What to Read This Summer: Suggestions from Our Team of Booklovers
As the warmth of summer embraces us, we’ve curated a captivating reading list that promises to engage your intellect and imagination during these sun-soaked days. For this summer, we’ve asked a few of our colleagues at the University of Chicago Press to share their recommendations. Their selections span an array of themes and genres published by Chicago and our distribution clients. From the sharp wit and satire of academic life in Pictures from an Institution, through the serene and philosophical reflections of Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition, to the complexities of human relationships in the poems of Blue in Green, let these books accompany you on your summer adventures, offering both enlightenment and entertainment as you savor the season.
By Randall Jarrell
“A bitingly funny satire of collegiate life, published in 1954, by a National Book Award winner for poetry.”
Levi Stahl, Marketing Director
By Chiyuma Elliott
“Blue in Green has this beautiful repetition that runs through it, with sounds and images of waves echoing in the poems. This is a moving, reflective book perfect for outdoor reading sessions.”
Adrienne Meyers, Promotions Manager
Is There God after Prince?: Dispatches from an Age of Last Things
By Peter Coviello
“I read a lot of books, and this one is the best I’ve read this year. I kept putting it down because I didn’t want it to end. Absolutely engaging.”
Julie Larson, Graphic Designer
Wanderers: A History of Women Walking
By Kerri Andrews (With a Foreword by Kathleen Jamie)
From Reaktion Books
“Stories of ten female writers who determinedly hike long distances and the timeless freedom of movement in mind and body. Think Cheryl Strayed/Pacific Crest Trail and Melanie Vogel/Trans Canada Trail. Thought-provoking and engaging.”
Jenny Ringblom, Associate Marketing Director
Gardens An Essay on the Human Condition
By Robert Pogue Harrison
“An engaging philosophical rumination on all things gardening. Harrison’s writing style is very lucid and his breadth of knowledge is breathtaking. This is a lovely book.”
Anne Osterman, Advertising Manager
A Book of Noises: Notes on the Auraculous
By Caspar Henderson
“This is a delightful collection of essays. The book is compulsively readable!”
Anne Osterman, Advertising Manager
By Giorgio Agamben (Translated by Cooper Francis)
From Seagull Books
“Agamben writes: ‘The word ‘sapiens’ {wise man} is derived from ‘sapor’ {taste}. . .for the sense of taste is able to discern the flavors {sapore}.’ So, it appears that homo sapiens are what they eat.”
Bob Hoffman, Senior Sales & Distribution Associate
The Kennicott Bible: A Masterpiece of Jewish Book Art
By Katrin Kogman-Appel
From The Bodleian Library
“The story of the survival of one of the most celebrated Hebrew Bibles to survive from the Middle Ages. Stunning images and layouts, a top-notch production that we’ve come to expect from the Bodleian Library.”
Bob Hoffman, Senior Sales & Distribution Associate
Find these books and more on our website. And don’t forget to browse our sale catalog, where you find an even bigger variety of thought-provoking, independently published books for up to 90% off with code SALE24 through June 15, 2024. Happy summer reading!