July 22, 2025
what we're reading this summer
With summer in full swing, our team is working its way through our summer reading list. If you need recommendations, you’ve come to the right place.
Jane Austen, Game Theorist by Michael Suk-Young Chwe
Outside of her CFA textbooks, Mikaela recommends this fresh take on a classic author, where author Michael Chwe shows how Jane Austen’s novels are studied in strategy and human behavior. This gives readers a deeper look at how decision-making, relationships, and power plays have always been a part of human nature.
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Set in Britain during World War II, this historical fiction novel follows four women competing in a BBC radio cooking contest called “The Kitchen Front.” Inspired by real events, the novel explores the significance of food in difficult times, resilience, and female strength.
Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen
If you haven’t already binged the Apple TV+ series, hold off until you’ve had a chance to dive into the book. Bad Monkey is part mystery, part dark comedy, and follows a suspended detective through a rather bizarre case. Perfect for anyone looking for a fun beach read, filled with quirky characters, twists, satire, and excellent writing.
Apple in China by Patrick McGee
For readers who enjoy investigative journalism with real-world stakes, Apple in China is a riveting exposé of how Apple helped build China’s tech industry and became dangerously dependent on it. Patrick McGee unpacks how this relationship handed Beijing leverage over the world’s most valuable company and raised big questions about U.S. tech dominance.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
A New York Times bestseller, Goodreads calls Remarkably Bright Creatures an “exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.” This feel-good novel, noted by Goodreads, is a “gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.”
Thousand Character Classic by Qian ZiWen
If you’re looking for a unique summer challenge, try diving into the Thousand Character Classic, like Di. This is an ancient Chinese poem of 1,000 unique characters, each used once, arranged in 250 lines of four characters. With just a little childhood exposure to Chinese, Di is using this classic to build her language skills this summer and beyond.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
A 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction and named in the Top 100 Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times, Demon Copperhead follows a boy growing up in rural Virginia as he faces poverty, foster care, addiction, and plenty of hard knocks. Told with sharp humor and heart, this is an unforgettable story about resilience, survival, and the search for belonging.
The World for Sale by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy
The World for Sale takes you inside the hidden world of global commodity traders. These are the people buying and selling oil, metals, and grain — often shaping markets and politics in the process. It’s a business story, real-life thriller, and a great pick if you’re curious about how the global economy works.
Honorable mentions:
- For those who like historical mystery: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
- For fans of dark, character-driven thrillers: All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
- For home cooks: The Wok: Recipes and Techniques by J. Kenji López-Alt
- For thriller lovers: Zero Days by Ruth Ware
- For fans of graphic memoirs and sharp social commentary: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
