August preview: 10 things you can watch, listen to and read this month

Each month at q, we take a look at the books, movies, shows and albums we're most excited about. This month, we have everything from an epic Stephen King adaptation to highly anticipated returns from Kathryn Bigelow, Kesha and Queens of the Stone Age. Scroll down to learn more.

To watch

The Dark Tower (Aug. 4)

Stephen King has described The Dark Tower as his magnum opus, a sprawling, eight-volume series about a gunslinger in a dystopian world that is inspired in equal parts by Sergio Leone and J.R.R. Tolkien. Considering the endless appetite for King adaptations, plus the fact that big studios love nothing more than huge, wildly popular universes to adapt (see: Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Divergent, everything from Marvel and DC), it's a shock it took this long to see The Dark Tower come to the big screen. Interestingly enough, The Dark Tower is also the work that connects many different parts of King's world (the trailer is rife with meta nods), so it's essential material for longtime fans. In this adaptation (which was planned as a trilogy plus a TV series), Idris Elba stars as the Gunslinger — a character inspired by Clint Eastwood's the Man with No Name — opposite Matthew McConaughey as the morally corrupt villain, the Man in Black, which is the kind of role that seems to draw out McConaughey's best work. — Jesse Kinos-Goodin

Detroit (Aug. 4)

Kathryn Bigelow has made a career out of dealing with people under intense levels of stress, whether it's bomb diffusers in the Iraq war (Hurt Locker), Navy SEALs in one of the most famous missions in U.S. history (Zero Dark Thirty), or, well, an undercover officer torn between his allegiance to the law and to the cool surfer bros/bank robbers he's sent to infiltrate (Point Break). This time, Bigelow turns her lens to a racially charged, brutal chapter in U.S. history, using the 1967 Detroit riots to tell the story of a black security guard (John Boyega) caught between a gang of ruthless, racist police officers and a band of unarmed black musicians who were unlawfully gunned down. Known as the "Algiers Motel incident," it's a seminal moment in American race politics. Base on a true story — Bigelow weaves in actual news footage throughout — Detroit is a wrong place/wrong time historical drama that has far too many echoes of the current climate. — JK-G

Logan Lucky (Aug. 18)

The last time director and producer Steven Soderbergh teamed up with actor Channing Tatum was Magic Mike — and that alone should get you excited for the upcoming Logan Lucky. Tatum returns in Soderbergh's new film as one half of a brother duo (the other half being Adam Driver), who try to break out a criminal (Daniel Craig) in order to help them rob the Coca-Cola 600 race. It's as bizarre and amazing as it sounds, and if that list of actors isn't already impressive, the cast is rounded out with Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes and Katherine Waterston. Hold on, it's going to be a wild ride. — Melody Lau

The Defenders (Aug. 18, Netflix)

Marvel fans have waited two years for this, but Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist are finally joining forces in Netflix's latest miniseries, The Defenders. After leading their own series — to varying levels of success — The Defenders takes place months after Daredevil's second season and one month after Iron Fist's first. Together, the team of New York City vigilantes will get together, despite some reluctance and jokes about each other's powers (in the trailer, Iron Fist describes Jones as "whatever it is you are"), to face off against the Hand, a villain who was introduced in Daredevil's latest season. — ML

Broad City (Aug. 23, Comedy Central/Much)

TV's funniest stoners are back. Broad City returns for its fourth season, which not only promises cameos from RuPaul, Steve Buscemi and Wanda Sykes, but also crazier adventures all over the streets of New York City. From protests to house parties, stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are still learning how to navigate the world as 20-somethings, but at least they're having lots of fun doing it. — ML

To read

Maria Qamar, Trust No Aunty (Aug. 1)

This is the debut book from Maria Qamar, a Toronto artist who made a name for herself on Instagram (@hatecopy) by using a pop-art approach to satirize her South Asian/Canadian upbringing. Her hilarious, on-point observations have resulted in style publications like Elle and Flare heralding Qamar as part of the future of Canadian art, whether her work appears on walls, mugs, plates, T-shirts or, now, in book form. Trust No Aunty focuses on one of Qamar's favourite targets, the know-it-all aunty, which she writes is a "term of endearment (and sometimes insult)" to describe an overbearing older woman. She introduces various forms of the aunty, rating them on a spice scale (the "weight-watcher aunty" being the spiciest), plus humourous ways to get out of various situations with them. Scattered throughout are illustrations in her signature style, plus a series of personal essays and recollections dealing with aunties, as well as the cultural differences desis deal with at large. There's even a recipe for the "best daal ever," which just goes to show there's a little aunty in everyone. — JK-G   

Jenny Zhang, Sour Heart (Aug. 1)

Sour Heart is a collection of short stories by Zhang, who, up until now, has been mainly known for her poetry featuring a fictional cast of Chinese-American characters. Sour Heart is getting a lot of attention as the first book issued under Lena Dunham's Lenny publishing imprint, but Zhang's work can definitely stand alone without the co-sign. As one would expect from a contributor to Rookie Mag, Zhang is deft at capturing the lives of teenagers. Delving deep into the interior lives of immigrants, Zhang manifests the anxieties and desires of a youthful generation adjusting to environments and expectations with a conversational tone that belies the subtlety in her writing. — Del F. Cowie

To listen

Kesha, Rainbow (Aug. 4)

For a while, we didn't know if Kesha would ever be able to release new music again. For the past few years, the pop star best known for her party bangers like "Tik Tok" and "Die Young" has been embroiled in legal battles with producer Dr. Luke over alleged abuse. While Kesha hasn't been able to sever ties with Kemosabe Records (Luke's label), the singer is moving forward with her first album in five years, Rainbow. From the two songs she's released so far — the powerful ballad "Praying" and the more upbeat, Dap Kings-assisted "Woman" — it's clear that Kesha is healing and charging ahead, and that's something that fans can definitely rejoice over. — ML

The War on Drugs, A Deeper Understanding (Aug. 25)

Philadelphia's the War on Drugs marked its return from a three-year silence with an epic, introspective gem of a song. "Thinking of a Place," its first new music since 2014's breakthrough album Lost in the Dream, is an 11-minute headphone masterpiece, a warm, ambling dirge that invites listeners into frontman Adam Granduciel's head. A Deeper Understanding, the band's fourth album, promises to continue on this pensive train of thought, with longer song lengths, less guitar and more Wurlitzer and Mellotron. It's been called the group's "L.A. record," which is to say more in line with Neil Young's Laurel Canyon era: rich, aimless melodies to play deep into the night. — JK-G

Queens of the Stone Age, Villains (Aug. 25)

It's been four years since the last Queens of the Stone Age album, … Like Clockwork, which was tightly wound, midtempo and cerebral. Villains, which will be the band's seventh album, is anything but, promising to be looser, more upbeat and immediate. That sense of urgency is a direct result of the Paris attacks at the Bataclan, where Homme's other band, the Eagles of Death Metal, were performing (Homme wasn't on tour with them). As such, the Queens frontman felt he had no other choice but to make a record. Besides, Homme was in the mood to dance. The band teamed up with producer Mark Ronson, whose recent work with Bruno Mars actually inspired Homme to seek him out. The result is the same signature squelching guitars, but mixed with more dance-oriented drums and lyrics that are decidedly less depressing than those on Clockwork. Villians is entirely concerned with the now. — JK-G