Looking for one last book to tackle before the end of summer? AU’s Eagle-eyed readers can guide you to your next great read. From history and fantasy to mystery and nonfiction, here are just a few responses from faculty, staff, students, and neighbors.

Memoirs and More

“I read In the Dream House: A Memoir because I’d seen it recommended a lot. In the book, Carmen Maria Machado, CAS/BA ’08, recounts her experience with lesbian domestic abuse. It is poignant and beautifully written.”

—Gabriel Savir, SOC/BA ’27

“I’m reading Swole: The Making of Men and the Meaning of Muscle by Michael Andor Brodeur, which explores our cultural preoccupation with masculinity. People often take me for a ‘gym bro,’ and I picked up Brodeur’s book to learn a little more about [why] I love picking up heavy objects and putting them back down again.”

— Paul Klein, CAS/MA ’24

“You’ve Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected by Cynt Marshall made me want to be a better human, manage my time better, and be grateful for what I have. This woman went through so much and still came out on top despite all the obstacles in her way.”

—Tara Sabbagh, associate registrar, Office of the University Registrar

“I’m reading ADHD is Awesome mostly because my daughter was diagnosed with ADHD this past year as a second grader. My husband also has ADHD, and the book is a fun, interesting, and informative read.

—Traci Crockett, director of alumni communications and marketing

“Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris is the definition of quirky. An anthology of stories about personality types you’ve certainly met in your life, the book is a fun one that will make you laugh and think.”

—JR Denson, alcohol and other drugs specialist, Center for Wellbeing

“This summer I will be reading Axios and Politico cocreator Jim VandeHei’s new book, Just the Good Stuff. His writing is entertaining, and his core message—‘that to shine you simply need to want to construct goodness and greatness with whatever life throws at you’—is powerful and worthwhile.”

—Miranda Lang, CAS/BA ’17, reporting analyst, University Advancement

Classics—Old and New

“I’ve spent this summer rereading some of my favorite novels—including Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, which never fails to captivate me with its elegant prose, witty social commentary, and unforgettable characters.”

—Tara Parsa SPA/BA ’27, CAS/BS ’27

“After going to Savannah on vacation, I started Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. I always like to read books related to places I have been or places where I am going to travel.”

— Edythe-Anne Cook, CAS/BA ’02, SPA/MPA ’04, associate director for administrative services, Student Health Center

Not-to-Miss Nonfiction

“In Poverty, by America, Matthew Desmond deftly explains how poverty is ‘built-in’ to both US government policies and corporate America and how each exploits the poor, mining disadvantaged communities for profit and shifting vast amounts of wealth from the poor to the rich.”

—Joey Spatafora, 2023 community audit program student

“I read The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger after hearing the author interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air. It is about the beginning of a paradigm shift in how we understand plants and an engaging introduction for laypeople to the cutting edge of current botanical research.”

—Adam Edge, budget officer, University Budget Office

“Josh Finver [assistant director of transportation demand management] and I are reading Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World by Henry Grabar as our summer homework for the AU Neighborhood Partnership Transportation and Parking Working Group. We thought it would be interesting to look at the parking policy and enforcement issues we face as a university in a larger historical and national context.”

—Laura Marks, assistant vice president, community and government relations

Noteworthy Novels

“I’m reading The Stone Home by Crystal Hana Kim because I love historical family dramas, and her first novel, If You Leave Me, was brilliant. I’m also reading Hall of Mirrors by John Copenhaver. Summer is the perfect time for mystery and queer noir.”

—CAS literature professor Melissa Scholes-Young

“I started reading Everybody in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson because of the title. I kept reading because it’s a sarcastic and funny take on the traditional murder mystery.”

—Kacey Berry, SOC academic program assistant

Summer Fantasies

“Babel by R.F. Kuang is a masterful blend of historical fantasy and sharp social commentary that explores the power of language and the cost of empire. And the awesome footnotes about linguistic etymology add an extra layer of depth and intrigue.”

—Asma Shakir, SOE/EdD ’25

“Makiia Lucier’s Dragonfruit, about dragons, pirates, and Pacific Islander mythology, was a fun and poignant read.”

—Tara Kennedy, customer relations representative, Office of Financial Aid

For the History Buff

“I’m reading Woman, Life, Freedom by Marjane Satrapi because I’m thinking of including it in my spring course, Understanding International Relations Using Comics. I find comics— including graphic novels—especially effective for understanding international relations because they explore topics in personal terms, which standard academic treatments do not.”

—SIS professor Stephen Silvia

“I am engrossed in Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem. It feels particularly relevant in today’s polarized political climate, where ‘us vs. them’ thinking seems so prevalent. Arendt’s observations on the nature of evil are fascinating, particularly her concept of ‘banality’—how someone like Eichmann, a key figure in the Holocaust, could be so terrifyingly ordinary.”

—University Librarian Jee Davis

“I have always been interested in the White House social secretary’s office and past presidential eras, so I picked up Undiplomatic: How My Attitude Created the Best Kind of Trouble by Deesha Dyer.”

—Sade Goodridge, SIS/BA ’27

Who Can Choose Just One?

“I read about 50 books a year and about two per week in the summer. Among them: Learning to Disagree by John Inazu; Try to Love the Questions by SPA senior professorial lecturer Lara Schwartz; Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry; and Together by December commencement speaker Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.”

—Bridget Trogden, dean of undergraduate education and academic student services

“I’m reading The Passage and The Twelve by Justin Cronin and Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, and I’ve reread the MaddAdam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood. I have a taste for post-apocalypse, society-collapse stories.”

—Literature senior professorial lecturer Daisy Levy, Writer As Witness committee chair (this year’s selection: Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew)

“I am reading The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin, The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren, and listening to Yellowface by R.F. Kuang on Audible. I love having books in every form, so whether I am at home, in the carpool line, or on a walk, I can always read.”

—AU neighbor Emily Locker, author, Running Mates

 Responses have been edited for length and clarity.