Whether you’re staying put or hitting the road this summer, the WABE Summer Reading List can help you beat the heat and transport you to another literary world. Below is our list of some of the best new reads this summer. And be sure to check out the WABE Staff Picks to see even more summer reading recommendations.
We’ve chosen to link out to bookshop.org for purchases, but explore the Shop Local tab and visit one of Atlanta’s many incredible booksellers!
The Vaster Wilds
By Lauren Groff
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
By James McBride
Good Material
By Dolly Alderton
Beautyland
By Marie-Helene Bertino
The Peach Seed
By Anita Gail Jones
Anita de Monte Laughs Last
By Xochitl Gonzalez
Unusually Grand Ideas
By James Davis May
Daughters of Muscadine
By Monic Ductan
There’s Always This Year
On Basketball and Ascension
By Hanif Abdurraqib
Thank You Please Come Again
How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American South
By Kate Medley
The Mango Tree
A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony
By Annabelle Tometich
Atlanta Record Stores
An Oral History
By Chad Radford
Keeping the Chattahoochee:
Reviving and Defending a Great Southern River
By Sally Sierer Bethea
The Exvangelicals
Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church
Hello, Friends!
Stories of Dating, Destiny, and Day Jobs
By Dulcé Sloan
Master Slave Husband Wife
An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom
By Ilyon Woo
Bethlehem
A Celebration of Palestinian Food
By Fadi Kattan
Koreaworld
By Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard
Kugels and Collards
Stories of Food, Family, and Tradition in Jewish South Carolina
By Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa Kligman Harvey
