Harvard University
Book Recommendations
From beach reads to thought provokersthese summer reading recommendations from the Harvard community will help you choose your next great book.
For a unique read
Members of the Harvard community recommend books that expand the notion of what literature can be.
Calling all detectives
Mysteries are responsible for an estimated 30% of annual fiction sales in the U.S.and tend to be mainstays of summer beach-read recommendations.
Figure out your finances
Money can be a source of frustration and confusionbut these Harvard economists have reading recommendations that can help you better understand money and the economy.
Read and recommended
Members of the Harvard community share books they have read and loved.
‘Beloved’ is at its heart a love story—the love of a mother and a daughter plunging in and out of the darkest of hours.”“Beloved” by Toni Morrison
Recommended by Trisha PasrichaHarvard Medical School
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‘North Woods’ is a fascinating novel … tracing the evolution of a home in Western Massachusetts over four centuries.”“North Woods” by Daniel Mason
Recommended by Karen DynanHarvard Kennedy School
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“A Girla Raccoonand the Midnight Moon”
By Karen Romano Young
“Topics of social justicehomelessnessfriendshipcommunity actionindividual power to effect changeand the many gifts of imagination are all investigated through the endearing antics of the characters.”
-Peter GirguisHarvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
“Never A Dull Moment: 1971 The Year That Rock Exploded”
By David Hepworth
“Hepworth is this amazingamazing music historian and journalistand reading this book is like [listening] to a friend go in deep about the year 1971where he argues that rock became fully self-aware.”
-Colin LukensHarvard Library
“The Color Purple”
By Alice Walker
“I always am struck by how those women in the story come together and survive so muchbut through it allthey’re bonded to each other.”
-Evelynn HammondsHarvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Beyond the book
Audiobooks
According to experts at the Graduate School of Educationnot only does the brain operate the same when reading print books or listening to audiobooksbut the learning process is also the same.
Films
Faculty recommend their favorite books that have been adapted into movies.
Writing
Harvard experts talk about their writing processand offer tips for other writers to hone their own craft.
Poetry
Harvard alum and poetry editor Kevin Young shares tips on how to better enjoy poetry.
Ebooks
Digital booksor ebooksmay not be ideal for children who can be easily distracted.
Ventures
From adapting literature for individual learners to expanding kids’ vocabulary with popular musicthese Harvard Innovation Labs ventures may revolutionize reading.
Harvard authors
Jill Lepore
In the Pulitzer Prize-winning “We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution,” Professor Jill Lepore explores how the framers of the Constitution expected Americans to tinker with and renew the document.
Jill LeporeJeffrey Marlow
“The Dark Frontier: Unlocking the Secrets of the Deep Sea” details life in one of Earth’s harshest environments.
Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman
“The Double Tax,” written while pursuing her Ph.Ddiscusses the expense of being a woman and a person of color in our society.
Chloe Chapin
“Suitable: The Sartorial Revolution and the Fashioning of Modern Men” examines the shift in men’s suits from colorful and ornate to plain and dark.
Ranjay Gulati
“How to be Bold” explores how people can see themselves as strongcapableand in control of their destinies.
Megan Kate Nelson
“The Westerners” is an interwoven saga that challenges myths of the American frontier.
Even more to read
Harvard Law School
From oddball goats to evolutionthese are the books HLS faculty are reading this season.
Harvard Graduate School of Design
HGSD faculty and alumni recommend books that span continentsdisciplinesand generations of practice.
EdRedesign Lab
This reading list offers stories and ideas to deepen your understanding of equityexpand your empathyand inspire action.
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Gutman Library staff share 10 books that help tell the story of education in America.
Harvard Griffin GSAS Fellowships & Writing Center
The Fellowships & Writing Center created a list of books their team has read and enjoyedand books that they are eagerly anticipating.
Harvard Business School
This reading list from HBS faculty includes many books on AIbut also some lighter options.
Harvard Divinity School
Faculty and alumni reflect on their recently published books.
Harvard University Press
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of IndependenceHUP suggests these books focused on the American Revolution.
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies
Staff share the bookspodcastsand other content they loved this year.