What books should I take on holiday this summer?
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Whether you’ll be reading on the beach, by the pool, on a plane or under a shady tree somewhere, the FT’s editors and critics can help you pick that perfect summer reading pile.
During a recent live Q&A, our books editors Frederick Studemann and Maria Crawford responded to questions — from both readers and FT staff! — and gave their expert recommendations with reference to the FT’s Summer Books guide 2025.
The Q&A is now closed but to read it in full take a look at the comments below this article. Here are a couple of highlights:
From FT reader ArtichokeTeddy: Hi Fred and Maria, I’m not sure what exactly I’m looking for, but the three books I enjoyed reading over the past year were ‘The Power Broker’ by Robert Caro, ‘Marcovaldo’ by Italo Calvino, and ‘The World of Yesterday’ by Stefan Zweig. Excited to hear back!
Frederick Studemann replies: Hi Teddy — that’s quite a powerful mix to match. In terms of capturing individuals caught in dramatic times, how about Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Cold War Prophet, by Edward Luce (full disclosure: he’s a colleague). For sweeping, unflinching takes on our times: The Haves and Have-Yachts by Evan Osnos and Waste Land by Robert Kaplan.
On Calvino: a difficult one to follow. If I stick with Italy, then there is Lampedusa — not The Leopard (though that is brilliant) but the short stories, The Siren, that expand on the theme of relentless change over decades. If you like all that, there is a wonderful novel by the Canadian writer and poet Steven Price, Lampedusa: A Novel. Beautifully written — and captures that postwar period very well. I read it on holiday in Italy some years ago. Perfect summer read.
From FT reader Brigadier Crispbread: I like Pinter, Beckett, Kafka, Borges. Not particularly interested in anything contemporary unless it ranks alongside them . . . but any tips very gratefully appreciated as writers of their quality are thin on the ground.
Maria Crawford replies: They really are hard to beat, match or even come close to . . . but theirs is clearly a standard that a lot of already-excellent writers strive for. To that end, last year 10 authors contributed short stories to a collection marking Kafka’s centenary, called A Cage Went in Search of a Bird. There’s Joshua Cohen, Yiyun Li, Charlie Kaufman — and while none of these writers could be a match for the original, the stories they have written led me to see some of Kafka’s work in a different light. (And a short-story collection is always worth packing for the summer, I think!)
From FT reader Teddy123: A funny book ideally with a happy ending, please — I need a bit of escapism.
Frederick Studemann replies: Well, there is always Wodehouse! But — as Maria has flagged — there is a new Gary Shteyngart coming our way. He’s always good. A bit darker — but still v funny is The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen (and, yes, the Israeli PM does appear in a youthful, more revealing guise). If you like spies, Mick Herron’s books are very funny — even if the endings are not always happy ones.
FT Weekend editor Janine Gibson asks: Dear Fred and Maria. My most successful summer reads of recent years were epics by Francis Spufford and Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Please would you pick me one similarly engrossing novel from this year’s crop? Thank you.
Maria Crawford replies: Hi Janine, when you say Taffy Brodesser-Akner: allow me to present this weekend’s novel of the week! Among Friends is Hal Ebbott’s debut and I’m already dying to see what he’ll do next. Emerson and Amos, now in their fifties, have been best buds since they were roommates at an unnamed, probably Ivy League college. Now that they’re both married with teenage daughters, their families enjoy a shared, privileged existence — until, out of nowhere, one of them does something unthinkable to a member of the other family. The second half of the book traces the painful, haltering, complicated fallout. It’s SO smart, unsettling and compelling. In places, you get the sense that Ebbott knows how good he is — but that’s pretty much the only negative thing I can say about it.
For engrossing, of course there’s the new Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dream Count, which immerses you completely in the lives of its four narrators and the bonds between these complicated, not always likeable women.
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