what writers are reading
12 writers, editors, and authors on the best thing they've read lately
When I was little a summer reading list was a scary kind of chore. Books were best when they were recreational, and I savored them most when they were elicit. Sneaking a few pages under the covers was much more fun than being given a syllabus. I loved stories because they took me to faraway places, and telling me I had to read a certain amount of them in a specific amount of time was like cutting off my wings.
The older I’ve become though, the more I yearn for the oppressive structure of a public school curriculum. There are just so many options out there, and not just for what I should read next, but for everything. All day we’re served thousands of options for clothing, vacation spots, essays on the allegory of the fig tree, but I have come to you today with a solution. An end to decision fatigue, at least for your TBR. A carefully curated reading list by writers who read.
It’s not my first time posting a reading list to keepsake, but it’s my first time soliciting outside help. I wanted to create a reading list for you that wasn’t just the books that changed my life, but changed the lives of my most bookish and writer-ly friends (that’s right, I’m now a card carrying member of the literati).
Before we dive into it though: I have a delicious confession. I took a week off work to sit by a body of water, and during that time I read three books. I finished The Houseguest: And Other Stories by Amparo Dávila, an unnerving and fantastical collection of short stories. I also read Early Work by Andrew Martin, with an opening paragraph so good I had to read it out loud to my sister on the dock.
Perhaps my favorite of the week was an ARC of the latest
. It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin was everything I wanted it to be. I’ve been a fan of Meltzer for a few years now, lapping up her takes on fragrance and her angle on Emily Weiss’s Glossier in Glossy. She has a specific talent for what I will call unwrapping the candy, presenting you with both the shiny foil and revealing the juicy center underneath. It Girl in particular decodes the journey from awkward teen to worldwide sensation with such care. Being brought into the world of Jane Birkin was a mystical experience, and yes I did procure a woven basket bag that very same week.
It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin is out October 7th, 2025.
Keepsake’s Summer Reading List:
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa
Rec’d by: Liz Montesano, founder of Open Book Club NYC
You need to read Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa. I’ll call it a vacation read, but not a beach read. Like if you take it with you on a trip, you’ll finish it. Probably in one sitting on the train. It’s only 90 pages, but they contain a lot. Of plot. Of poetic prose. I was highlighting every other sentence. I still think about this book most days. Shameless plug: I interviewed the translator of the novel, Polly Barton, for my Substack -
Anyone’s Ghost by August Thompson
Rec’d by: Bel Banta, author of Honey
I loved Anyone’s Ghost by August Thompson so much. The yearning, the angst, the becoming of it all. It’s just out in paperback and can be stuffed into your beach bag this summer. -
The Bombshell by Darrow Farr
Rec’d by: Dakota Bossard, writer of
The Bombshell is the perfect summer read. Set in Corsica in the 90’s this story follows Séverine, the daughter of a French politician who gets kidnapped and then radicalized into a nationalist militant group. On top of all the fascinating and complicated political themes, it’s a true sun-drenched-coming-of-age full of high stakes drama, romance, idealism, and fame, all woven throughout one pivotal search for Séverine’s life purpose.
The characters are complicated and layered, and Séverine’s narration had me hooked from page one. Seductive and wry, her voice adds a lush youthfulness to her story that was designed to read in the sun by a body of water. -Dakota
The Compound by Aisling Rawle
Rec’d by:
We’ve been debating what’s the book of the summer, and this comes as close as we’ve gotten this year. Fun, smart, beach read that will leave you thinking about it when you’re watching Love Island edits on TikTok. -Lit Girl
The Dry Season by Melissa Febos
Rec’d by: Vanessa Haughton, editor at Knopf
It’s a memoir about her year of celibacy that is gorgeously written, really called out the serial monogamist in me, and is the most literary relationship advice you’ll ever read. Come for the history of self-liberating women, stay for the sexy prose. -Vanessa
Glass Girls by Danie Shokoohi
Rec’d by: Celine Keely, writer of
The book I just finished is actually the perfect summer read—as well as it’s a new favorite. Glass Girls by Danie Shokoohi is a haunting, immersive ghost story that I could not put down. The writing is lush and evocative, the relationships are believable, and the characterization is out of this world. I have rarely read a more perfect debut. It’s completely crushable. -Celine
Long Distance by Ayşegül Savaş
Rec’d by: Adam Dalva, President, National Book Critics Circle
When I think of summer, I think of reading in transit—train to the beach, subways to far-flung neighborhoods, long, dozy car rides home—and my mind goes to short story collections. Savas is one of the great writers of our time, and as with her brilliant novels, her short stories capture the beauty of tiny gestures, the complexities of motion and nation, and the questions of what comes with getting older.
“Notions of the Sacred” is one of my favorite short stories, and I was happily surprised to learn that the other 12 in this collection live up to it—I have a special affection for “Twirl,” which is especially hilarious and touching. Read one every day and you’ll have a fabulous two weeks. -Adam
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky
Rec’d by: Emma Copley Eisenberg, author of Housemates
It’s so fun and fast and funny yet disarmingly moving, about three women in different circumstances tied together by a random act. I felt 50% less dead after reading it. -
Lion by Sonya Walger
Rec’d by: Rachel Schwartzmann, author of Slowing
I highly recommend Lion by Sonya Walger. In crisp, unsparing vignettes, Walger’s narrator outlines life with (and without) her mercurial father. I’m big on beautiful language, and this short but powerful little book is home to some stunning and unforgettable lines. -
Sky Daddy by Kate Folk
Rec’d by: Zoë, founder of women vs. the void book club
I loved Sky Daddy by Kate Folk! It had everything I was looking for in a summer read: it was breezy but still heartfelt, a little weird, and a little sexy. -Zoë
Work Nights by Erica Peplin
Rec’d by: Jess Focht, writer of
I recently read and loved Work Nights by Erica Peplin—a hot, hilarious, relatable, queer novel for the NYC girlies who have spent any part of their 20s in the city. Erica’s writing is razor sharp, portraying office mundanity, dating, and day-to-day life with such wit and sarcasm. I’m calling it the book of the summer! -Jess
Thank you to my lovely and well-read friends for their recommendations! Feel free to peruse this list directly on Goodreads, and while we’re chatting maybe possibly consider becoming a paid subscriber on keepsake. If you’re still reading this right now also tell me the best thing you’ve read lately in the comments :)
xo,
Julianna
perfect list!! thanks for including me :)
Omg I am so excited for the Jane Birkin book!! And I love love Melissa Febos - I really need to pick Dry Season. This was such a fun compilation!