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The Best Books of the Summer, According to the LA Times

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May 29, 2025

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Summer is nearly here, which means we’re being treated to some excellent summer reading lists. The LA Times is just the latest to grace us with some must-read books for the season of sun, and they’ve included everything from southern noir to hellish dark academia.

The full list is 30 books long, but here are a few to get you started.

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

Flashlight by Susan Choi

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby

Archive of Unknown Universes by Ruben Reyes Jr.

The Dance and the Fire by Daniel Saldaña Paris

Putting Myself Together by Jamaica Kincaid

The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them by Ekow Eshun

Meet Me at the Crossroads by Megan Giddings

For the full list, visit the LA Times.

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