Here at StoryStudio, one of our firm beliefs is that real books are always superior to fake books.😅 So after the news this week that a freelancer used AI to create a summer reading list, which included a bunch of AI-hallucinated, definitely-not-real books, we decided to create our own summer reading list. Our Artistic Director Rebecca Makkai — who was a victim of this AI slop — created her own list as well, which you can read here.
So here’s our list of books we either plan to read this summer, or that we recommend you read, or both. Enjoy!
One Day, Everyone Will Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad — The title says it all, and I can’t think of a more timely, important, urgent read this summer, now, last year. –Sara Cutaia
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar — A perfectly short, wonderful, unique story about two sisters in love with each other, life, magic, and singing. You will probably cry, grip the pages with wonderment, reread passages for their beauty, and finish in one sitting. –Sara Cutaia
Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang — I just read her debut Natural Beauty in 2 days, and so excited about her second novel that came out earlier this month (May 13), that explores jealousy (one of my favorite topics to read and write about), friendship, art, and technology among other things! –Lisa Low
Self-Mythology by Saba Keramati — This book of poems keeps finding me on my algorithms, and I’m already enamored with the cover, title, and this poem I read online in The Seventh Wave. –Lisa Low
Flashlight by Susan Choi — This expansive, globetrotting novel (out June 3) is Choi’s follow-up to her National Book Award-winning Trust Exercise. When Choi was in Chicago last fall for Writers on Writing, she dropped a few juicy hints about this novel so I can’t wait to dive in. –Greg Zimmerman
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck — Summer is for beach reads, yes, but I always try to read one classic I haven’t yet got to, and this summer seems like just the time for this one. –Greg Zimmerman
The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo — This is on the top of my TBR pile. A 1951 Japanese murder- mystery featuring detective Kosuke Kindaichi as he works to solve the murder of a businessman with feuding heirs. –Jen Coffeen
A Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White — A mystery on a 1930’s steam train! –Jen Coffeen
On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi — A wonderful read! –Mikayla Tolliver
Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez — I think I recommend that book for everyone – for the horror fans! –Jessica Keller
Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park — This has been on my TBR for a while and I’m really excited to read it this summer. It’s said to be a vibrant depiction of navigating young queer love and big life transitions which is right up my alley. –Angie Raney
Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah — I just read this and I think everyone in the world should read it. It’s an incredible critique on the commodification of suffering and the prison industrial complex, among many other current day issues. –Angie Raney
Sky Daddy by Kate Folk — I am really looking forward to reading this!  Apparently it is a rethinking of Moby Dick through the story of a woman who has an airplane fetish? Sold! I have been hearing great things about it and cannot wait for a little break to read it this summer. From experience: it is also very fun to carry around while on a plane. –Ananda Lima