A new month means new books. Here are the most exciting Canadian new releases hitting shelves in August.

Trust No Aunty by Maria Qamar

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What it's about: Artist Maria Qamar has penned a comic "survival guide" to her overbearing, but well-meaning, South Asian family.

Why we're excited: Based on the popular Instagram account @hatecopy, Trust No Aunty promises to be a frank, fresh and funny exploration of growing up in between cultures while also tapping into the universal feeling that families can be, well, a bit much sometimes.

When you can read it: Aug. 1, 2017

How Maria Qamar uses art to explore her South-Asian and Canadian culture

Curry by Naben Ruthnum

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What it's about: The 2013 Journey Prize winner, crime fiction writer (under the pen name Nathan Ripley) and cultural critic tackles all things curry in this long-form essay. How did a dish that doesn't really exist come to ubiquitously represent Indian food and culture?

Why we're excited: Naben Ruthnum is one of Canada's most promising young writers and the Exploded Views series has brought forth eye-opening essays from exciting young voices such as The Last Word by Julia Cooper, which explored grief, and Closer by Sarah Barmak, which looked at female sexuality.

When you can read it: Aug. 14, 2017

A Mariner's Guide to Self Sabotage by Bill Gaston

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What it's about: A short story collection bound by a cast of characters defined by the secrets they keep, including a vegan working at a fish farm, a man who is exchanging his car for a goat and someone planning to sink the very boat they are repairing.

Why we're excited: Bill Gaston is one of Canada's best storytellers. He's published more than a dozen books, and his previous two short story collections — Gargoyles and Juliet Was a Surprise — were finalists for the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. Gaston won the CBC Short Story Prize in 1998.

When you can read it: Aug. 26, 2017

Bill Gaston on accidental fires and questionable musical influences

The Last Wave by Gillian Best

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What it's about: Martha is a wife and mother who swam across the English Channel 10 times. A family drama that covers six decades and explores how one woman's drive to do the extraordinary has a lasting impact on those she loves and cares for.

Why we're excited: A novel that involves impressive physical feats and insightful explorations into a family over time by an exciting new voice in fiction? We're in.

When you can read it: Aug. 26, 2017

Someone You Love Is Gone by Gurjinder Basran

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What it's about: Simran's marriage is falling apart. She's estranged from her daughter. And her mother has just died. All these things force Simran to confront her past and question the life she's built for herself.

Why we're excited: Someone You Love Is Gone promises to be a compelling portrait of grief and adversity. Gurjinder Basran's debut novel, Everything Was Good-bye, won the 2011 Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.

When you can read it: Aug. 29, 2017

The Burning Girl by Claire Messud

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What it's about: Two young girls grow up best friends, close as sisters. But when they become teenagers, they begin to grow apart. When one of them decides to go on a dangerous journey, she risks their friendship as they know it forever.

Why we're excited: Canadian-American writer Claire Messud is one of the best at creating compelling characters and exploring the nature of human relationships. Her previous novel, The Woman Upstairs, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2013.

When you can read it: Aug. 29, 2017