Are you reading anything good?
It’s the universal summer question, asked as long plane rides, quiet weekends and beach days beckon — and a much-loved paperback becomes as essential as sunblock.
Books, more than almost anything else in culture, still run on word-of-mouth. With celebrity book clubs now the purview of anyone with an Instagram account, it felt time to pose the what-should-I-read question to a different group: the people who shape what gets made, watched, read, bought and talked about.
The Ankler staff reached out to 100 notables across Hollywood, politics, tech, publishing, media, executive suites and stardom to find out what they’re recommending this summer. Some are authors themselves. Others are buyers, greenlighters, performers, creators, public figures and professional tastemakers whose words carry weight.
The list is as wide-ranging as the readers: Gov. Gavin Newsom and Gov. Wes Moore; Kathy Kennedy and Sherry Lansing; Mike De Luca, Dan Lin and Jason Blum; Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Maureen Dowd; Greg Berlanti and Molly Shannon; Tina Brown to Tinx to Triple H. And because, as the saying goes, you can never judge a book by its cover, stay tuned for YouTube CEO Neal Mohan’s surprising favorite, as well as Academy CEO Bill Kramer’s fascination with a competition that isn’t the Oscars.
Of course, books are the industry’s R&D department. In an era when almost nothing gets greenlit without preexisting IP, a nightstand stack is also a development slate — meaning at least a few of the folks below are surely being coy, talking up the book they finished last weekend while staying mum on the one they’re trying to option. We’ll leave that guessing up to you.
Not surprisingly, some titles over-indexed: Lena Dunham’s memoir, Famesick, seems to be the industry’s group read of the moment, cited numerous times. Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling was also picked several times, followed by a slew of titles that got two or three citations apiece, including Belle Burden’s Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage and Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent.
Below, find out what’s actually on the nightstands and in the carry-ons of the cultural movers calling the shots.
Hollywood Brass
Ravi Ahuja
Chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Recommends
The Score Takes Care of Itself
by Bill Walsh
“The brilliant football coach makes a compelling case that if you focus on doing the little things exceptionally well every day, the results eventually take care of themselves. It’s a lesson that’s just as valuable in life and business as it is in football.”
Chris Balfe
CEO, Red Seat Ventures
Recommends
With Friends Like You
by Amy Chozick
“My friend’s debut novel — it was just named one of the best books of the year by Vogue. Let’s face it, it’s summer and you need a distraction. With Friends Like You is so good, you’ll forget to reapply your sunscreen.”
Kevin Beggs
Chair and chief creative officer, Lionsgate Television Group
Recommends
Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young
by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
“It’s a memoir of a now-grown person who was the child of Weather Underground fugitives for most of his childhood and growing up into his early twenties — a recollection of that crazy life journey. It’s a page-turner. It’s worth reading. It’s already a bestseller and I highly recommend it.”
Frances Berwick
Chairman, Bravo & Peacock unscripted
Recommends
The Other Beautiful People
by Caroline Bock
“A novel about love, loss and the search for meaning between work families and nuclear families. It is written by a former colleague who brilliantly recreates the early 2000s against a media landscape.”
Karey Burke
President, 20th Television
Recommends
Just Kids
by Patti Smith
Donald De Line
Producer; co-president, Producers Guild of America
Recommends
John of John
by Douglas Stuart
“Powerful, moving and deeply human. I read anything Douglas Stuart writes… and this did not disappoint. His singular ability to transport the reader into the specific world and culture of a remote Scottish island is captivating and the tragic common ground of human failing is all too universal. I will read it a second time.”
Craig Erwich
President, Disney Television Group
Recommends
The Things We Never Say
by Elizabeth Strout
Jane Featherstone
Founder and chief content officer, Sister (Black Doves, Chernobyl)
Recommends
The Safe Keep
by Yael van der Wouden
“A taut, atmospheric novel that works like the best psychological thrillers, coiling a forbidden love story into something cinematic before finally twisting and turning into a devastating historical reckoning. An immersive and beautiful read.”
Pearlena Igbokwe
Chairman, television studios, NBC Entertainment & Peacock scripted
Recommends
The Trees
by Percival Everett
“Hilarious, disturbing and haunting all at the same time.”
Kathy Kennedy
Producer; former president, Lucasfilm
Recommends
The Maniac
by Benjamin Labatut
“Given what’s going on in the world with technology impacting our lives at warp speed, this book touches on it all and poses the question we’re all wondering about: What happens when humans are replaced by a more powerful intelligence?”
Also recommends: Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
Bill Kramer
CEO, AMPAS
Recommends
Football
by Chuck Klosterman
“As he has done with Gen-X media, glam metal, ABBA, Star Wars and other contemporary cultural phenomena, Klosterman has created a fascinating examination of the societal and entertainment significance of football in the United States.”
Peter Kujawski
Chairman, Focus Features
Recommends
Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI
by Yuval Noah Harari
“For anyone working in the modern media landscape, this read is a moral imperative. The AI revolution is about so much more than just jobs and human creativity. Harari demonstrates how storytelling is the foundation on which civilization is built, and questions what happens when we remove the self-regulating mechanisms of human information networks in favor of independent agents driven by metrics that we don’t fully understand and that are not tethered to the realities of human existence.”
Also recommends: The Order of the Day by Éric Vuillard
Sherry Lansing
Board chair, Universal Music Group; Paramount board member
Recommends
The Choice
by Dr. Edith Eva Eger
“It’s about a Holocaust survivor and how you can overcome the horrors of life and choose to be happy. It’s all about what you put in your mind. It reminds me of Viktor Frankl’s book (Man’s Search for Meaning). It’s truly life-changing.”
Also recommends: The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins
Famesick
by Lena Dunham
Jeff Klein, Founder, JK Hotel Group (Sunset Tower, San Vicente Bungalows): “What I’m loving most is the window it gives into the realities of navigating extraordinary success while also living through deeply personal struggles.”
Tinx, Influencer, author, The Shift: “Lena is a talented writer who holds up a mirror to the reader through her exploration of what happens when fame comes for someone complicated.”
Pam Abdy, Co-chair and co-CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.
Also recommends: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Jordana Brewster, Actor, Fast & Furious.
Also recommends: Splinters by Leslie Jamison
Jinny Howe, Head of scripted series, U.S. and Canada, Netflix.
Also recommends: Start With Yourself by Emma Grede
Stephen Lambert
CEO, Studio Lambert (The Traitors)
Recommends
The Black Death: A Global History of Humanity’s Most Devastating Pandemic
by Thomas Asbridge
“I was fascinated by the scale of the devastation — the U.K. alone fell from 4.8 million people to 1.9 million people — and the changes it led to: the end of feudalism and the power for a much-reduced workforce to price their labor higher, despite great effort by the elite to keep them at the wages and lifestyle they had before.”
London Falling
by Patrick Radden Keefe
Amelia Dimoldenberg, Host, Chicken Shop Date; producer, Dimz Inc.: “Such a fascinating and devastating portrait of London’s underworld and a young boy caught in its grasp. I was hooked from the very first page.”
Andy Harries, Executive chairman, Left Bank Pictures (The Crown, Dept. Q): “It’s a tragic tale beautifully written and a brilliant insight into the changing soul of London over the last few years. Will make a brilliant TV series for sure.” (A24 U.K. has the rights to the book.)
Doug Herzog, Former head, Viacom Music & Entertainment Group: “Explores the dark world inhabited by a young man who creates a separate identity that lands him in the London underbelly of wealth and criminal activity.”
Paul “Triple H” Levesque
Former professional wrestler; chief content officer, WWE
Recommends
Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life
by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Todd Lieberman
Producer, founder, Hidden Pictures
Recommends
Fans Have More Friends
by Ben Valenta and David Sikorjak
“I have always believed that sports fandom brings people together in ways that almost nothing else does. This book takes a look at why. And I agree with all of it.”
Also recommends: Satan: An Autobiography by Yehuda Berg
Dan Lin
Chairman of film, Netflix
Recommends
Better Than the Movies
by Lynn Painter
“As you may have seen from our recent film releases, my team and I have been on a rom-com binge lately. Lynn takes classic rom-com tropes — enemies to lovers, fake dating, boy next door — and approaches them in a refreshing, authentic and wish-fulfilling way. I’m not the obvious audience for a YA rom-com, but I ended up really relating to the lead character, Liz, who is also obsessed with movies.”
Jonathan Littman
Producer; former president, Jerry Bruckheimer Television
Recommends
1929
by Andrew Ross Sorkin
“Most of my reading list is nonfiction. All are fascinating. The biographies are unexpectedly enlightening. Others are hard-to-believe true stories that are unknown. As for the one fiction read, well, it’s Ann Patchett. No explanation needed.”
Also recommends: London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
Gavin Polone
Producer, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Recommends
Stay Alive: Berlin, 1939-1945
by Ian Buruma
“Given the state of the country, and my intermittent despair about the same, I wanted to see how people managed to survive living through the worst period in any country in the history of the world.”
Terry Press
President of strategy & communications, Amblin Entertainment
Recommends
Regime Change
by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan
Also recommends: “I am reading several ‘Making Of’ books, including one on the making of Rear Window and one on the making of The Best Years of Our Lives.”
Billy Rosenberg
Co-CEO, All Things Comedy
Recommends
There Is No Antimemetics Division
by qntm
“I think about this book a lot. This horror-sci-fi novel, born out of the online SCP Foundation, is an entertaining thriller about agents fighting ideas that can erase themselves from human memory. Beneath the suspense is a timely meditation on information warfare, algorithmic media, public amnesia and institutional trust.”
Also recommends: The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
Jenna Santoianni
President of television, MRC
Recommends
Mr. Texas: A Novel
by Lawrence Wright
“Not a new book, but Mr. Texas is a favorite of mine and feels very relevant right now. It’s a really smart political satire, but at the end of the day it’s about an average guy motivated by the chance to finally be a hero.”
Simran Sethi
President, scripted programming, Hulu Originals, ABC Entertainment and Freeform
Recommends
Rooting Interest: An 831 Stories Romance
by Cat Disabato
Also recommends: Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
Dave Sirulnick
President, entertainment, RadicalMedia
Recommends
A Woman of No Importance
by Sonia Purnell
“The book is an incredibly gripping biography of American Virginia Hall, who is recruited to join the British Special Operations Executive and serve as a spy in occupied France. Virginia’s story is one of the greatest wartime adventures I have ever read.”
The Two-Timers
Books so nice, they got picked twice
How to Rule the World: An Education in Power at Stanford University
by Theo Baker
Jamie Patricof, Producer, Half Nelson, The Accountant: “A powerful look at America through this secretive world of the Bay Area.”
Jason Richman, Partner/co-head media rights, UTA: “Curious to hear what’s been going on at my alma mater.”
Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage
by Belle Burden
Leigh Brecheen, Partner, Brecheen, Feldman, Breimer, Silver & Thompson.
Also recommends: A Violent Masterpiece by Jordan Harper
Mike De Luca, Co-chair and co-CEO, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.
Also recommends: Lightbreakers by Aja Gabel
Who Knew
by Barry Diller
Jason Blum, Founder and CEO, Blumhouse: “Barry, who I’m lucky to call a friend, believes decision making should never be peaceful and that the argument is where the good stuff comes from. It’s also just a great Hollywood life.”
Sean Cohan, President, Bell Media: “Diller demystifies the building of a media empire, offering an incredibly honest look at the sheer willpower and calculated risk required to reshape our industry.”
The Odyssey
by Homer
John Leguizamo, Actor, The Odyssey; author of Kiki and the Can, out Aug. 4. (Daniel Mendelsohn translation)
Sharon Vuong, EVP, unscripted programming, NBC (Robert Fagles translation): “It’s not often you can devour an epic story and then watch that same story on cinematic film in the same summer. I’m excited to be doing that with The Odyssey.”
The Things We Never Say
by Elizabeth Strout
Craig Erwich, President, Disney Television Group
Robert Sharenow, President of programming, A+E Global Media; author, The Berlin Boxing Club: “She is a master of restraint. No one else says so much with so few words.”
Theo of Golden
by Alan Levi
Richard Plepler, Producer; former CEO, HBO: “A gorgeous novel that reminded me I don’t read enough fiction. Was a tonic during these particularly charged times. Just beautiful.”
Lisa Katz, President, scripted content, NBCUniversal: “A great read for the characters and the reminder to slow down.”
Beatrice Springborn
President, Universal Global Television
Recommends
Raising Hare
by Chloe Dalton
“A woman finds a baby hare during lockdown and takes care of it, connecting with nature after being in a big job in the city. Gorgeous writing and a reminder to get outside and touch grass.”
Erin Underhill
President, Universal Television
Recommends
Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A.
by Eve Babitz
“This collection is an oldie but a goodie that stands as a testament to that iconic SoCal era.”
Tara Walpert Levy
Former VP, Americas, YouTube
Recommends
The Lion Women of Tehran
by Marjan Kamali
“This novel follows two girls from opposite sides of the tracks in 1950s Tehran. It’s a gripping story of how their friendship carries them through decades of love, betrayal and a country coming apart. It’s a book about courage under a regime that wants women small, and the different ways that can show up. A vivid portrayal of how quickly a society can unravel also hits home these days.”
Also recommends: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Power Brokers
Dylan Abruscato
President, TBPN
Recommends
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
“It’s beautifully written and serves as a constant reminder that the home you grow up in profoundly shapes the person you become. As an obsessive collector of things, I’m constantly thinking about obsession itself (what people choose to hold onto, what they acquire for the long term and what they leave behind). But I’m mostly re-reading it to remind myself, as a new father, that the home you build for your children has an outsized impact on the people they will become.”
Nicole Avant
Producer, The Six Triple Eight; author, Think You’ll Be Happy: Moving Through Grief With Gratitude
Recommends
Every Inch A Lady
by Audrey Smaltz
Also recommends: Cosmic Goodness by Cassidy Gard
Jody Gerson
Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Publishing Group
Recommends
So Old, So Young
by Grant Ginder
“[The book] follows a group of college friends over the course of two decades, tracking that bizarre space when you feel young but find yourself with adult responsibilities and you realize that time moves quickly. I miss those days!”
Also recommends:Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Carlos Goodman
Partner, Goodman Genow
Recommends
The Anglo-Saxons
by Marc Morris
“[This] gave me a much deeper understanding of British history than I had before.”
Also recommends: JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956 by Fredrik Logevall
Lila Ibrahim
Chief AI readiness officer, Google DeepMind
Recommends
Superagency
by Reid Hoffman and Greg Beato
“I started my working life detasseling corn in the Indiana heat, so I know the limits of pure physical grit to get a job done. Superagency is a powerful reminder that we’re entering a cognitive revolution — one where AI doesn’t replace humans, but acts as the ultimate tool to untangle our most complex global knots with human guidance and responsibility at the center.”
Margaret Riley King
Partner, literary agent, WME
Recommends
The Plunge
by Lila Raicek
“Smart, glamorous, erotically charged and impossible to put down. Read with sunscreen.”
Also recommends: I Regret Almost Everything by Keith McNally
Looking forward to: Under Story by Chloe Benjamin
Zohran Mamdani
Mayor, New York City
Recommends
The Gods of New York
by Jonathan Mahler
Jordan Moblo
EVP, Universal Studio Group; creator, Jordy’s Book Club
Recommends
Helpless
by Jessica Knoll
“Knoll is best known for her novels Luckiest Girl Alive and Bright Young Women, and she returns with the scorching suspense novel of the summer: a Gone Girl-esque erotic thriller about a woman who is forced to return home and confront the dark secrets of her past. It’s dark and twisty and delicious fun.”
Neal Mohan
CEO, YouTube
Recommends
Night People
by Mark Ronson
“I’m lucky enough to know firsthand that Mark is a musical genius, but I didn’t appreciate what an honest, riveting writer he is until I read this book. His vivid account of ’90s NYC club culture through the eyes of an up-and-coming artist is compelling even if you don’t love music or New York — but it’s even better if you do!”
Wes Moore
Governor, Maryland
Recommends
My American Journey
by Colin Powell
“Powell’s writing helped me reconcile two contrasting feelings — on one hand, a lucid understanding of America’s uneven history; and on the other, a deeply felt desire to serve this country in uniform, as a soldier in the Army. I’ve learned that loving your country doesn’t mean lying about its history, and I trace the germ of that patriotic mindset back to my experience as a young man reading Powell’s book, a text I occasionally return to for inspiration even now.”
Gavin Newsom
Governor, California
Recommends
What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative
by Jim Collins
“Jim Collins is a legend to me, the best there is at challenging the assumptions and limits we place on ourselves. This deeply personal book on navigating life, failures, challenges and family, is no exception.”
Darren Trattner
Partner, Jackoway Austen
Recommends
The Final Score
by Don Winslow
Also recommends: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
Cori Wellins
Senior partner, scripted television department, WME
Recommends
These Summer Storms
by Sarah MacLean
Also recommends: The Mistresses of Cliveden by Natalie Livingstone
Jeanne Yang
Stylist, manager-producer, Anonymous Content
Recommends
City of Thieves
by David Benioff
“It is a great break from the nonfiction and screenplays I read all day. Was so enthralled within the first page. Benioff’s writing is so vivid in his descriptions. Really want to see this as a film.”
Culture Shapers
Cleo Abram
Video journalist; host, Huge If True
Recommends
Stories of Your Life and Others
by Ted Chiang
“The reason I love science fiction is, it stretches the world to help you see inside. No one does this better than Ted Chiang. His collection of short stories (including the one that became the basis of the hit movie Arrival) will each make you see the real world in a new and more beautiful way.”
Rebecca Blumenstein
NBC News president, editorial; co-author, The Last Free Women (Sept. 8)
Recommends
Crossing to Safety
by Wallace Stegner
“Stegner deftly traces the evolution of two couples who met as academics at the University of Wisconsin, showing the enduring power — and challenge — of friendship, career and marriage over decades. Known as the preeminent novelist of the West, Stegner’s life was tragically cut short in a 1993 car accident while visiting Santa Fe to give a lecture.”
Also recommends: Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick
Tina Brown
Author, The Palace Papers; founder, Fresh Hell newsletter
Recommends
Everybody Knows
by Jordan Harper
“Harper turns out to be Raymond Chandler for the Ketamine Queen set. It gets deep into the world and intrigues of ‘black bag’ publicists tasked not with getting the good news out but keeping the bad news in. There’s a fantastic central character, Mae Pruett, who is as conflicted as she is lethal. Next time you wake up beside a dead, naked fashion influencer and want it all to go away, call Pruett.”
Maureen Dowd
Columnist, The New York Times
Recommends
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
“It’s hard to believe that a teenage girl wrote this masterpiece, but who knows more about horror than teenage girls? Frankenstein chronicles the egotism of the scientist who creates a new species — inevitably, such geniuses get high on their own supply — and conveys the promise and dangers of conjuring consciousness with electricity. We are ‘summoning the demon,’ as Elon Musk says. And the price is likely to be high. (Cue the scary music from that other Hollywood classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers.)”
Franklin Leonard
Creator, The Black List
Recommends
Baldwin: A Love Story
by Nicholas Boggs
“A beautifully written, comprehensive James Baldwin biography telling his life through the people he loved. Need I say more?”
Irena Medavoy
Philanthropist
Recommends
The Hero Next Door
by Martha Raddatz
“[We read it on] our family vacation at the Brando in Tahiti. We would discuss the chapters during the day so during this time of uncertainty in the world the one thing that unites us and remains steadfast is our brave men and women of the military who serve our Constitution.”
Gelila Assefa Puck
Global creative director, The Wolfgang Puck Group
Recommends
The Kings of Vegas
by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman
“My dear friend Karen just gave me a copy of her newly published novel. I am excited to read it on my long flights and during those quiet beachside summer moments. Karen grew up in Las Vegas, and her family comes from five generations of casino life, so I am especially curious to see how she expresses that world and her point of view through her novel.”
Also recommends: Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss
Jill Schwartzman
VP & executive editor, Dutton; editorial director, Plume
Recommends
Transcendent
by Laverne Cox
“I loved Orange Is the New Black and have always wanted to know more about Laverne Cox and her story.”
Also recommends: The Crooked Places Made Straight by Raphael Warnock
Andrew Ross Sorkin
CNBC anchor; DealBook columnist, The New York Times; author, 1929
Recommends
Inside the Box
by David Epstein
Storytellers
Mara Brock Akil
Creator and showrunner, Forever; author, The Revelation of Dionne Daphne
Recommends
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
by Dr. Seuss
“He breaks down in such a lyrical imaginative way how to explain essentially the human experience to a child. I can see my direct correlation to that in my work. You need to figure out how to keep going in a way that is unique to who you are.”
Nick Antosca
Showrunner, Cape Fear
Recommends
Stainless
by Todd Grimson
“It’s a great vampire novel set in L.A. You’ll love it if you love horror and sexy, strange vampires.”
Also recommends: Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
Max Barbakow
Director, co-writer, Palm Springs
Recommends
Mexico According to Eisenstein
by Inga Karetnikova
“It’s a chronicle of the legendary Soviet director’s 1931 trip down south to tackle ¡Que Viva México! with the support of Upton Sinclair. Production nightmares, creative breakthroughs, life-changing self-discoveries abound!”
Greg Berlanti
Writer, director, producer, Arrow and Love, Simon
Recommends
Inspiration Porn
by Ryan O’Connell
“A hilarious and incredibly honest collection of essays. I dare you to find something funnier out now.”
Also recommends: With Friends Like You by Amy Chozick
Haley Z. Boston
Writer, creator, showrunner, Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen
Recommends
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
by Tom Robbins
“My dad told me to read this book when I turned 20, and I scoffed. Then, at 29, I stole it from my parents’ basement and wished I’d listened to my dad, although maybe 29 was the right age for it to really resonate. But I have a feeling it will resonate at any age — that’s the beauty of it — with a delicious, strange writing style that’s impossible to forget.”
May Cobb
Author, The Hollywood Assistant
Recommends
The Secret Attic
by Chelsea Conradt
“An atmospheric, chilling and unputdownable thriller about a woman who is tasked with cleaning out her late mother-in-law’s hoarded estate where the rooms aren’t just filled with clutter —they’re filled with secrets.”
Also recommends: The Unknown by Riley Sager
Keli Goff
Writer, And Just Like That… and Mayor of Kingstown
Recommends
The Land and Its People
by David Sedaris
“I’ve been a fan of David Sedaris and his essays forever and still love to read good old-fashioned, hardcover books. So his new collection is tucked in my tote bag and going with me everywhere this summer.”
John Green
Author, The Fault in Our Stars and Turtles All the Way Down
Recommends
Canon
by Paige Lewis
“My favorite book of the summer so far. This strange and fearless novel is a reminder that anything can happen in fiction.”
Marc Guggenheim
Writer and producer, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow
Recommends
The Expats
by Chris Pavone
“I was introduced to Pavone’s writing after his most recent book, The Doorman, ended up on several ‘best of’ lists for 2025. I find his prose very readable and engaging and I like the way he twists his plots.”
Justin Halpern
Showrunner, Abbott Elementary and Harley Quinn; author, Sh*t My Dad Says
Recommends
Angel Down
by Daniel Kraus
“A visceral, propulsive story that is a look at war and humanity in a way I’ve never seen before. Beautifully written with unforgettable characters.”
Courtney A. Kemp
Writer and producer, Nemesis, Power universe
Recommends
World Travel: An Irreverent Guide
by Anthony Bourdain
“I’m writing too much to go anywhere, so this is the next best thing.”
Simon Kinberg
Writer and producer, X-Men franchise, Invasion
Recommends
A Moveable Feast
by Ernest Hemingway
“I’ve mostly been reading/re-reading old books this summer. This is my number-one rec at the moment. I don’t have any big trips planned, so it’s a way to escape to a golden era of Paris and literature and just cool people doing cool things in beautiful places, with lots of great cameos: the Fitzgeralds, James Joyce, etc. A time of young folks with big dreams and the importance of writing.”
Louisa Levy
Co-creator and showrunner, Off Campus
Recommends
American Spy
by Lauren Wilkinson
“A thoroughly researched, beautiful story about motherhood, womanhood, sisterhood… and what it means when the mask you wear in your professional life becomes blurry in your personal one. This book feels like an escape but it also feels eerily familiar in its emotional honesty. Highly recommend!”
Michael Lewis
Author, Moneyball
Recommends
The Radiance
by Ayad Akhtar
“Here’s the pile on my floor waiting for me to finish my own book: Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott, Lost & Found by Kathyn Schulz and Returning by Nicholas Lemann. All will be read by the end of summer.”
Aline Brosh McKenna
Writer, The Devil Wears Prada, The Devil Wears Prada 2
Recommends
How to Lose Your Mother
by Molly Jong-Fast
“I’m obsessed. It’s so raw and funny and whizzes by. And highly recommend the audiobook version, read by Molly herself in her instantly recognizable voice. Recommended it to a friend and we’ve been exchanging favorite quotes. It’s that kind of book.”
Brad Meltzer
Author, The Viper
Recommends
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls
by T. Kira Madden
”Her books are the only ones I love reading without knowing what they’re about, even if what they’re always about is the end of the world.”
Also recommends: Assorted Crisis Events by Deniz Camp and Eric Zawadzki
David Permut
Producer, The Invite
Recommends
Being Heumann
by Judith Heumann
“It’s relevant in our country and the world today: how one voice can make a real difference. It’s a true story of how one person has the power to make the world a better place.”
Julie Plec
Co-creator, executive producer, showrunner, The Vampire Diaries, We Were Liars
Recommends
The Correspondent
by Virginia Evans
“If you want a good cry.”
Also recommends: The Open Era by Edward Schmit
Barry Poznick
Executive producer, Shark Tank, The Voice, The Real Housewives of Rhode Island
Recommends
The Weight of Air
by David Poses
“The unbelievable true story of a kid growing up in the ’80s and ’90s who is battling demons as a shockingly functioning addict in NYC. It’s nostalgic, dramatic and incredibly revealing.”
Eli Roth
Director, Hostel and Ice Cream Man
Recommends
The Last Kings of Hollywood
by Paul Fischer
Also recommends: The Friedkin Connection, by William Friedkin
Looking forward to: A Violent Masterpiece, by Jordan Harper
Kennedy Ryan
Author, Before I Let Go
Recommends
Harlem Rhapsody
by Victoria Christopher Murray
“Murray is a vital voice in historical fiction. The book documents the salacious affair between W.E.B. Du Bois, a towering intellectual figure, with Jessie Redmon Fauset, widely hailed as the ‘Midwife of the Harlem Renaissance,’ and a clarion voice for Black art and social justice in her own right.”
Karin Slaughter
Author, The Good Daughter; writer, Will Trent
Recommends
The Calamity Club
by Kathryn Stockett
“Set in Mississippi in the 1930s, this is the story about an 11-year-old girl who has been left at an orphanage and is waiting for her mother to come back and collect her. This is a big-hearted book with richly drawn and unforgettable characters.”
Also recommends: Mist and Malice by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rebecca Sonnenshine
Writer, The Housemaid; producer, The Boys, Little House on the Prairie
Recommends
Isola
by Allegra Goodman
“There’s nothing I love more than an immersive literary historical adventure set in the 1500s, so I was completely swept away. It’s an epic story of love and resilience and survival — not to mention a cautionary tale of the brutality of both men and Mother Nature.”
Michael Waldron
Creator and producer, Loki and Chad Powers
Recommends
Secret Pizza Party
by Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
“It’s about a raccoon who steals pizza and runs from the authorities, and is teaching my 2-year-old daughter a most important lesson: Become ungovernable.”
Joy Gorman Wettels
Executive producer, Little House on the Prairie and Unprisoned
Recommends
The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
“This summer, I recommend diving into historical novels written by women and sharing them with a young person in your life for a fresh perspective. I found so much inspiration re-reading Sylvia Plath’s iconic novel The Bell Jar and The Outsiders — which was written by a teenage girl — with my daughter and her peers in mind.”
Performers & Multihyphenates
Gillian Anderson
Actor, The X-Files, Sex Education; author, Want and More (Sept. 10)
Recommends
Stations
by Louise Kennedy
“[It’s] about the pain of loving an addict. The friendship Kennedy depicts in Stations moved me enormously.”
Katie Aselton
Actor, The League; director, Magic Hour
Recommends
Albion
by Anna Hope
“I always stack [my Kindle] full of all these book recommendations. And so I said, ‘Oh, you know what I’m going to read next? I’m going to read The Correspondent. Everyone loves The Correspondent.’ I start reading it and I was like, ‘This feels weird.’ I pick it up the next night and I’m like, ‘This is not what I thought this was going to be about, but I like it.’ And on night three, I stop and I go back in my Kindle and I’m not reading The Correspondent at all. I’m reading Albion, which is really, really great — a story about a family in England who deals with the loss of the patriarch. And then after that I’m gonna read The Correspondent.”
John Cusack
Actor, High Fidelity; author, Momo (Sept. 29)
Recommends
Sonny Boy: A Memoir
by Al Pacino
“I love Al — he’s a dear friend. His autobiography beautifully captures his spirit and courage.”
Also recommends: The Killing of Gaza: Reports on a Catastrophe by Gideon Levy
Jay Ellis
Actor, Running Point and Not Suitable for Work
Recommends
Cool Machine
by Colson Whitehead
“Ray Carney is a man trying to do right by his family in a Harlem that wasn’t built for him to win, and Whitehead writes him with so much humanity — the contradictions, the moral weight, every wrong move with the right reason behind it — that you’re rooting for him the whole way through. This book hits.”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Actor, Modern Family
Recommends
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote
“I could never choose a single favorite book, but rereading this recently reminded me how brilliant it is. Capote at the peak of his powers.”
Dulé Hill
Actor, Psych
Recommends
Sky Full of Elephants
by Cebo Campbell
“First-time author Cebo Campbell perfectly encapsulates centuries of trauma and healing in 300 pages.”
Janelle James
Actor, Abbott Elementary
Recommends
Skinny Legs and All
by Tom Robbins
“My first Tom Robbins novel, I recently read it after a recommendation from a friend and found it irreverent, thoughtful, silly and weirdly sexy all in one read.”
Natalie Alyn Lind
Actor, Dutton Ranch
Recommends
Misery
by Stephen King
“As someone who loves horror, it’s everything I want in a book. It’s tense, unsettling, character-driven and impossible to stop thinking about once you put it down.”
Joe Mantegna
Actor, Criminal Minds: Evolution
Recommends
Thin Air
by Robert B. Parker
“I was asked once in an interview over 30 years ago who my favorite author was at the time and I mentioned Robert. Robert saw that interview and called me and asked if I would play the character of Spenser in the three movies they were making of his books for Showtime. I of course agreed to do them, and have since done many of the audiobooks of his works over the years at his request.”
Emmy Rossum
Actor, Furious, Shameless
Recommends
We Are Too Many: A Memoir [Kind Of]
by Hannah Pittard
“This is an incredibly human and very funny, genre-bending book about a woman’s marriage ending after she discovers that her best friend and her husband have betrayed her. It’s told in a series of conversations, and you’ll feel like you’re talking to your best friend.”
Molly Shannon
Actor, The Hawk, Only Murders in the Building; author, Hello, Molly!
Recommends
If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother
by Julia Sweeney
“It is so funny and touching. I absolutely loved it. I know Julia and I’m such a fan of hers, and all of her one-woman shows, and all her work on SNL, and just loved her book so much.”
Julian Shapiro-Barnum
Actor, comedian, host of YouTube series Recess Therapy and Celebrity Substitute
Recommends
Leaving the Atocha Station
by Ben Lerner
“I truly think this is one of the greatest books ever written. To read this book is to live out your dirtbag-poet, pill-popping, sad-boy, art-snob fantasy life. I can (and have) read this book over time and time again.”
Michael Urie
Actor, Shrinking
Recommends
The Ministry for the Future
by Kim Stanley Robinson
“My sister and I like to trade end-of-the-world books (which I know is morbid). Our current is Ministry for the Future, which has probably the most harrowing first chapter I’ve ever read.”
Liza Colón-Zayas
Actor, The Bear
Recommends
Atlas of the Heart
by Brené Brown
“This is an old favorite of mine that I often go back to. I can start at any chapter and it’s just what I need. She says one of the most valuable, simple and clear lessons growing up was from her mom. It goes, ‘Don’t look away. Don’t look down. Don’t pretend not to see hurt. Look people in the eye even when their pain is overwhelming. And when you’re hurting and in pain, find the people who can look you in the eye.’”
— Alison Brower, Ashley Cullins, Matthew Frank, Lesley Goldberg, Natalie Jarvey, Jennifer Laski, Andy Lewis, Elaine Low, Janice Min, Degen Pener, Manori Ravindran, Katey Rich, Richard Rushfield, Ethan Smith
