Summer’s here, and with its lengthier vacations and (potentially) lighter workloads, it’s the perfect time to broaden your horizons and read. To help you navigate the almost endless sea of options, we’ve queried the Himmelfarb staff for their summer reading recommendations. Whether you’re at a lake house or a beach, an air-conditioned metro or your living room, you can’t go wrong with one of these summer reads.
Coming of Age and Plot Driven Dramas
Summer is the time of heat and action, the season of youth and change, but it can also be languid, a time to lie around and dream. If you want moving entertainment or a slice of life that makes you reflect on who you are and who you want to be, one of these recommendations is for you.
Ruth Bueter, Himmelfarb’s Associate Director, recommends:
Title: Turtles All the Way Down
Author: John Green
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult
Reason for Recommendation: “In addition to being a fantastic and honest portrayal of anxiety and OCD, this one is just a fun read. It was recently made into a film (currently streaming on HBO Max).”
Where to Borrow: Consortium Loan
Deborah Wassertzug, Reference and Instructional Librarian, recommends:
Titles: Mary Jane, The Summer of Naked Swim Parties, Drinking Closer to Home, The Wonder Bread Summer, and The Trouble with Lexie.
Author: Jessica Anya Blau
Where to Borrow: Mary Jane - DC Public Library [Physial Book, Ebook, and Audio Book], The Summer of Naked Swim Parties - Consortium Loan, Drinking Closer to Home - Consortium Loan
Bonus: watch Blau’s interview with a librarian about her latest book, Mary Jane
Mysteries and Ghosts
But summer isn’t all sunshine and snappy plots. Warm nights are the perfect time for chills: fictional or non-fictional. If you’re interested in a ghost story, consider one of these recommendations and remember that no matter how dark the summer night, the sun is never far from the horizon.
Ian Roberts, Acquisitions & Resource Sharing Librarian, recommends:
Title: Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places
Author: Colin Dickey
Genre: Non-Fiction/Ghosts and folklore/Sociology
Reason for Recommendation: “A sometimes fun, sometimes weighty examination of ghost stories, the places they happen (houses, burial sites, hospitals, prisons), and what they say about us and our history.”
Where to Borrow: Consortium Loan
Laura Abate, Himmelfarb Director, recommends:
Title: The Book of Cold Cases
Author: Simone St. James
Genre: Mystery
Reason for Recommendation: “Fast-paced mystery thriller that includes multiple mysteries and timelines plus a terrifically scary haunted house.”
Where to Borrow: DC Public Library [Physical, Ebook, and Audio book]
Literary:
If you seek linguistic fireworks, story-telling prowess, and big themes, then in the season of blue skies and bigger horizons, these might be the books for you.
Randy Plym, Evening Circulation Supervisor, recommends:
Title: The Moviegoer
Author: Walker Percy
Genre: Fiction
Reason for Recommendation: Existential but never dour, The Moviegoer’s off-beat view of the world captures a playful search for meaning against a background of ennui. At least for me, it succeeds in coining a philosophical vocabulary for everyday experience.
Where to Borrow: Consortium Loan
Ruth Bueter, Himmelfarb’s Associate Director, recommends:
Title: Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles
Author: Jeanette Winterson
Genre: Fiction
Reason for Recommendation: “In this retelling of the myth of Atlas and Heracles, Winterson tackles questions of choice, destiny, and fate. It's a brilliant reimagination of these two classic tales with a heartwarming twist.”
Where to Borrow: Interlibrary Loan
History/Biography
Lastly, between semesters can be a great time to step back from your normal field of study and explore ideas: where society has been and how it’s been shaped.
Jolinda Thompson, Systems Librarian, recommends:
Title: Gods of the Upper Air: How a Renegade Group of Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex and Gender in the 20th Century
Author: Charles King
Genre: Non-fiction/Biography
Reason for Recommendation: “In the early 20th century, it was commonly believed that race and gender determined an individual’s intelligence, ability, and temperament. The pseudoscience that emerged to back these beliefs led to the quota-based restrictions of the 1924 Immigration Act and the abuse and horrors of the eugenics movement. Franz Boas would challenge these theories through fieldwork and research, founding the field of cultural anthropology, and inspiring a group of revolutionary anthropologists at Columbia University and Barnard College in the 1920s and 30s, including Margaret Mead, Ruth Benedict, and Zora Neale-Hurston. Their work ushered in new understandings about gender, sexual expression, diverse cultures, and values systems. The personal stories of these groundbreaking researchers makes this an entertaining as well as enlightening read.”
Where to Borrow: Consortium Loan
