By Jessica Woodbury — Aug 19, 2025

Beating the Slump

Reading as much as I do requires a certain amount of magical thinking. It's very easy for me to feel like I'm in a slump. Two or three books in a row that are just fine is enough to do it. Even a book that's absolute perfection takes an emotional toll, because what can possibly make you feel this way again? It takes so little to feel like I will never read another really good book. I have to force my brain not to give in to it.

I have a lot of practice with this kind of thinking, and not just with books. I'm currently on my third job hunt in the last five years, coming off my second layoff less than a year after my last layoff. I've been out of work since April, I really didn't think I would still be out here in August, but here I am. Getting through the last 4 months (and continuing to get through however many more there are to come) takes a lot of forced positive thinking.

The stakes are a lot higher than books, obviously. Would love to be able to pay my bills, buy groceries, send my kids to college. (First tuition bill is only two years away!) Not to mention having a fulfilling career with work that satisfies me and people I respect. But just like it's really easy to feel bad about books, it takes very little to feel bad about job hunting.

Every day that I look at job listings and don't see something that I think is worth applying to, it gets worse. Every time I look at a job listing and think Maybe but then look closer and think Nope, it gets worse. Every time I have to apply for a role that I am overqualified for but that is the only semi-decent option I have right now, it gets worse. And every time there is a rejection, it gets way worse.

And rejections are constant. If I'm looking hard and applying more, that just means I will have more rejections in my inbox. Little surprises that could pop up any time to tell me that I will not be going to the next round or that I have not even been given first round consideration.

Nevertheless, every time I apply it's crucial to think I can get this job. You have to be optimistic or else you don't apply to anything. As soon as you doubt yourself, you lose the drive to keep looking, the drive to write yet another cover letter. And you start to wonder if you are even a semi-smart human being.

And likewise every time I start a new book I have to tell myself, this could be your next favorite book. This could be your best reading experience of the year. This could be that thing that finally scratches that itch you've had for something great.

It may not be quite as hard to muster that optimism with reading, but it is still a force of will. And that muscle is getting a lot of exercise for me this year.

This is part of why I try to go in as cold as possible to every book. The more I know, the more I can find a reason to be pessimistic. And when something really exciting is coming up I don't want to know, because I don't want to make all the other books look less by comparison.

I will keep trucking away at books, and I will keep trucking away at job applications. I have some long weeks ahead where I'll have a lot of empty time to fill, lots of time to worry. But today I told myself, "Hey, you could be in the mix for your next job any minute now. You could get an email tomorrow that is asking to schedule a call that'll be the first step to getting hired." And it's true. I never know when the next great thing is coming. Just gotta keep going.

And now here are a bunch of books out in August that maybe could be your next great thing.

In alphabetical order by title:

Dominion is a debut, a plot-heavy drama about the way religious patriarchy impacts people in a small Mississippi town. The plot revolves around Emanuel (known as Wonderboy), a preacher's son and high school football star, but most of all it's about the women in his orbit. His girlfriend, Diamond, loves him to the exclusion of almost anything else, and all her visions of the future revolve around him. His mother, Priscilla, does not have a real relationship with her son, but still needs him to project the image she needs to maintain her place in the community. It's a dark story, with plenty of violence, but it is also not what it seems at first. Great voice, great setting. Very interested to see what we get from Citchens in the future.

A Game in Yellow is the first in an unexpected queer kink double feature on this list and fyi it's also one of the best horror novels of the year. This novel is a Cosmic Horror with a hefty helping of nihilism, a lot of sex and jealousy and polyamory, and a book that will drive you mad. Our protagonist, Carmen, is miserable and depressed. The only thing that gives her any feeling anymore is the increasingly dangerous BDSM antics she gets into with her girlfriend Bianca. And Bianca's desire to please Carmen leads them to a thrill that could destroy everything. I love how this book lets kink be complex but also clear, how you can see when there is a violation of consent, how all these things impact trust and relationships. It isn't trying to dumb anything down and it has some great sex writing.

A story of a tense relationship between a mother and daughter. A story of a grad student researching 18th century literature and searching for a secret story hidden within novels. A story of a witch learning how to use her power and how other witches can help or hurt each other. And there are a bunch more stories in this stuffed-full book. This novel is super queer and really thoughtful around community and relationships, the way things build up and fall apart. Anders has written some very imaginative and interesting novels but she really takes it to another level here. Don't have to be a big Fantasy reader to enjoy it because it's so many books in one!

This is also Queer Kink Double Feature part 2! If the previous novel was super bleak, Anders is here with some cozy, heartfelt vibes to balance it out. Because yes, BDSM can also be all about communication and aftercare!

I love Japanese mystery novels. I also love weird time travel/time loop stories. And this gives you both! Intricate plot, but never too serious. Some smart twists, if you're able to wade through all the up-front infodumping.

I love it when a novel makes me think, "Wait, who is telling this story?" all of a sudden out of nowhere. This is a campus novel about infidelity that has an interesting structure and while it may not move all the way out of gimmick territory, there's a lot to like. Every so often I find myself writing a review of a book I mostly enjoyed that is almost entirely criticisms and this was one of those. I have A LOT of notes. But I wouldn't have nearly as many notes if there wasn't so much potential here. So I still put it in the recommend pile.

Samantha Downing is a thriller writer I always have to read. She either writes thrillers that are just fine (but still better than 90% of what's out there) or that are the best thriller you've read in months maybe years. Thankfully, this is one of the latter. This may be about a little old lady, but this is not a cozy. Downing is always on the brutal side and this may be her biggest body count yet. But it's still a romp, not as mind-numbingly twisty as some of her other books, this has her most compelling protagonist yet in Lottie, a retiree who also happens to be a retired serial killer.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end, friends.

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