Need help building a summer reading list for yourself or your student? Here is what the Galin team thinks you should be reading over the summer break! Looking for other ways to keep your student’s skills sharp this summer? Get started with academic tutoring now. Call 608-841-1053 or reach out to info@galined.com to learn more.
Keeping the Faith by Brenda Wineapple
Recommended by Dan (Managing Director of Test Prep)
This book is about the Scopes trial 100 years ago. There are SO MANY themes that are relevant today — science vs. faith, tradition vs. modernity, big city vs. small town. Highly recommend!
Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Recommended by Dan (Managing Director of Test Prep)
Engaging, creative futuristic science fiction. There are also two sequel books that I haven’t read yet, but I want to!
Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection No Matter the Distance by Erica Dhawan
Recommended by Christina (tutor)
Its great advice for anyone who ever has to take virtual meetings/classes – which is a lot of us these days!
The Stand by Stephen King
Recommended by Kara (college counselor)
For anyone who loves dystopian novels, this one is for you! This books is LONG, but you get to learn about the depth of the human psyche, restructuring society when all you’ve known has been wiped away, and the age old war between good and evil.
Martyr!: A novel by Kaveh Akbar
Recommended by Ashley (Assistant Director)
A wildly compelling story of friendship, family, art, addiction, and the desire to live a meaningful life. The characters and structure are complex and if you care about art and poetry, you will appreciate the novel’s treatment of those subjects.
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
Recommended by Erick (essay coach)
A captivating novel set between the 1950s and 1980s Iran with an interwoven plot about friendship, feminism, and politics. A staple read that introduces a surface-level history of Iran during these periods, but also a beautiful portrait of how people felt.
The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
Recommended by Erick (essay coach)
It’s a light weekend read that transports you into a whimsical world, painting the beauty of books in each chapter. If you’re in a reading rut or if you enjoy magical stories about cats and other worlds, then this is the book for you!
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Recommended by Chris (Galin Scholars)
It provides a unique perspective on time and space as six astronauts in a space station orbit the earth 16 times in one 24 hour day. The incredible speed at which they travel around the earth contrasts with their slow contemplation of both their own lives and humanity.
Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn’t Matter and What Does by Ned Scott Laff and Scott Carlson
Recommended by Susan (Director of College Counseling)
This is a great read for anyone about to attend college. It provides a helpful roadmap to help students understand their interests and how those interests can be explored academically and professionally.
The Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Recommended by Ethan (college counselor)
I recommend this book because of its rich world-building and exploration of human nature across time and space. Folks with a love for the long-view of history will especially enjoy!
Capital of Mind: The Idea of a Modern American University by Adam R. Nelson
Recommended by Max (academic coach)
As someone who attends a university, works at a university, and works with students enrolled at universities or intending to do so after high school, Nelson’s Capital of Mind helps us understand the historical context for how American universities came to serve a specific function in the development of the American economic and civil spheres, functions that the they continue to serve today.
The Measure by by Nikki Erlick
Recommended by Ellen (Education Director)
This book followed a few main characters and how their decisions affected their lives and the lives of those around them. It was the kind of book I had to force myself to put down but couldn’t stop thinking about when I wasn’t reading it. It was a book you can read with your teenager or a bookclub because there is so much to discuss. I highly recommend this book!
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
Recommended by Rebeccah (tutor)
The world is getting more dependent on data. From medical trials to determine what medicine is safe to the emergence of AI in all facets of our lives, data is driving decisions we make and how we live our lives. However, there’s a problem with this: data isn’t representative of all people. This book explores how women are systematically underrepresented in all sorts of data and how this is actively harming women around the world. Not only did this book help me understand how the world works better, but it also helped me understand a bias that exists that I may not have otherwise noticed. You know what they say – the first step to eliminating bias is learning it exists in the first place!
I recommend the audiobook as well; it’s narrated by the author and was exceptionally engaging.
Yellowface by RF Kuang
Recommended by Yer (tutor)
It provides a peek into the world of writing and publishing with a sprinkle of suspense and paranoia. Readers are left contemplating on real life concerns such as social media and cultural appropriation.
The Golden Ticket by Irena Smith
Recommended by Erica (college counselor)
Written by a former Stanford college admissions officer, Smith shares her experiences as a student herself, then wife and parent to three struggling children through the framework of college essay prompts. Smith’s voice is snarky, brilliant, and authentic (exactly what we hope to capture in college essays), but more importantly, her book made me feel so much compassion for the parents and students I work with—and for everyone trying their hardest to do right by the people they love.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Recommended by Jess A.
It is a creepy twist and turn mystery. You will never guess the end.
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
Recommended by Ellen (college counselor)
I could not put this one down! It is a novel that tells the story of two young adult siblings who are estranged. They reunite at their mother’s funeral and learn about family secrets that their parents never shared while they were alive. It is set in modern-day California but also follows their parents’ lives in the Caribbean and their experience as immigrants first to the United Kingdom and then to the United States.
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Recommended by Keith (tutor)
As F. Scott Fitzgerald’s debut novel, this book was written before he was famous or established. I consider it his finest work, and it provides a wonderful commentary on the Jazz Age.
James by Perival Everett
Recommended by Lynn (client services)
It offers a powerful reimagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim. The writing is compelling and the themes are timely.
The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe
Recommended by Griffin (tutor)
Poe combines the visceral appeal of a good horror story with prose that, if often purple, shows a mastery of craft. It shows students an immediate connection between the kind of intimidating language they might find in a Shakespeare or a Milton, though slightly more accessible, with a short but fascinatingly macabre story. This material is harder than anything that would appear on the ACT, but this combination of a challenge with some immediate payoff is perfect training material for the gym of the mind.
Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil
Recommended by Zeke (tutor)
This book focuses on what’s inside an algorithm’s “black box.” AI is ultimately an algorithm. Understanding the flaws of systems that have rapidly taken over control of various industries will be helpful in anyone’s life. Also a great nonfiction option to practice reading something that may help with the ACT’s reading and science sections.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Recommended by Zeke (tutor)
It’s a classic book that will always be relevant. Also by a classic author. One of my all time favorite books, so much so, I named my flame-point cat Guy after the main protagonist.
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Recommended by Zeke (tutor)
It’s a single short story that takes about 30 minutes to read. It’s a great dipping in point for harder readings from a phenomenal author. It’s also one I recommend because I love it so much.
1984 by George Orwell
Recommended by Anand (tutor)
George Orwell’s masterful writing hooks the reader in with his intense storytelling of a rebellion against a controlling government and in the process provokes his reader into critically thinking about freedom, truth, and the power of surveillance in our world, topics that are ever so relevant in our world today.
