It's finally summer once again! Time to pick up a new book (or ten). 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 score, 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 modern dramas to fantastical fiction to the hidden worlds of mathematics, technology, and animal kingdoms. We're pretty sure at least a couple of these stories are ones you won't be able to put down.
Happy reading!
Beartown
by Fredrik Backman
Lauren recommends this book because: “The content can be challenging (sexual assault is involved) but the author helps us relate to each character, and the connection of each person's story makes for a very compelling reading experience. Backman is one of those authors who leaves you feeling like there is no better way something could or should have been said. Even the quiet moments are full of meaning.”
Summary: This trilogy focuses on a town struggling with identity and how to balance the "right" thing with the easier thing... the characters are completely believable and the writing is incredible.
Demon Copperhead
by Barbara Kingsolver
Erika recommends this book because: “If you enjoy rooting for the underdog, are curious to gain perspective on the rural American South and/or opioid epidemic, and want to get sucked into a real page-turner, this is a book for you (though, fair warning: it is not for the faint of heart). Kingsolver's writing is incredibly engaging and each character well-developed. You can't help but get attached to the main character and feel proud of him by the (happy!) ending.
Summary: This is the story of a boy who is born into poverty in southern Appalachia, braves the perils of foster care, and overcomes addiction and many crushing losses in his life. Through it all, Damon reckons with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities, and emerges on the other side of his epic tale alive and ready to face whatever may be thrown his way. Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield" is the rough inspiration for the story—both novels focus on the abuses our socioeconomic systems heap on the most vulnerable.
The Price of Cake And 99 Other Classic Mathematical Riddles
by Clément Deslandes and Guillaume Deslandes
Thomas recommends this book because: “I helped translate and sell it! It's an amazing collection of problems that require no mathematical background to understand but the solutions teach you very witty ways to approach problems—it's an amazing way to learn new math!”
Summary: Ingeniously designed mathematical riddles to delight armchair—and seasoned—mathematicians, in high school and beyond.
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
by Sandy Tolan
Camilla recommends this book because: “It offers an interesting perspective of the Israeli-Palestine conflict.”
Summary: The tale of a simple act of faith between two young people—one Israeli, one Palestinian—that symbolizes the hope for peace in the Middle East.
Six of Crows
by Leigh Bardugo
Keith recommends this book because: “This book really elevated the fantasy genre for me! Well-drawn, complex characters in a morally gray world, with stellar writing, nuanced themes, and genuinely surprising turns. It's darker than Bardugo's "Grishaverse" trilogy, and you don't have to read those first in order to enjoy this one. Even if fantasy isn't your thing, this book makes a compelling case for why it could be.”
Summary: A fantasy heist story that follows six outcasts as they attempt to break a scientist out of an impenetrable fortress. Think "Ocean's Eleven" but in a steampunk magical world. (From the creator of the "Grishaverse.")
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together
by Heather McGhee
Steve recommends this book because: “This is a great book for people interested in social justice, economics, and data-informed policy discussion.”
Summary: The author examines the impact of discriminatory laws and choices from an economics perspective and highlights how these practices negatively impact our larger society.
The Neverending Story
by Michael Ende
Olivia recommends this book because: “This book is perfect for any lover of classic whimsical fantasy. It's utterly charming and packed with mystery, imagination, strange creatures, a witty narrator, and of course, magic. It's a delightful escape for readers of all ages. Bonus points if you read it in the original German!”
Summary: When Bastian Balthazar Bux opens The Neverending Story, he enters the boundless world of Fantastica, where a lone warrior, Atreyu, embarks on a quest to vanquish the evil force of the Nothing. As he reads, Bastian becomes more and more engrossed until suddenly he must embark on a Fantastican quest of his own.
How to Win Friends & Influence People
by Dale Carnegie
Luana recommends this book because: “Even though it's a book from 1936, it has really good tips on how to apply the ideas in today’s digital age, so you can stand out as a leader and build rich, trusting and lasting relationships.”
Summary: Published in 1936, this self-help book/life manual lays out powerful and timeless principles of human communications that have impacted millions. The core idea is that you can change other people’s behavior simply by changing your own. It teaches you the principles to better understand people, become a more likable person, improve relationships, win others over, and influence behavior through leadership.
The Rose Code
by Kate Quinn
Kim recommends this book because: “While World War II novels are not my typical cup of tea, I could not get enough of this book. This gripping story follows the lives of three different women involved in code-breaking at Bletchley Park. Mystery, secrets, romance, suspense, heroic women, amazing character development—this story was unforgettable in the best way.”
Summary: A long read into the lives of 3 totally different women thrown into the world of secrets, codebreaking, heart breaking, and tumult at Bletchley Park during WWII. (from Amazon)
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Lindsay O recommends this book because: “It’s a hilarious, smart, and fun read!”
Summary: A witty, comic collaboration from authors Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett intersecting various earthly and unearthly beings and storylines as the apocalypse looms and an angel and demon (who have both grown to love Earth) try to prevent the end of times.
Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe
by Steven Strogatz
Thomas recommends this book because: “It’s an amazing introduction to Calculus! It goes through the whole history on the subject and has some amazing intuitive ways to look at the concepts. Strogatz is one of my favorite math exposers!”
Summary: Without calculus, we wouldn’t have cell phones, TV, GPS, or ultrasound. We wouldn’t have unraveled DNA or discovered Neptune or figured out how to put 5,000 songs in your pocket. Though many of us were scared away from this essential, engrossing subject in high school and college, Strogatz’s brilliantly creative, down-to-earth history shows that calculus is not about complexity; it’s about simplicity. It harnesses an unreal number—infinity—to tackle real-world problems, breaking them down into easier ones and then reassembling the answers into solutions that feel miraculous. (From Amazon)
Under the Whispering Door
by TJ Klune
Sigrid recommends this book because: “This book kept me entertained with its humor and playfulness, while stirring a range of thoughts and reflections.”
Summary: When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead. But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days. (from Amazon)
Your Computer Is on Fire
edited by Thomas S. Mullaney, Benjamin Peters, Mar Hicks, and Kavita Philip
Steve recommends this book because: “This is a great book for both STEM-minded and social science-inclined people! Anyone interested in computer science or thinking about the tech industry should check it out. Many of my assumptions about digital spaces were challenged in the best way possible!”
Summary: This is a collection of essays that interrogate the ways we have unknowingly seen computer science and tech companies replicate systems of inequality and the impact it has on people in and out of the tech industry.
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
by Ed Yong
Adam recommends this book because: “Nothing is as captivating as discovering an entire world outside the boundaries of what you've always known, and this is what Yong brings on every page. You'll be telling your friends for weeks, if not the rest of your life, about the amazing abilities and sensory perceptions enjoyed by the vast kingdom of animals around us. It's awe-inspiring and humbling to recognize what a profoundly diverse world we live in. Being reminded that other creatures live in worlds entirely different from our own gives us empathy not only for them, but for other people too.”
David recommends this book because: “We don't need to travel to other planets to glimpse intelligence that feels utterly alien. The ways animals perceive the world—from the largest to the smallest, using sight, sound and smell, but also magnetic fields, echolocation, and heat sensors—is so engrossing, you'll want to write down every fact, every detail. And yet what you're left with most is an astonished wonder at the ways other creatures inhabit this earth.”
Summary: Chapter by chapter, Yong goes through the senses that animals use to navigate their worlds—which, in many ways, feel like radically different worlds than the one we inhabit! He introduces us to scores of species on the planet who have sensory experiences we can scarcely imagine: hearing above and below the human hearing range, seeing infrared and ultraviolet colors, and even using electromagnetism to orient oneself in space.
A natureza da mordida
by Carla Madeira
Nina recommends this book because: “This is a unique, powerful and engaging narrative.”
Summary: “What do you no longer have that makes you so sad?” It is with this question that Biá, a retired psychoanalyst, passionate about literature, approaches the young journalist Olívia for the first time when she finds her sitting at the table of an improvised used bookstore. The unexpected provocation, coming from a stranger, capable of listening “as if someone were hugging,” triggers a succession of encounters, marked by growing intimacy and which little by little reveal the stories of the two women.
Ninth House
by Leigh Bardugo
Olivia recommends this book because: “I stumbled upon it (the first in an ongoing trilogy) on accident and it was a fascinating read. It’s a paranormal occult fantasy grounded firmly in the real-life places and history of Yale and New Haven, expertly blurring the line between fact and fiction, making you wonder what those Yale secret societies are really up to. It also contains a TON of fascinating, well-researched mythology and lore around heaven/hell, demons, and the afterlife. I also recommend the recently released sequel, Hell Bent!
Summary: Some might say Alex Stern has thrown her life away, dropping out of school to live in LA with her drug dealer boyfriend and his crew. But after becoming the sole survivor of a horrific multiple homicide at her boyfriend's apartment, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities—Yale—on a full scholarship. Alex arrives in New Haven tasked with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight “tombs” are the haunts of the future rich and powerful, from Washington to Wall Street to Hollywood. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.
The Candy House
by Jennifer Egan
David recommends this book because: “Her writing is excellent and endlessly surprising—well observed, never pretentious. Each story finds a way to grab you... to make you laugh, or to feel the depths of human longing. Together, they paint a portrait of a world where our stories are no longer our own. Highly recommended, whether or not you have read ‘Goon Squad’ (...though do read ‘Goon Squad’)!”
Summary: A sequel to her 2010 Pulitzer-Prize-winning "A Visit From the Goon Squad," this novel is also a series of interconnected, stand-alone stories. "The Candy House" crisscrosses over past, present, and a speculative future, where humans upload their consciousnesses onto the web and share them with others.
Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else
by Jordan Ellenberg
Thomas recommends this book because: “It’s a very intriguing way to look at the world through the lenses of a mathematician! Ellenberg does a great job of keeping the book accessible while at the same time explaining the most esoteric of concepts!”
Summary: If you're like most people, geometry is a sterile and dimly remembered exercise you gladly left behind in the dust of ninth grade. Shape reveals the geometry underneath some of the most important scientific, political, and philosophical problems we face. Geometry doesn't just measure the world—it explains it. Shape shows us how. (Amazon)