Have you run out of books on your To Be Read list this summer? We haven’t either, though we’re always willing to add a title or two to our summer reading goals. If you’re considering which book to check out next, we’re happy to share more recommendations perfect for sun or shade. We hope you enjoy reading these titles suggested by our Libraries team!
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Premise: a virus has rendered all animal meat inedible by humans. However, the meat industry thrives with the legalization of “special meat:” legal cannibalisms. Absolutely fascinating read that examines sexism, social hierarchy, and how easy it becomes to “Other” humans when social pressures arise. Despite the gory premise, Bazterrica does a phenomenal job worldbuilding to make the horror palatable/easy to digest (for lack of a better term). It is a quick, garish read that pulls you in and leaves you asking “did that just happen?”
–Barbara Blake, Resource Sharing Assistant
It’s just great.
–Neyda Gilman, Assistant Head of Sustainability & STEM Engagement, Health Sciences Librarian
Editor’s note: this is one of my favorite reads and a seminal work in science-fiction. Butler is one of the greats whose work was groundbreaking for Black women writing in the genre. This novel follows Dana, a Black woman who suddenly begins time traveling to the antebellum South and encounters her ancestors, including those who were enslaved and the white plantation owners enslaving them. Faced with the horrors of slavery, Dana must determine to what degree she should intervene, even if her own existence is threatened.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
This book presents interesting ideas that make the reader think about life and death in a whole new way. It’s intriguing and thought provoking, and, of course, it features a library!
–Emily Beston, Senior Bibliographic Assistant in Cataloging
Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston
I’m not typically a non-fiction fan but love this autobiography. Hurston is a wonderful, engaging writer.
–Amy Gay, Assistant Head of Digital Initiatives for Digital Scholarship
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
One of my favorite writers; anything Ishiguro writes is just lovely.
–Amy Gay, Assistant Head of Digital Initiatives for Digital Scholarship
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
It’s a light, warm, sweet story about a lonely man who finds a purpose for his life. The characters are unique and easy to fall in love with, and the setting sounds so picturesque that you’ll wish you could go there yourself.
–Emily Beston, Senior Bibliographic Assistant in Cataloging
For lovers of historical fiction and family sagas, and for anyone wishing to learn more about the history between Korea and Japan. Also a great show on Apple TV+.
–Elise Ferer, Instruction & Outreach Librarian
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
A relatively quick read that is a good story. Slight spoiler – a bit relatable with the whole pandemic thing.
–Neyda Gilman, Assistant Head of Sustainability & STEM Engagement, Health Sciences Librarian
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
In post-apocalyptic Sudan, Onyesonwu, a young woman with supernatural abilities, recounts her story from shunning by her village to training in sorcery in pursuit of vengeance against her warlord father. Not necessarily a relaxing summer read, but intense, creative and impossible to put down! Okorafor’s Binti series also makes for great Afrofuturistic reading.
–Jillian Sandy, Instruction & Outreach Librarian
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
This is a long read, but a really satisfying view of college life at a privileged small school from someone who had been an outsider.
–Elise Ferer, Instruction & Outreach Librarian