Your 2015 Summer Reading List

The biggest literary news of the year was the decision of Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, to release her previously unpublished novel, Go Set a Watchman. While the exact details of this release are little known and controversial, it represents just one of the many books, newly released and coming soon, that should accompany you to the beach or pool this summer. As the days get longer and the weather better, it’s time to scratch a few names — both these up-and-comers and a few classics — off of your reading list.

Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee: Slated for a July 14th release, this is Harper Lee’s first novel, which was denied by publishers, and subsequently shelved, before she completed To Kill a Mocking Bird. The manuscript miraculously showed up in 2014 and is being published as Harper Lee’s second novel, over half a century later, amidcontroversy over Lee’s actual intentions. The book chronicles the characters 20 years after the events of To Kill a Mockingbird as they cope with America in the mid-1950s.

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, Jon Ronson: Ronson, who’s know for immersing himself in fringe cultures and coming out with powerful gonzo journalism, spent three years interviewing individuals who had been publicly shamed for one mistake they made that the public decided to latch onto and bring justice against. His other works include The Men who Stare at Goats and Frank, along with a feature about how a single tweet led to the shaming of Justine Sacco, for The New York Times Magazine.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson: Journalist and nonfiction writer Erik Larson, who authored The Devil in the White City, was nominated for a Pulitzer while he was an investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal. This time around his storytelling narrates the sinking of the Lusitania, which will reach its 100th anniversary this May. The ocean liner, headed to England from New York, sank after being struck by a German torpedo, killing 1,198.

The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway: Nothing beats relaxing to Hemingway, whose characters spend most of their time drinking wine, watching bullfights, loving, fighting, and drinking more wine. In his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises, which is often considered Hemingway’s best work, American journalist Jake Barnes and some friends travel from Paris to Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls at the Festival of San Fermín.