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Blog Post
What We're Reading in Summer 2022
Blog Post
What We're Reading in Summer 2021
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is almost here. Whether you'll be relaxing at the beach or squeezing in a few pages during your morning commute, it's the perfect time to line up your next great read. To kick off the season, CGD staff are sharing the books they've loved this year. Looking for a thought-provoking work of nonfiction, a compelling novel, or something unexpected to dive into? We've got recommendations for you.
The Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story, by Daniel Nayeri
“A beautiful story about a little-discussed venue during World War II: Iran. Daniel Nayeri—formerly a refugee from Iran himself—narrates the tale of two orphaned children seeking to make their way amidst a country affected by the conflict. The book is brief, sweet, exciting, and wise. And because it’s written for young readers, you know that while things may go wrong, they won’t go too wrong, a welcome guarantee in these times.” — David Evans
Mother Mary Comes to Me, by Arundhati Roy
“A magnificent, quietly brutal memoir about rage, character, and community in a changing India.” — Clemence Landers
Conversations on Love, by Natasha Lunn
“A beautiful and wide-ranging collection of essays by Natasha Lunn exploring all the forms love can take and how we hold onto it. Alongside romantic love, this book also explores friendship, family, loneliness, and grief. Not every essay will feel personal to every reader, but that is the beauty of it: no matter who you are, some part of this book will speak to you.” — Erin Norton
A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, by Sophie Elmhirst
“A gripping story of two people who choose a very different life. The incredible hardships they endure serve only to strengthen, not weaken, their bond.” — Nancy Lee
Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives, by Siddharth Kara
“A disturbing investigative report on critical mineral mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Through careful observation and a series of interviews with cobalt miners, Kara shines a light on the dark side of our ongoing tech boom. It may make you think twice before purchasing your next rechargeable device.” — Bryan Schwartz
London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth, by Patrick Radden Keefe
“A riveting account of Zac Brettler, a London teenager who posed as the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch and became entangled in London’s criminal underworld.” — Karen Mathiasen
The Girl in Red, by Christina Henry
“Published just before the COVID-19 pandemic, this modern retelling of a classic fairy tale was almost too accurate. Red faces a rapidly changing world where a deadly virus has spread. She and her family are at odds over what to do: follow the government's orders or flee to her grandmother's cabin in the woods. Red navigates this difficult decision while doing her best to avoid the dangers lurking in the woods.” — Shannon Hutchins
Solitaire, by Kelley Eskridge
“A futuristic exploration of urgent questions around solitary confinement, corporate influence, reentry, and identity. Lyrical, devastating, and wholly unforgettable.” — Stephanie Donohoe
Dungeon Crawler Carl series, by Matt Dinniman
“Highly entertaining, especially if you are into stories that center on aliens taking over our planet and forcing all humans to take part in a survival reality series that is streamed across the entire universe and makes you feel like you are in the middle of a video game. A fun summer read!” — Christelle Saintis-Miller
The Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson
“Published in 2020 but imagining the future, this novel begins with a devastating (and all-too-plausible) Indian heatwave in 2025, and traces how the world might respond to the unfolding climate crisis over the next three decades. A fascinating cast of characters and collection of writing styles that combine science, politics, and (even) economics to depict a world and a society transformed.” — Jonathan Beynon
The Correspondent, by Virginia Evans
“One of my favorite reads this year, The Correspondent is a thoughtful novel that unfolds through the letters of a retired lawyer looking back on her life. Equal parts witty and heartfelt, it's a story about relationships, grief, reconciliation, and the unexpected ways we stay connected to one another.” — Lena Badr
All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, by Stephen Kinzer
“A compelling account of the 1953 coup, orchestrated by the CIA and British intelligence, that overthrew Iran's democratically elected prime minister after he nationalized the country's oil. It's a gripping read with lessons on sovereignty and resource politics: showing how diplomatic and economic decision-making can override local self-determination, and how the people who set those decisions in motion often aren't the ones who bear the brunt of the consequences.” — Jocilyn Estes
Feminist Parenting: Perspectives from Africa and Beyond, edited by Rama Salla Dieng and Andrea O'Reilly
“A dynamic collection of short first-person essays from 30 contributors, offering a multigenerational spectrum of perspectives from women and men on what it means to be a feminist parent. It's perfect to carry with you for times when you can only squeeze in a few minutes to get through an essay or two.” — Kehinde Ajayi
Interpretations of Love, by Jane Campbell
“For parents of young kids, summer is a time of reading stolen at the edges of life—a few pages before the house wakes, a chapter during a nap on a flight, paragraphs grabbed poolside or between activities. That kind of reading rewards books that don't need unbroken stretches of attention to pay off. Interpretations of Love is a short novel that works this way. It gives us three voices around a single withheld letter, revealing how differently people interpret the same love, grief, and silence.” — Eeshani Kandpal
Transcription, by Ben Lerner
“A small but mighty novel that begins with a failed attempt to record a conversation with an aging mentor and grows into a reflection on memory, technology, family, and more. Because it’s short and engaging, you may be tempted to race through it, but if you slow down, you’ll be surprised by how many layers Lerner packs into so few pages.” — Emily Schabacker
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