8 of the Most Enticing Summer Reads for City Dwellers
June 3, 2016
We know, we know. This is the time of year that most people start thinking about beach reads. But for those who don’t have sand-and-surf on tap, we’ve got a new spin on the formula.
Say hello to city reads. Bold, brainy and bursting with life, these new releases are what you should be toting with you on the subway all season long. From hilarious new fiction to moving memoirs, they’re sure to challenge, inspire, and entertain. Bring it, summer.
MODERN LOVERS BY EMMA STRAUB: Novelist, essayist, and all-around super-scribe Emma Straub is back this summer with her fourth novel, Modern Lovers. Set in Ditmas Park in Brooklyn, this smart ensemble comedy follows a group of friends from college to middle age, as they simultaneously relish their passions and struggle with adult stumbling blocks.
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
PRIVATE CITIZENS BY TONY TULATHIMUTTE: Meet the First Great Millennial Novel," according to New York Magazine. Author Tony Tulathimutte's debut, published earlier this year, covers all aspects of modern life, from the relatable (dating and start-up culture) to the more extreme (hedonistic parties and plastic surgery). Think: dark, edgy, and laced with black humor.
Image courtesy of HarperCollins
Image courtesy of HarperCollins
SWEETBITTER BY STEPHANIE DANLER: Count yourself as a food-obsessed, restaurant-frequenting, always-hungry urbanite? City reads don't get tastier than the just-released Sweetbitter, the debut novel by Stephanie Danler. Set in New York's downtown dining scene, the book follows young protagonist Tess as she waits tables and chows down.
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
NIGHT SKY WITH EXIT WOUNDS BY OCEAN VUONG: Whether you're a sonnet aficionado or haven't read a word of poetry since studying Robert Frost in elementary school, add the extraordinary Night Sky with Exit Wounds to your list of city reads immediately. Young Vietnamese-born poet Ocean Vuong writes stunningly beautiful lines about the Vietnam War, life as an immigrant, and love.
Image courtesy of Copper Canyon Press
Image courtesy of Copper Canyon Press
HOT MILK BY DEBORAH LEVY: Feeling the beach vacay FOMO? We'd prescribe a read of Hot Milk by the Booker-shortlisted author Deborah Levy. Her story follows a mother and daughter as they travel together to the south of Spain in search of specialist medical care. But in this captivating spell of a novel, the sun is too hot, the Mediterranean is filled with jellyfish, and the beach is populated by a cast of shady characters. Summer in the city? We'll take it.
Image courtesy of Bloomsbury USA
Image courtesy of Bloomsbury USA
IN THE COUNTRY WE LOVE: MY FAMILY DIVIDED BY DIANE GUERRERO: You might know her best from Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, but actress Diane Guerrero is also, as this book shows, a talented memoirist. When she was 14, her parents and brother were suddenly arrested and deported, and Guerrero writes powerfully about how punishing immigration policy splintered her family and forever changed the course of her life.
Image courtesy of Macmillan
Image courtesy of Macmillan
EVICTED: POVERTY AND PROFIT IN THE AMERICAN CITY BY MATTHEW DESMOND: City living has always been a study in extremes—and that certainly includes the rents we pay (and what we get for those high prices). In Matthew Desmond's fascinating new examination on the subject, we're shown how corrupt landlords, biased policies, and an epidemic of evictions have made urban poverty more widespread in recent years. It's a troubling and essential read for any city dweller in 2016.
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
WHAT IS NOT YOURS IS NOT YOURS BY HELEN OYEYEMI: Who needs the real world when you can embark on a fairy-tale style literary adventure? If you're craving a mental vacation this summer, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, a short story collection by the acclaimed author Helen Oyeyemi, is just the ticket. Her carnivalesque stories are packed full of magical details, from enchanted keys to witches—and even a Little Red Riding Hood cameo.
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
MODERN LOVERS BY EMMA STRAUB: Novelist, essayist, and all-around super-scribe Emma Straub is back this summer with her fourth novel, Modern Lovers. Set in Ditmas Park in Brooklyn, this smart ensemble comedy follows a group of friends from college to middle age, as they simultaneously relish their passions and struggle with adult stumbling blocks.
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
PRIVATE CITIZENS BY TONY TULATHIMUTTE: Meet the First Great Millennial Novel," according to New York Magazine. Author Tony Tulathimutte's debut, published earlier this year, covers all aspects of modern life, from the relatable (dating and start-up culture) to the more extreme (hedonistic parties and plastic surgery). Think: dark, edgy, and laced with black humor.
Image courtesy of HarperCollins
Image courtesy of HarperCollins
SWEETBITTER BY STEPHANIE DANLER: Count yourself as a food-obsessed, restaurant-frequenting, always-hungry urbanite? City reads don't get tastier than the just-released Sweetbitter, the debut novel by Stephanie Danler. Set in New York's downtown dining scene, the book follows young protagonist Tess as she waits tables and chows down.
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
NIGHT SKY WITH EXIT WOUNDS BY OCEAN VUONG: Whether you're a sonnet aficionado or haven't read a word of poetry since studying Robert Frost in elementary school, add the extraordinary Night Sky with Exit Wounds to your list of city reads immediately. Young Vietnamese-born poet Ocean Vuong writes stunningly beautiful lines about the Vietnam War, life as an immigrant, and love.
Image courtesy of Copper Canyon Press
Image courtesy of Copper Canyon Press
HOT MILK BY DEBORAH LEVY: Feeling the beach vacay FOMO? We'd prescribe a read of Hot Milk by the Booker-shortlisted author Deborah Levy. Her story follows a mother and daughter as they travel together to the south of Spain in search of specialist medical care. But in this captivating spell of a novel, the sun is too hot, the Mediterranean is filled with jellyfish, and the beach is populated by a cast of shady characters. Summer in the city? We'll take it.
Image courtesy of Bloomsbury USA
Image courtesy of Bloomsbury USA
IN THE COUNTRY WE LOVE: MY FAMILY DIVIDED BY DIANE GUERRERO: You might know her best from Orange is the New Black and Jane the Virgin, but actress Diane Guerrero is also, as this book shows, a talented memoirist. When she was 14, her parents and brother were suddenly arrested and deported, and Guerrero writes powerfully about how punishing immigration policy splintered her family and forever changed the course of her life.
Image courtesy of Macmillan
Image courtesy of Macmillan
EVICTED: POVERTY AND PROFIT IN THE AMERICAN CITY BY MATTHEW DESMOND: City living has always been a study in extremes—and that certainly includes the rents we pay (and what we get for those high prices). In Matthew Desmond's fascinating new examination on the subject, we're shown how corrupt landlords, biased policies, and an epidemic of evictions have made urban poverty more widespread in recent years. It's a troubling and essential read for any city dweller in 2016.
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
WHAT IS NOT YOURS IS NOT YOURS BY HELEN OYEYEMI: Who needs the real world when you can embark on a fairy-tale style literary adventure? If you're craving a mental vacation this summer, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, a short story collection by the acclaimed author Helen Oyeyemi, is just the ticket. Her carnivalesque stories are packed full of magical details, from enchanted keys to witches—and even a Little Red Riding Hood cameo.
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
Image courtesy of Penguin Random House
