What to read this summer
Book Riot’s Liberty Hardy reads hundreds of books a year. She tells us the best of this summer.
By Greta Johnsen
What to read this summer
Book Riot’s Liberty Hardy reads hundreds of books a year. She tells us the best of this summer.
By Greta JohnsenLiberty Hardy, senior contributing editor for Book Riot and host of their All the Books! podcast, reads hundreds of books every year, which made her the perfect person to rave about the best books of the summer. Here are her top five for 2022. Plus, if you listen to the end, she surprised us with the most important book of the year.
Here are Liberty’s favorites.
Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty (7/5)
This debut short story collection set in a Native community in Maine examines what it means to be Penobscot today. “These stories are incendiary,” Liberty said. “I’m just going to be so bold as to say, I call National Book Award long list for this collection. It’s that excellent.”
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (7/12)
Liberty told us that “this is my favorite book of the year.” It’s a spooky, romantic story about a woman who returns from a deep sea mission not quite herself, leaving her wife to figure out what happened.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (7/12)
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow follows two friends over the course of thirty years as they come together and apart over their shared love of video games. Even if you are not a gamer, Liberty said there’s a lot to love about this book; “Zevin’s writing is like being put under a spell. She’s kind of magical.”
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias (8/2)
This thriller is one of Liberty’s most anticipated books of the year. “I am a sucker for a ‘one last job’ story,” Liberty said. It’s about a father who works as a hitman in order to provide for his sick daughter. He agrees to one final job and of course, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (8/30)
“It is BANANAPANTS,” Liberty said. This Agatha Christie-like mystery takes place on a remote island where a family is gathering for Nana’s 80th birthday. When Nana is found dead, they all must investigate one another’s past and present secrets before they can leave the island.