Arts & Culture
Need a good summer read?

Illustration by Doval/Ikon Images

Tenzin Dickie

Harvard Library Communications

June 24, 2025 long read

Whether your seasonal plans include vacations or staycations, you’ll be transported if you’ve got a great book. Harvard Library staff share their faves.

Harvard University ID holders can find most of these titles available as e-books or audiobooks through Harvard Library’s Libby app.

Fiction

‘If We Were Villains’ / ‘Where the Forest Meets the Stars’ / ‘7th Time Loop’ /‘Summer’ / ‘War and Peace’ / ‘Enter Ghost’ / ‘The MANIAC’ / ‘The Memory Police’

Illustration by Giordano Poloni/Ikon Images

‘If We Were Villains’
by M.L. Rio

Shakespeare! Love triangles! Murder! What’s not to like? This is an addictive yet smart beach read for lovers of Shakespeare and/or psychological thrillers. It’s fast-paced, well-written, and a little devious.

— Daniel Becker, Reference, Collections, and Instruction Librarian for the Botany Libraries

‘Where the Forest Meets the Stars’
by Glendy Vanderah

Joanna Teal, doing bird ecology research in the Illinois forest, finds a young girl in her backyard who identifies as an alien girl from the planet Hetreyah. She says she’s researching Earth — and she wants to find five miracles here before she goes back. Who is she? Where is she from? And what does she want? It’s humane, warm-hearted, mysterious, gripping, and one of the best novels I’ve read in years.

— James Adler, Library Cataloger, Information and Technical Services

‘7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!’
by Touko Amekawa

A unique take on a Groundhog Day-style tale, this is a fun romance with an engaging story and characters. I appreciate that Rishe is not a damsel in distress and has many unique skills she’s picked up from each life she’s lived before her inevitable “reset.” The romantic interest, Arnold, is also engaging and a puzzle, given that he killed poor Rishe in all her past lives before proposing to her in this one!

— Maura Carbone, Systems Integration Specialist, Library Technology Services

‘Summer’
by Edith Wharton

This book follows a young woman’s emerging eroticism under stifling circumstances (if you’re familiar with Wharton’s “Ethan Frome,” Wharton called “Summer” “hot ‘Ethan.’”) It’s a sensual meditation on feminine sexuality raging against societal constraints — perfect reading for an alluring, escapist summer.

— Tricia Patterson, Senior Digital Preservation Specialist, Preservation Services

‘War and Peace’
by Leo Tolstoy

Epic in size and scope. From secret love affair(s) to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia and the burning of Moscow, it tells a truly great story. Few novels have so powerfully rekindled my love of reading. My copy is already packed for a 19-hour flight to Singapore.

— Julia Reynolds, Serials Acquisitions and Management Assistant, Information and Technical Services

‘Enter Ghost’
by Isabella Hammad

This book has continued to linger with me long after I read it nearly in one sitting. Visiting her sister where they both grew up in Haifa, British-Palestinian actor Sonia finds herself drawn into performing Gertrude in an Arabic-language production of “Hamlet” in the West Bank. Isabella Hammad captures the disorientation of returning “home” to a place that feels both familiar and foreign. When you finish, you’ll see your own ghosts and begin to think about what action — both personal and political — they are urging you to take.

— Chelcie Juliet Rowell, Associate Head of Digital Collections Discovery, UX and Discovery, Lamont Library

‘The MANIAC’
by Benjamín Labatut

A wildly experimental exploration of a scientific revolution, its origins and consequences. It refracts its history (and critique) of our digital world through the biography of mega-genius John von Neumann, told in the long-dead voices of those who knew him intimately. According to one critic, “This is not science writing … but science storytelling, giving the reader … a strong sense of the bursts of intellectual and physical energy that animate discovery and creativity.”

— Carol Tierney, Collection Development Assistant, Widener Library

‘The Memory Police’
by Yōko Ogawa

This book is on the border of many different kinds of narrative structures: It’s science fiction, existentialist, and satirical. I was regularly surprised by where the story went and found that it constantly subverted my expectations.

— Ellen Wu, Access Services Coordinator, Widener Library

Fantasy

‘The Teller of Small Fortunes’ / ‘Gifted & Talented’ / ‘Shark Heart’ / ‘Wild Magic’ / ‘A Sorceress Comes to Call’

Illustration by Boris Séméniako/Ikon Images

‘The Teller of Small Fortunes’
by Julie Leong

A truly excellent, cozy “found family” story with a bit of magic. Highly recommend to anyone who loved the “Legends & Lattes” books.

— April Duclos, Harvard Depository Resource Sharing Manager

‘Gifted & Talented’
by Olivie Blake

The elevator pitch on this one is “‘Succession’ with magic” but I didn’t actually watch “Succession,” so I’ll just say it’s a messy, dark, funny, slyly sweet family drama about three siblings with complicated lives and unusual abilities who have to come together and figure out all their collective shit in the wake of their powerful, aloof patriarch’s sudden demise. Recommended for fans of Naomi Novik’s “Scholomance” series, “The Magicians,” or Leigh Bardugo’s “Ninth House.”

— Rachel Greenhaus, Library Assistant for Printed and Published Materials, Schlesinger Library

‘Shark Heart: A Love Story’
by Emily Habeck

This book is funny, weird, genuine, and heartbreaking. Who knew I could resonate so strongly with someone who was slowly turning into an animal? Told through various media including poetry and screenplays, the story that the author has created makes fantasy seem so real. This is a great, quick read perfect for a summer weekend trip.

— Hannah Hack, Administrative Coordinator, Harvard University Archives

‘Wild Magic’
by Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce has a large catalog of YA fantasy books which explore themes that are popular today — but she wrote them long before it was cool. While I’d recommend any of her books (and there are plenty in this universe), this particular title follows a young girl named Daine, shunned by her hometown and trying to find her own path in the world while also struggling with a mysterious force that some see as madness — or maybe it’s magic. She has a deep connection to animals and nature and learns a lot along the way, including how to accept everything that makes her uniquely herself. If you want to read something with magic, talking animals, quirky characters, and a rich universe packed with adventure, then this quick read will be a hit!

— Sarah Hoke, Librarian for Collection Development Management, Widener Library

‘A Sorceress Comes to Call’
by T. Kingfisher

As usual, T. Kingfisher hooked me within the first few pages of this fantasy book. The story follows Cordelia and her wicked mother, Evangeline, who plots to marry a wealthy squire. As they move into his manor, Cordelia allies with the squire’s sister, Hester, to confront and thwart Evangeline. I suggest reading it if you are interested in complex female characters, a dash of gothic horror in a Regency-era book, and found family.

— Meg McMahon, User Experience Researcher, UX and Discovery, Lamont Library

Memoir

‘With Darkness Came Stars’ / ‘The Yellow House’ / ‘Rebel Girl’ / ‘There’s Always This Year’ / ‘No. 91/92’ / ‘Happiness Becomes You’

Illustration by Sunnu Rebecca Choi/Ikon Images

‘With Darkness Came Stars: A Memoir’
by Audrey Flack

A complete surprise and an eye-opening read. A memoir about the development of Audrey Flack’s artistry, her choices and her challenges, from mid-century abstract expressionist to founding member of the photorealist school to her work as a sculptor.

— Timothy Conant, Access Coordinator, Harvard Kennedy School Library and Research Services

‘The Yellow House’
by Sarah M. Broom

Though I picked up this book randomly at a bookstore in New Orleans, it turned out to be one of my top reads this year so far. It’s less a personal memoir than a story of a family, and of a place, and of belonging, and not-belonging, and how the places where we grow up own us as much as we own them.

— Katarzyna “Kasia” Maciak, Senior E-Resources Support Specialist, Information and Technical Services

‘Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk’
by Kathleen Hanna

Feminist, punk rocker, and very cool person Kathleen Hanna of the bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre shares her life stories in this memoir. Collated in brief chapters on her beliefs, abilities, and inspirations as a founding Riot Grrrl, the recollections are introspective and thoughtfully written.

— Scott Murry, Senior Designer, Harvard Library Communications

‘There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension’
by Hanif Abdurraqib

Home is a four-letter word, but home takes on another dimension when place-hood is intricately tied to a game of immense skill and a little bit of chance. A Midwesterner like myself, Abdurraqib writes eloquently about his hometown (Columbus, Ohio), and how his youth and adulthood intersect, collide, and run parallel to the high school and professional career of basketball superstar LeBron James. Whether it’s writing about the inhumanity of incarceration, or the promise of freedom as symbolized by planes embarking upward on a suburban runway, or the rumbling bass of a souped-up car heard from two blocks away, there’s care and beautiful cadence expressed in the lines assembled on these pages.

— Mimosa Shah, Reference Librarian, Schlesinger Library

‘No. 91/92: A Diary of a Year on the Bus’
by Lauren Elkin

I recently started my job at Harvard Library, and, consequently, I’m now riding the MBTA far more frequently than I ever did before. My daily commute often brings to mind Lauren Elkin’s paean to people-watching and quiet contemplation. Elkin is a wry but sensitive observer who really enlivens the ordinary, and her reflections may inspire you to forgo the phone screen and earbuds during your next public transit journey.

— Madeline Sharaga, Program Assistant for Research, Teaching, and Learning, Widener Library

‘Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good’
by Tina Turner

This book has given me so much hope — especially at a time when it’s needed most. Tina Turner shows how anyone can overcome life’s obstacles and fulfill their dreams, offering spiritual tools and timeless wisdom to help us enrich our own unique paths.

— Sachie Shishido, Cataloger for Japanese Resources, Information and Technical Services

Nonfiction

‘Palo Alto’ / ‘We Are Free to Change the World’ / ‘Nature’s Best Hope’ / ‘Who Owns This Sentence?’ / ‘Paved Paradise’ / ‘Young Queens’ /

Illustration by Boris Séméniako/Ikon Images

‘Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World’
by Malcolm Harris

Have you ever wondered why Silicon Valley is like that? Well, capitalism, obviously, is the short answer. This book is the long answer. The railroads, horse racing, the tragic death of Leland Stanford’s son and the murder of his wife, racial genetics and the invention of IQ tests, the military-industrial complex, redlining, and of course (after all that and more), the computer. Harris is a Marxist historian, and the natural successor to the late great Mike Davis. The book cuts a path through 150 years of industry hagiography to reveal the historical forces that led us to Silicon Valley’s sordid (omni)present.

— Claire Blechman, Digital Repository Coordinator, Open Scholarship and Research Data Services

‘We Are Free to Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience’
by Lyndsey Stonebridge

Wait a minute — a book about Hannah Arendt’s life and work that will leave you feeling empowered to work against autocracy and totalitarianism? That’s right. Arendt was sometimes wrong, more often right, courageous, articulate, and funny, and believed deeply in love and in man’s ability to triumph over unspeakable evil through building community and hewing to the truth. If there is a book to read that will give you renewed hope in our ability to act, Stonebridge’s delightful work will move you forward.

— Elizabeth E. Kirk, Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources and Services

‘Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard’
by Douglas W. Tallamy

A gem of a read on conservation, gardening and landscape design, and sustainability. Tallamy walks you through several of the great conservationists’ ideals while offering inspiring and practical methodology for transforming your home — and lawn. Who doesn’t want their own smaller-scale national park filled with pollinators and native plants out their front door? Highly recommend.

— Harmony Eidolon, Program Coordinator, Library Innovation Lab, Harvard Law School Library

‘Who Owns This Sentence? A History of Copyrights and Wrongs’
by David Bellos and Alexandre Montagu

An accessible and entertaining history of copyright law and how it has come to affect a surprising number of aspects of our lives.

— Kate Rich, Senior Conservation Technician, Collections Care, Preservation Services, Widener Library

‘Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World’
by Henry Grabar

A micro-history that actually makes good on its promise of explaining the world — if the world you care about is cities and how they’ve developed. Balancing expansive socioeconomic analysis with zoomed-in personal vignettes, Grabar lays bare the ways parking has consumed our communities and our lives. His humanizing treatment of complex planning phenomena demonstrates that — far from needing more parking — even our most densely populated cities have built too much of it, all at the expense of the most vulnerable residents.

— Alessandra Seiter, Community Engagement Librarian, Harvard Kennedy School Library and Research Services

‘Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power’
by Leah Redmond Chang

I’m completely lost in the world of Catherine de Medici revealed in this book. I thought I knew a lot about the time and place in which these women moved, but there are so many delightful new insights!

— Molly Taylor-Poleskey, Map Librarian, Harvard Map Collection