Welcome back to summer! Time to pick up a new book (or sixteen?). We're looking forward to reading on planes, on the beach, or just curled up on the couch—and we hope you'll join us!
Reading is not only one of the best ways to improve your SAT or ACT Verbal scores, but many colleges also ask about the books you’re reading as part of your applications or interviews.
Our team compiled a list of our current favorite books for you to check out, from classic fiction to poetry to heart-wrenching true stories of love, loss, and what it means to be human. We're pretty sure at least a couple of these stories are ones you won't be able to put down.
Happy reading!
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
by Gabrielle Zevin
Erika recommends this book because: “Zevin's writing is fabulous and the love story will keep you on your toes. It's also a wonderful bonus for the reader to learn so much about game design along the way!”
Summary: Childhood friends Sadie and Sam serendipitously bump into each other while they're both studying in Cambridge, MA, after years of no contact. As they re-establish their friendship, their shared love of video games and storytelling leads them to collaborate on their own to-be best-selling game, Ichigo. Without spoiling anything, the years that follow are filled with many twists and turns, all of which lead to an incredible ending.
The Bird Hotel
by Joyce Maynard
Emily recommends this book because: “The Bird Hotel is a lesson on resilience and recognizing your own strength. It's a beautifully written book that kept me enthralled until the last page!”
Summary: A mother and artist suffers an unimaginable loss and finds herself building a new life in Central America. The story spans four decades of mystery, drama, and romance at the base of an active volcano.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies
by Jared Diamond
Joe recommends this book because: “It made me view the world with fresh eyes, and gave answers to questions that had never occurred to me but ought to have. It's written in an approachable, easy-to-read style, and made me feel like a smarter person for having read it!”
Summary: In this non-fiction work of popular science, Diamond explores some of the geographic, climatic and environmental factors which gave European cultures certain strategic advantages, and allowed them to dominate others for much of human history.
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
by Trevor Noah
Yamilet recommends this book because: “It provides a new perspective to growing up as a multiracial person and life outside of the US, with deep reflections about how understandings of race and ethnicity exist beyond the context we have in North America.”
Summary: In his autobiography, comedian and news host Trevor Noah reflects on his life growing up in two countries/worlds and his struggle to find himself in a world where—legally—he was never supposed to be born.
The Measure
by Nikki Erlick
Sydney recommends this book because: “Well, I have told everyone and their mother about it... I loved the premise of knowing your fate and deciding how you want to spend your life based on knowing when your life will end. I think its a very interesting concept to read about and consider if you would or would not want to know when your life ends, and if you do know, what you do with the rest of your time on Earth.”
Summary: The Measure follows eight people after they, like the rest of the world, receive a box containing a string that represents their lifespan. The book explores how these people's lives and relationships change as a result of knowing the length of their lives or of choosing not to know at all.
The Solace of Open Spaces
by Gretel Ehrlich
Candice recommends this book because: “The prose is gorgeous; its sentences rhythmic, rich with imagery, and muscular syntax. It’s a book that makes you want to write, and teaches you how at the same time.”
Summary: Ehrlich writes about Wyoming’s beautiful and harsh landscape, and the characters who inhabit it—the quirky, tender relationships between humans, between humans and animals, between humans and a landscape so vast it reminds them of their place in the universe. Moving from outer to inner landscape, she writes of her own losses and the self she found.
Dune
by Frank Herbert
Angela recommends this book because: “This book has gained much so popularity with the wildly successful movies, but the book is not to be missed! There is so much more to the story that wasn't captured by the screenwriters, and many of the movies’ plot holes make more sense with the additional context provided by the novel.”
Summary: This sci-fi novel is so complex that it's difficult to summarize, but if you're a fan of science fiction, you will definitely enjoy Dune. Multiple government-planets are fighting for power and wealth, and the book follows the rise of Paul Atreides as he navigates politics, society, and a growing sense of responsibility to his people.
Nonviolent Communication
by Marshall B. Rosenberg
Luana recommends this book because: “Empathy helps to promote deep connections, open conversations, and healing. It prevents potential misunderstandings, conflict, and violence in all areas of life, personal and professional.”
Summary: Nonviolent Communication (NVC) was developed by psychologist Marshall Rosenberg. It trains us to carefully observe and identify behaviors/conditions that affect us, express ourselves effectively, and listen deeply to foster respect and understanding. NVC is both a process and a mindset. It’s a way to see other people in a compassionate way even under trying circumstances, to listen and speak from the heart, and connect deeply with ourselves and with one another.
A Deadly Education
by Naomi Novik
Olivia recommends this book because: “El's voice as the teenage narrator is SPOT ON. So sharp and distinctive, to the point where I would read her story no matter where or when it was set. As it happens, it's set in a boarding school for magical kids where they have to forge alliances in order to survive not only the school but the world after graduation—which is also pretty cool.”
Summary: 17-year-old Galadriel "El" Higgins has been fighting all her life—against the maleficaria that are constantly trying to kill her, against her destiny to become the most dangerous dark wizard the world has ever seen, and even against the few fellow students at the Scholomance who have tried to help her. But when she accidentally befriends Orion Lake (aka everyone's favorite hero), she has to learn to harness her dark magic and devise a new plan to make it out of graduation alive.
My Twenty-Five Years in Provence: Reflections on Then and Now
by Peter Mayle
Murilo recommends this book because: “Peter Mayle is a talented writer and a cultural ambassador of Provence (he is English). Besides, I love his sense of humor and the way he celebrates the Provençal life.”
Summary: This book will transport you to the fascinating and charming village of Provence, France. It works both ways: you can read the book and then visit Provence or visit Provence first and then read the book.
Bluets
by Maggie Nelson
Susannah recommends this book because: “It always reminds me how to move through the world with my eyes open—how, when you're searching for something as simple as a color, you find connections, complexity, and meaning in unlikely places.”
Summary: Maggie Nelson’s delightful poetry collection is a series of meditations on the color blue, following it through the world, a hotel room, works of art, food science, optics, Emerson, Joni Mitchell, love, loss, and grief.
Shark Heart
by Emily Habeck
Keith recommends this book because: “This book takes an absurdist premise and grounds it with heart, humor, and keen insight. It's a quick read because it plays with narrative style and form in innovative ways, but it'll stay with you long after you put it down.”
Summary: In this heart-breaking and heart-warming story of newlyweds facing loss, debilitating medical diagnoses are literalized as humans slowly transforming into animals—in this case, a great white shark. A quick but very powerful and compelling read.
Atomic Habits
by James Clear
Gabriel recommends this book because: “It offers a clear roadmap for transforming habits and achieving long-term success. It empowers readers to make meaningful changes by focusing on small, consistent actions that lead to significant improvements.”
Summary: Atomic Habits provides a simple, science-backed framework for getting 1% better each day through the power of habit formation. By making small changes to your environment and focusing on your identity, you can build remarkable results over time.
Beyond the Bear: How I Learned to Live and Love Again After Being Blinded by a Bear
by Dan Bigley and Debra McKinney
Nina recommends this book because: “It's a true story of overcoming a trauma.”
Summary: A 25-year-old backcountry wanderer, a man happiest exploring wild places with his dog, Dan Bigley woke up one midsummer morning to a day full of promise. Before it was over, after a stellar day of salmon fishing along Alaska’s Kenai and Russian rivers, a grizzly came tearing around a corner in the trail. Dan barely had time for “bear charging” to register before it had him on the ground, altering his life forever. (Amazon)
Leave Only Footprints
by Conor Knighton
Laura recommends this book because: “Feel like taking on that next big adventure? Look no further. Knighton's account of the U.S.'s 63 National Parks is both a primer for preparing to visit these natural wonders themselves and a worthy literary journey of its own. Written with both wisdom and humor—so many great puns!—Knighton’s ability to weave together the landscape and the people he encounters along the way with astute observations about life, identity, privilege, and opportunity makes this book an especially memorable one.”
Summary: CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, Conor Knighton, sets out to visit every U.S. National Park in a single year after his fiancée abruptly leaves him. He finds solace in the empty and desolate nature of the Badlands in the same way that Teddy Rosevelt did almost 100 years prior, as he grieved the loss of his wife: a chapter that eventually led him to want to protect what we now know as the U.S.'s National Parks. And so Knighton's unique journey begins, as he both celebrates and critiques the complicated nature—pun intended—of our parks: the manner in which we preserve them, who has access to them, and to whom they ultimately belong.
Ordinary People
by Judith Guest
Cassandra recommends this book because: “It's a coming-of-age story full of humor and playfulness, even as it explores tragedy and death. I first read it as a high school student and it taught me so much about family, friendship, and what it means to be part of a loving community.”
Summary: Ordinary People follows the lives of a middle-class American family—their divisions, pain, and struggles to heal—following the accidental death of one of their two sons.