Our 2025 Summer Reading List
😎☀️🌊🌻👙⛱️📚✈️
Sure, the summer solstice isn’t actually for a few more weeks. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been obsessing over all the books we’re excited about this season. In case you missed it, we rounded up our summer TBRs last week on Instagram — we’ve got a nice range of traditional beach reads, deep-divey nonfiction, and backlist titles (more on that later).
Now, we present our summer reading recommendations. These are books we’ve read and loved that we think will be best enjoyed while lounging on a beach, passing the time on a long-haul flight, or even just on a picnic blanket in the sun. Much of our list includes new releases and debuts from authors who may well become our favorites. We also have an audiobook rec primed for your next road trip and a 2020 release worth circling back to, because as much as we love new releases, we think summer is a delightful time to dive into a backlist book, aka something you can scoop from your local library ASAP.
Thanks, as always, for reading — if you can’t tell, we love compiling these lists! If you’re ever looking for a more specific rec, feel free to reach out in the comments here or in the Substack chat. We’ll be back next week with another regular issue featuring three new recommendations.
HAGS!
Barb, Kelsey, and Madeline
Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for more content between sends, including our author interview series, Suggested Texts. Recent features: Courtney Wren, Katie Kitamura, and Leah Abrams.
Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie
(Out July 8) An exciting, nuanced exploration of art, criticism, and cancel culture set at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A must for fans of Good Material.
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis
A fascinating, tender, yet somehow very funny novel about a university lecturer who leads a deradicalization program for ISIS brides. If you want to get lost in something with equal parts humor and heart, pick this one up.
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
At its core, Good Dirt is a multigenerational family story about racism, slavery, and a very important clay jar. But this sophomore novel has a little bit of everything: family drama, an epic break-up, a European escapade, and an unsolved crime. We can’t think of a vacation this book wouldn’t pack well for.
Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
Once in a while, we’re asked about our favorite New York novel. This is (currently) that. It’s a magnetic debut about two music-obsessed teenagers in the early aughts. If you remember our obsession with Honey last summer, you’ll know the vibe.
What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci
There’s a specific subgenre of an audiobook that's ideal for a summer road trip: something relatively light and entertaining, but forgiving enough that you don’t have to rewind when Google Maps kicks in over the sound system. This book pairs well with his docuseries, Searching for Italy, on Hulu/Disney+, and all the Europe travel content you are seeing on Instagram.
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
Consider taking a break from the latest and greatest releases with one of our favorites from 2020. (There’s also a pretty good chance it’s available at your local library). It’s a heartwarming but not sappy novel about grief, falling in love, and pursuing the writing life.
All books can be found at Books Are Magic, McNally Jackson, Greenlight Bookstore, and other independent bookstores, but if you don’t live near one, you can also click the links to support independent bookstores through Bookshop.org.
Just finished Good Dirt, it was beautiful!!