of this book that the millions of people who love it individually have in their heads," he recalled. RECENT BOOK REVIEWS FICTION A Rollicking Tragicomic Tale of Unending Family Drama In Paul Murray's new novel, "The Bee Sting," an Irish family faces economic ruin after the 2008 financial crash. And that's just the start of their troubles. By Jen Doll NONFICTION George Eliot's Scandalous Answer to 'The Marriage Question' In a new book, Clare Carlisle considers the powerful partnership between the Victorian novelist and the de facto husband who tended her career. By Alexandra Jacobs FICTION A Novel Traces the Many Lives of a 19th-Century Romantic William Boyd's new book follows one man from childhood to death, and the globe-spanning adventures in between. By Charles Finch NONFICTION The Artist and Mystic Who Collected the World Harry Smith lived many lives. "Cosmic Scholar," a new biography, details his earthly ones. By Dwight Garner NONFICTION A Reason to Cheer for Cells and the Viruses That Feed on Them Two new books bring attention to old discoveries with the potential to cure stubborn ailments and reveal the secrets of biology. 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