What To Read

Keep the summer reading vibes alive! Check out our Top 10 Summer Bestsellers, loved by readers just like you. Finished one of our bestsellers and still craving more? Check out these "What to Read Next" picks selected by the Tertulia curation team.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

This dark mystery about a wealthy teen who vanishes from her remote Adirondack summer camp is a Jimmy Fallon Summer Reads Pick and a summer must-read.

Once you’re done, we suggest you dive into another twisty caper, Happiness Falls, which is one of Tertulia's favorite smart thrillers from last year.

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

We've been dream-casting the series adaptation of Long Island Compromise to fill the empty feeling left by finishing this summer bombshell. There's obviously no way to truly channel its brilliance on screen, so we must forge ahead with our next reads. The book has drawn comparisons to Philip Roth and Jonathan Franzen for its epic capture of family dynamics and generational trauma, but we're going in another direction.

We refer you to the brilliance of Laurie Colwin in Family Happiness for your next best summer read. The backlist gem (1982) is the page-turning story of one woman's midlife crisis in the context of her old New York family's expectations and moral code.

How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen by David Brooks

This book by a famed New York Times Op-Ed columnist has been a perennial bestseller since it came out. Drawing from diverse disciplines, the book is a guide for how to better understand and connect with the people in our lives.

If deepening your relationships is your goal, grab All About Love by bell hooks—an essential “love song to the nation” from an icon still making waves since her passing in 2021.

James by Percival Everett

This critically-acclaimed, action-packed novel reimagines Twain’s classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of his enslaved sidekick Jim as he embarks down the Mississippi in search of freedom.

For another boldly reconceptualized 19th-century classic, check out this prequel to Jane Eyre. A landmark work of feminist and postcolonial fiction told from the perspective of Mr. Rochester’s wife, the creole heiress Antoinette Cosway, the novel unpacks the racial violence and colonial exploitation obscured in Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 masterpiece.

The Women by Kristin Hannah

This immersive story following the female heroes of the Vietnam War has been raging on all the bestseller lists and earned a spot on Bill Gates' summer must-reads.

For another tale of the ravages of war but with a female gaze, don’t miss this oft-overlooked story of American women on the fringes of the Vietnam War from a three-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

All Fours by Miranda July

Everyone’s buzzing about writer, actor, and director Miranda July’s sex-filled romp of a novel about an artist’s midlife crisis.

For another midlife escape with a Parisian twist, check out this pandemic memoir full of sex, food, and decadence that the NYT called "a delight, the literary equivalent of a long catch-up with a brilliant friend."

The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir by Griffin Dunne

This juicy memoir of growing up in Hollywood with Joan Didion as an aunt and Carrie Fisher as a best friend has been a hot seller on Tertulia since its release in June.

Fans of that Tertulia fave are sure to click with this bohemian coming-of-age tale about growing up with offbeat parents in Greenwich Village, which was a hit with Lisa Taddeo, Dani Shapiro, and Sarah Jessica Parker. And if you already tore through these two, make sure to preorder the mesmerizing Didion & Babitz now to keep the retro glam literati vibes going.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Recently named the Best Book of the 21st Century by 503 literary experts in a New York Times feature, the first volume of Elena Ferrante's celebrated Neapolitan quartet is a must-read.

And if you’ve caught Ferrante fever, we can't recommend enough one of the newly translated works by Italian-Cuban feminist Alba de Cespedes, including this classic novel featuring a special afterword by Ferrante herself!

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

In this irresistible and soulful beach read, a middle-aged woman reassesses her life during her family's yearly Cape Cod vacation.

Love the family drama? Check out this emotional tale from an award-winning author about a mother and her daughters reuniting in their Michigan orchard and reflecting on their lives.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This Nobel Prize laureate’s 2005 dystopian novel is a classic among sci-fans and was recently named one of the New York Times's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. In Slate, celebrated author Margaret Atwood called it “a thoughtful, crafty, and finally very disquieting look at the effects of dehumanization on any group that's subject to it.”

This more recent dystopian novel also landed on New York Times's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century, and is already being called a sci-fi classic! Set in the aftermath of a future pandemic which has wiped out most of the world's population, Bustle hailed this National Book Award Finalist as "strange, poetic, thrilling, and grim all at once, Station Eleven is a prismatic tale about survival, unexpected coincidences, and the significance of art.”