This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
Conventional wisdom says that a beach read ought to be light and fun—a book with a pastel cover. But the beach read can be anything you want it to be. Vacation might feel like the perfect moment to escape into frivolity, or to dive into something dense that you finally have the mental space for. (If you’re me, that latter category may have once included the historian Timothy Snyder’s Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, which I acknowledge is a very odd choice due both to its physical and metaphorical weight.)
Whether you’re taking a big trip or just finding a few moments of quiet this August, the list of recommendations below will give you a place to start.
On Beach Reads
Five Books That Will Redirect Your Attention
By Rhian Sasseen
When malaise strikes, a book can break the spell—if you choose the right one.
24 Books to Get Lost in This Summer
By The Atlantic Culture Desk
Here are 24 books to read before fall comes around.
Seven Books for People Figuring Out Their Next Move
By Xochitl Gonzalez
These titles are great tools for anyone trying to navigate new opportunities, new places, or new phases of life.
Still Curious?
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The one book everyone should read: The Atlantic’s staffers on the books they share—again and again
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Six books to read before you get to the airport: The fact that we regularly float six or seven miles above the Earth is worth our fascination and attention.
Other Diversions
P.S.
I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. Belinda J. Kein shared the image above.
I’ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks.
— Isabel
