Big Salad

Big Salad

Found! The 15 Best Books to Read This Summer

Killer recommendations from book-loving friends and ourselves. Plus, a funny Q&A with romance author Emily Henry.

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Kaitlyn Teer's avatar
Joanna Goddard and Kaitlyn Teer
May 23, 2025
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Hi! How is your week going? One of the biggest questions we get from Big Salad readers is, “I’m in a book rut, what’s a page-turner that I’ll love?” So! Here are 15 glowing recommendations from book-loving friends and ourselves…

If you want to escape every problem you’ve ever had:

“Kevin Kwan’s Lies and Weddings is like Jane Austen for when the world feels so unbearable that my brain needs to be under general anesthesia and all I can do is read long descriptions of delicious lunches.” — Bess Kalb, comedy writer and writer of The Grudge Report

If you’re craving a messy, food-y memoir:

“Keith McNally's I Regret Almost Everything is a great reminder that life is made up of a million chapters and pivots. It’s impossible not to root for the celebrated, curmudgeonly New York restaurateur — a word he detests along with anything that gives even the slightest whiff of pretension — who had a life-altering stroke in 2016. What a storyteller!” — Jenny Rosenstrach, cookbook author and writer of Dinner: A Love Story

If you want a propulsive family drama that gives you chills:

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