What are we reading this summer?

We can't just read All Fours again. (Can we?) Summer reading recs curated by my favorite book editor, and yours truly.

One of the great pleasures of summer, for me, is reading books.

Not reading stuff on my phone, not listening to informative podcasts (although I do like that, too). Not reading articles that I have to read for work or research. Reading BOOKS. Books with stories and plots and characters and dialogue, and big ideas and other worlds.

Photo by Kostiantyn Li on Unsplash

Summer is about gifting myself a little more pleasure in my life—and reading books just makes me…feel…better?

And guess what—research bears out that reading books is good for us. Studies found that reading reduces stress by almost 70% (more than having a cup of tea—but I say hey, why not both?) Another study found that reading can actually lower blood pressure and reduce muscle tension (which definitely cannot be said about scrolling social media).

So what are you reading this summer, and what should I add to my summer reading list?

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I’ll go first: An ideal summer read for me is female-forward, ideally written by a woman, and written fairly recently (like within the last 10 years). Bonus points for epic sweeps, inter-generational narratives, and deep dives into nerdy, niche fields of study. Fiction and non-fiction welcome, but in the summer I really need a couple fiction bangers to transport me somewhere far away.

We read All Fours as an MR book club last summer, and it sustained us through three whole rich conversations. Part of what made it fun was that we had such different reactions to the book. Some thought it was a work of staggering genius, while others thought it was a narcissistic satire, while others found it navel-gazey.

Nearly all of us found it fascinating on some level. (I was in team genius, for the record.) If you didn’t read it, good news!! There’s a real summer banger waiting for you. The rest of us now have to venture forth to find the next one…

With that in mind, I asked my bestie Shauna Summers, who is an OG editor at Random House, what should be on our list this summer. (I know! This is the best kind of friend a girl could ask for, it’s kind of a dream come true.) Shauna often curates my summer reading list and many of my personal favorites have come from her, so I asked her if she would help me curate a list for MR.

Here’s what she’s got lined up for us this summer, along with a few of my own recs…

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Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

It’s the 1980’s and Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy professor until she sees an ad seeking NASA’s first women scientists for their space shuttle program. She begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, along with a cast of other exceptional women who have been selected as astronauts. “Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.” Space? Female bonding? And it’s by the author Daisy Jones & The Six? I’m sold. (Shauna says: “Feminist and such a good read. I got choked up, which rarely happens for me.”)

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

“A razor-sharp, wildly sexy novel about a wealthy New England family’s long-overdue reckoning…and the one week that threatens to tear them apart.” The family of a billionaire gathers to pay final respects only to learn that he has a final challenge for them—an inheritance game on his private island. Rich people misbehaving is my personal favorite brand of entertainment of late, and this sounds like The White Lotus meets Knives Out. (BTW Shauna personally edited this one, which is an NYT pick, too!)

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

It’s a vampire sapphic romance that begins in 16th century Spain, and fast-forwards to Harvard in 2019. “Set over 500 years, this tale of three sapphic vampires is a story about hunger, rage and the ways in which women are told to be satiated even when they aren’t.” Sign me up.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

The world of Renaissance Italy is brought to “jewel-bright life” in this fictional portrait of the real-life young duchess Lucrezia de' Medici, as she’s forced into marriage before she’s ready, and made to survive in a hostile court. Sounds like Sofia Coppola Marie Antionette vibes. (Shauna says: “O’Farrell is my queen; her bestseller "Hamnet” is also perfection.”)

My picks:

Animal Instinct by

Amy Shearn

A recent divorcée and mother of three living in Brooklyn goes on a bisexual online dating spree. Not content with any of her paramours, she creates an AI chatbot and programs it with all of her middle-aged dating fantasies. (Amy also writes this great Substack, and I would read her book for the gorgeous cover alone!)

See also: Crush by Ada Calhoun, the other hot middle-aged-woman-finds-herself novel of the summer, which I’m also intrigued by!

And Colored Television by Danzy Senna, a dark comedy about a mid-career writer jumping through outrageous hoops to keep herself and her family afloat, described as “a modern reckoning with race, class, creativity and love” by Miranda July herself.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

This one I already read—and I loved it. It’s funny, it’s off-beat, it’s feminist. A 19-year old gets knocked up by her gosh-darn married English professor, and she chooses to keep the baby. Of course catastrophe ensues when the hard facts of American single motherhood hit her in her tender face. She starts an OnlyFans account for income, which leads to unexpected internet fame and complicated consequences. It’s hilarious and tender, which is my fav.

Okay, so what’s on your summer reading list, and what have you loved lately? And what books should we do for MR Summer book club??