As the semester winds down, I’m already thinking about the novels I’ll be able to pore over in the coming months. Summer is prime reading time, and few things are better than lounging in the sun with a good book. Here are five books I’m hoping to read over this summer and think you should too.
1. “Lover Girl” by Nicole Sellew
Released earlier this year, “Lover Girl” is a debut novel following a young woman who escapes to the Hamptons to work on her novel. While she does so, she becomes entangled in relations with both her wealthy friend (whose house she’s staying in) and her ex-boyfriend.
Independent Book Review described the novel as “funny, sharp, and infinitely voicey.” I’m always a sucker for a novel with a writer protagonist, so this sounds right up my alley.
The story looks to be full of complex relationships and destructive behaviors. Additionally, the cover makes it look like the perfect poolside read.
2. “The Others” by Sheena Kalayil
“The Others” was recently longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction, a prestigious literary prize previously awarded to notable authors like Barbara Kingsolver and Maggie O’Farrell.
“The Others” is set in 1989 Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall. The novel follows three main characters in vastly different circumstances: a factory worker from Africa, a medical student from India, and an aspiring writer from Berlin.
The three characters find themselves tangled in a love triangle tainted by the politics and circumstances around them. Historical Novel Society described “The Others” as “a love story of almost unbearable tenderness.”
To me, it sounds like the kind of immersive read I’d get lost in for hours.
3. “Murder Bimbo” by Rebecca Novack
“Murder Bimbo” seems to fall into the popular literary genre of unhinged women doing unhinged acts. What may set it apart, though, is its political commentary.
In a blurb for the novel, author Catherine Lacey dubs “Murder Bimbo” as the “‘Gone Girl’ for the Luigi Mangione era.”
The novel follows a sex worker who is recruited by the government to assassinate a politician. After panicking about her future following the assassination, the protagonist reaches out to a popular feminist podcast to tell her side of the story.
I’m always looking for novels which have new or interesting things to say about the current political moment we’re living in, and “Murder Bimbo” appears to take a no-holds-barred, unflinching look at what it means to live in a culture of political violence.
4. “America, A Love Story” by Camille T. Dungy
To be a truly diverse reader is to be conscious of the gaps in the books we read. Recently, I realized I don’t read much poetry and wanted to change that.
“America, A Love Story” seems to be a compelling poetry collection to begin with. The collection focuses on Black womanhood and motherhood in the context of living in the U.S.
The opening poem of the collection, “This’ll hurt me more,” can be read on Literary Hub’s website.
Just from the opening poem, Dungy establishes her voice and her attitude toward the world with lines like: “America, there is not a place I can wander inside you / and not feel a little afraid.”
“America, A Love Story” appears to be the kind of collection that will haunt me for weeks after I read it, and I can’t wait to pick it up.
5. “American Men” by Jordan Ritter Conn
Although the rest of these recommendations are by women, I’m never opposed to a book written by a man exploring the complexities of masculinity. Reading about males from a male perspective always feels like peeking into an open window that’s usually shut, and these reads can be some of the most interesting to me.
“American Men” follows the lives of four men in the U.S.— a closeted MMA fighter from Mohawk territory, a West Point graduate and former baseball star, a law student contending with past sexual trauma, and a Black trans man living in Ohio.
The book is built from years of reporting. Conn followed the lives of these four men and interviewed them throughout their journeys of reckoning with how ideas of masculinity have influenced them.
“American Men” seems like the very necessary portrait of American masculinity right now. It’s no secret that gender is a fraught topic, and we need compassionate and honest commentary now more than ever.
From poetry to political assassins, these recommendations are aimed at anyone who wants to branch out with their reading this summer.
If you’re interested in any of these books, consider checking them out from your local library. National Library Week is April 19-25, and utilizing your library’s resources is one of the best ways to show solidarity.
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