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Book Recommendations

In Focus

Book Recommendations

Summer provides the perfect opportunity to pick up a new book. Members of the Harvard community are excited to share recommendations in nonfiction, literary fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, and more.

Last updated: July 2025
An illustration of an open book with mountains, rivers, forests, and other places of adventure

Picks from Harvard librarians

Whether you鈥檙e taking a vacation or a staycation, you鈥檒l be transported to somewhere new with a great book. Harvard Library staff share their faves.

I thought I knew a lot about the time and place in which these women moved, but there are so many delightful new insights!鈥

“Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power” by Leah Redmond Chang

Recommended by Molly Taylor-Poleskey, map librarian, Harvard Map Collection

A woman stands in a room filled with maps of all different sizes
It is simply extraordinary to me how little we know of a civilization whose reach extended from the Gibraltar to Kiev.鈥

“Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings” by Neil Price

Recommended by Fiery Cushman, professor of psychology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Katie (Hillson) Koczela
When one wishes to be a student again (or finds oneself in the role of leader), this is the novel to open.鈥

鈥淭he Prime of Miss Jean Brodie鈥 by Muriel Spark

Recommended by Sarah Braunstein, instructor 黑料专区 Extension School

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Harvard Reads: Robin Bernstein

From the experts

Robin Bernstein, Harvard’s Dillion Professor of American History, shares why she has been a fan of 鈥淔un Home: A Family Tragicomic” by Alison Bechdel since it was published in 2006.

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Better than the book?

Harvard faculty recommend their favorite reads adapted for the silver screen, some of which may have even improved in the process.

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Science? Yes. Fiction? Maybe.

Science fiction has long challenged how we think about technology and society, often serving as both a warning and an inspiration for the future. Harvard faculty and staff share the science fiction works they enjoy most.

A collage of book covers

Read it again?

Most books we鈥檒l only ever read once, but some stories are special enough to keep us coming back, for comfort, inspiration, and pure pleasure.

Meet the authors

For your to-read list

Check out even more recommendations from Harvard faculty, students, and staff.

A woman's hand sits on top of three copies of "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen