Dem
47
GOP
53
Last week, we asked if readers had books they might recommend for summer reading. You know, because some summer reading lists were actually written by chatbots, and include books that are very tough to read because they... don't exist. We got many responses; here's a half-dozen to start with:
E.J. in Pittsburgh, PA: In response to your request for summer reading suggestions, I'd like to recommend Marilou Is Everywhere: A Novel by Sarah Elaine Smith—a book I've returned to and thought deeply about since first reading it. Full disclosure: I've been close friends with Sarah for nearly 25 years, but I don't suggest her work out of loyalty. I do so because this book deserves far more readers than it's had.
Set in rural western Pennsylvania, Marilou Is Everywhere follows 14-year-old Cindy Stoat as she steps into the life of a missing girl, Jude Vanderjohn. It's a haunting, poetic meditation on loneliness, identity, and the quiet ways people slip through society's cracks. Sarah's prose is both lush and precise—unflinching in its portrayal of hardship, but suffused with empathy and lyricism.
In light of your commentary on AI-recommended summer reading lists, I thought it worth pointing to a book that could only have come from a singular human voice—strange, tender, and rooted in a real sense of place and pain.
Thanks for inviting readers to share what moves them. This one moved me deeply.
O.E. in Greenville, SC: I love reading when I get the chance, and I have a wide variety of interests. As a result, I have at least four books I am reading right now, in descending order of politicalness:
- The Radio Right: How a Band of Broadcasters Took on the Federal Government and Built the Modern Conservative Movement by Paul Matzko. A history of how a group of far-right religious broadcasters in the 1960's sought to challenge the JFK administration, and in return, how the JFK Administration and its allies sought to challenge them. It pushes back at both the establishment view of JFK and the rise of the Religious Right at the same time.
- Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax of the Century, Its Enduring Impact, and What It Reveals About America Today by Phil Tinline. A tale of how a late-1960's antiwar satire became a bestseller, and from there became a right-wing conspiracy touchstone. A fascinating tale of how hoaxes can get out of hand—and how a detailed-enough hoax can be taken as truth. (And if you are curious, the Iron Mountain record storage company once ran bomb shelters for corporations at their facilities.)
- Warrior: Audrey Hepburn by Robert Matzen. A biography telling the story of Audrey Hepburn's final years, focusing on her work for UNICEF. While many biographers focus on her Hollywood career, this area has been overlooked, in part because she didn't seek publicity for herself. (The author's earlier book on Audrey's childhood in the Netherlands, Dutch Girl, is also a must-read.)
- Carnage by Mark Dapin. It starts with a viral meme of an older Australian man being arrested by police (If you're familiar with "This is democracy manifest," it's that guy.) It then goes through the man's life from his criminal activities (and Nazi sympathies) to his bold escapes, to his artistic career (on stage and canvas) to the murder of his wife, and his tragic upbringing. Modern viral stories often don't do those involved justice. I'm not a fan of him, but his story is one no author could invent. (And, yes, the viral arrest was for something he didn't do.)
I hope these stories can give your readers ideas for some interesting summer reading.
D.B. in Florence, SC: I'd like to recommend the book Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein. Klein is definitely a liberal, but he doesn't try to push any political agenda. The book discusses how and why America has become more and more polarized. I don't think you can really understand American politics without understanding the points made in this book. Politics is now closely aligned with one's identify and values. What used to be a simple political disagreement is now an entire condemnation of one's lifestyle.
N.G. in San Jose, CA: I am reading The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. I found out about this book when I saw a dramatization at a film festival earlier this year (starring Gillian Anderson).
It is part travel book with nature writing, part memoir of a long marriage, and more. It's a nice travel book to read on the beach, but it has an edge and is thought-provoking.
Around 10 years ago, the 50-year-old author and her husband lost their home and livelihood. With no great options, they impulsively decided to hike and camp the 630-mile South West Coast Path in Devon and Cornwall, England.
The book resonates with me also because of the intractable problem of San Francisco Bay Area residents not being able to afford housing and being thrown into homelessness. Recently, many were evicted from a nearby camp and I went there to give the meager bit of help I could.
From the book: "The first few times how it was that we had time to walk so far and for so long, we had answered truthfully 'Because we're homeless, we lost our home, but it wasn't our fault. We're just going where the path takes us.' People recoiled... In every case the conversation ended abruptly and the other party walked away very quickly. So we invented a lie that was more palatable. For them and for us. We had sold our home, looking for a midlife adventure, going where the wind took us... That was met with gasps of 'wow, brilliant, inspirational.' What was the difference between the two stories? Only one word, but one word that in the public perception meant everything: 'sold'."
J.S. in London, England, UK: I wanted to recommend two books that I found fascinating, and that greatly increased my understanding. First, Borderlines: A History of Europe in 29 Borders. It is an investigation of 29 different borders in Europe and what it's like to live near these borders and lots of questions of identity, nationality, and belonging. I imagine for U.S. readers, who have had fairly stable borders for many years, it could be a mind-opening book, as it was for me.
Second, Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization An absolutely staggering study of six materials—sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium—showing how essential they are to modern life, and how and where they come from. The path of silicon from sand to computer chip, which involves processes in many different countries, really brings home the insanity of Donald Trump's tariffs and America First policies. All of the book is mind-blowing, some of it horrifying.
Both books, while dealing with big issues, are well-written and a pleasure to read.
S.I. in Philadelphia, PA: Since readers of the site have shown a certain amount of interest in Wagner, there might be takers for Alex Ross' fairly recent book Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music. Ross is the New Yorker's music critic, but the book is not only about music.
We will have more, and if other readers have book suggestions, there's still time to send them to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with the subject line "Summer Reading." (Z)