Lauren Ho’s hilarious debut, LAST TANG STANDING, received its second starred review this week, this time from Bookpage. They rave: “[Ho’s] debut novel is a blast [with a] laugh-out-loud protagonist. LAST TANG STANDING is a near-perfect blend of Crazy Rich Asians and Bridget Jones’s Diary, yet it still feels wholly original.” The novel was also included in summer reading lists from Slate and Frolic. Putnam will publish it on June 9, 2020.

GQ named FIGURE IT OUT by Wayne Koestenbaum a best book of the month. They call it “a great entry point into his work and as fun a book of criticism as you’re likely to find,” adding that “few critics are so playful, so irreverent, and so refreshing.” Art in America agrees, writing in their review: “Koestenbaum’s work often seems so unchained, so free, that it feels like it was written joyfully, without a trace of strain.” Soft Skull Press published the book on May 5, 2020.

RULES FOR VISITING by Jessica Francis Kane has been shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, the U.K.’s only literary award for comic literature. The winner will be announced on June 24th. Penguin Press published the book on May 14, 2019.

MINOR FEELINGS by Cathy Park Hong was named by both Time and Elle as one of the best books of 2020 so far. Time raves: “[Hong’s] voice is urgent and raw as she unpacks what it’s like to experience prejudice that doesn’t fit into the exact mold of oppression faced by other minorities in the U.S.” Elle praised it effusively, describing it as a “scorching exploration . . . that cuts to the heart of the Korean-American experience to document the cumulative effect of prejudice on generations of Asian Americans.” One World published the book on February 25, 2020.

The New York Times Book Review and Seattle Times rave about Elliot Ackerman’s RED DRESS IN BLACK AND WHITE. The NYTBR writes: “Ackerman’s rich knowledge of Turkey . . . is evident on every page. The book’s stunning scenes of the protests in Gezi Park . . . are superbly written.” Additionally, Elle picked the novel for their “Best Books of 2020 (So Far)” list, calling it “at once suspenseful and delicate.” Knopf published the book on May 26, 2020.

TIME National Correspondent Charlotte Alter’s article on the pandemic’s impact on the college class of 2020 graced the magazine’s cover this week. She also published a piece in Vox about the role that age plays in the Presidential race. Charlotte’s first book, THE ONES WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR, was published by Viking on February 18, 2020.

The latest novel by Danielle Steel made its debut on the New York Times Bestseller lists for the week of May 17, 2020. The book debuted at number 6 on both the Combined Print and E-book Fiction and Hardcover Fiction Bestseller lists. Dell published the book on April 28, 2020.

Wayne Koestenbaum was interviewed by the Los Angeles Review of Books for their LARB AV series about his new essay collection FIGURE IT OUT. They introduce Kostenbaum as “someone whose enthusiasm for life and literature is more infectious than any coronavirus.” Soft Skull Press published the book on May 5, 2020.

Olivia Laing's new collection of essays, FUNNY WEATHER, received a favorable review from The Washington Post. They write: “Laing’s arts writing is sharp-minded, and her manner is generous toward both subject and reader.” W. W. Norton & Company published the book on May 12, 2020.

Catherine Lacey of the New York Times published a fantastic review of DRIFTS, writing: “Like many of the writers she resembles or reveres — Jean Rhys and Robert Walser, to name an odd pair — Zambreno draws on autobiography but never leans on it . . . her sentences are always airy and streamlined, full of wit and candor.” Andrew Schenker of the LA Times Book Review also praised DRIFTS, writing: “Nominally a work of fiction, but very clearly autobiographical, DRIFTS not so much renders the question of genre irrelevant but charts the search for a new genre.” Riverhead Books published the book on May 19, 2020.