Now Read This!
JUNE 2026
 
Our Now Read This! newsletters offer suggestions for your next favorite read, from hidden gems to the latest hot pick. In this issue, you will find a featured book of the month, a special event worth checking out, a curated selection of newly acquired and upcoming biographies and memoirs, and booklists for further reading. Whether you prefer reading about the lives of historical figures or the rich and famous, your friendly BPL Reader Services Librarians have recommendations for every reader.
 
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Book of the Month
America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick by Bob Crawford
America's Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick
by Bob Crawford

Crawford explores the life of John Quincy Adams, from his unsuccessful presidential reelection campaign to his fight against the slavocracy and Southern congressmen, which solidified him as a key ally to the antislavery cause, and everything in between. 
Event Spotlight
Budgeting in Place: How People's Budgets Shape Civic Life
Thursday, May 28, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
 
Each year, cities and towns release budgets that allocate public funding for municipal services and public infrastructure. While these budgets can feel like mundane, bureaucratic documents, they’re central to the functioning of civic life—and from Boston to Nashville, everyday people across the U.S. are increasingly taking a more active role in shaping the line items on these important public ledgers.
 
Moderated by Leventhal Map and Education Center staff member Ian Spangler, this event brings together a panel of experts from Boston, New York City, and Nashville for a discussion about what participatory budgeting is, where it came from, and how you can get involved.
 
New and Upcoming Titles
Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself by Libby Ward
I Still Am: A Woman, Pissed-Off & Curious by Su Friedrich
After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan's Memory Palace by Robert Polito
Honest Motherhood: On Losing My Mind and Finding Myself
Libby Ward
 
“Ward shares her journey of unlearning the myth of the ideal mother, diving into the experiences many mothers have but few feel safe enough to say out loud.”
 
I Still Am: A Woman, Pissed-Off & Curious
Su Friedrich
 
 
“Through her letters, journals, and photographs, visual artist Friedrich documented her day-to-day encounters with the people of Africa on a solo trip in 1976.”
 
After the Flood: Inside Bob Dylan's Memory Palace
Robert Polito
 
“Drawing on thousands of pages of archival materials, Polito shows how Dylan evolved a late musical style that has embodied and resisted its era.” 
 
Missing Me: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis and the Long Road Back by Ayana Lage
I Identify as Blind: A Brazen Celebration of Disability Culture, Identity, and Power by Lachi
Adulting for Amateurs: Misadventures of a Geriatric Millennial by Jess H. Gutierrez
Missing Me: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis and the Long Road Back
Ayana Lage
 
 
“Days after giving birth, Lage began hearing God's voice. Diagnosed with postpartum psychosis, she then spent 17 days in a psychiatric ward.”
 
I Identify as Blind: A Brazen Celebration of Disability Culture, Identity, and Power
Lachi
 
“Recording artist and activist Lachi redefines Disability as a cultural movement, creative force, empowering identity, and an innovation blueprint.”
 
Adulting for Amateurs: Misadventures of a Geriatric Millennial
Jess H. Gutierrez
 
 
“Leaning into her geriatric millennial years, Gutierrez reflects on how growing up does not necessarily bestow one with maturity.” 
 
A Wheelie Awkward Romance: The Love Story of a Girl Who Is Definitely Not Touchy-Feely and a Quadriplegic Guy Who Most Assuredly Is by Tess Campbell
Mon Cher Amour: The Love Letters of Albert Camus and Maria Casares, 1944-1959 by Albert Camus
When Rock Met Hip-Hop: How Run-DMC, Aerosmith, Anthrax, the Beastie Boys, and More Crossed Cultural and Musical Boundaries by Steven Blush
A Wheelie Awkward Romance: The Love Story of a Girl Who Is Definitely Not Touchy-Feely and a Quadriplegic Guy Who Most Assuredly Is
Tess Campbell
 
“Campbell shares an honest look at what happens when an intensely logical woman and a quadriplegic man collide online and discover a perfect match.” 
 
Mon Cher Amour: The Love Letters of Albert Camus and Maria Casarès, 1944-1959
Albert Camus & Maria Casarès
 
 
 
 “The letters between author Albert Camus and French actress Maria Casarès trace the extreme highs and lows of their all-consuming love affair.”
 
When Rock Met Hip-Hop: How Run-DMC, Aerosmith, Anthrax, The Beastie Boys, and More Crossed Cultural and Musical Boundaries
Steven Blush
 
“Blush explores the musical collision of rock and hip-hop and the cultural fallout that changed music for the better and remains an influence.”   
 
Find Your Next Great Read
America 250: A Reading List for All Ages
The signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 is one of the most pivotal moments in American history. Read up on what took place 250 years ago through the fiction and nonfiction titles on this list. 
 
 
 
   

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