UC Berkeley's Summer List 2025Like this list

16 items

• Foster

  Keegan, Claire,

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  "A young Irish girl is sent off by her dysfunctional family to live on a farm with distant relatives, a middle-aged couple. ...The couple’s attention and affection open the girl up as she, in turn, awakens something in them, reminding us of the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• On Savage Shores

  How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe

  Dodds Pennock, Caroline, 1978-

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  Pennock uncovers stories such as "Malintzin, a Nahua woman whose translation skills aided Hernán Cortés during the conquest of the Aztec empire. Indigenous generosity is woven throughout these stories, as many of these individuals shared their…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Solito

  a Memoir

  Zamora, Javier,

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  Zamora "details his journey from his native El Salvador to be reunited with his parents in the United States. His family trusts the coyotes to deliver the 9-year-old safely, but it is really a few of his fellow migrants — strangers before the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Psalm for the Wild-built

  Chambers, Becky,

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  "This is a tale about meaning and purpose; identity and nature; the generosity of listening to and learning from others; and the kindness of being curious and open-minded. If you are looking for a mental break from the daily news, this is a brief…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Spain in Our Hearts

  Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

  Hochschild, Adam

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  "The sacrifice of one’s own life for a noble cause might be the greatest act of generosity one can imagine. In the late 1930s, some 2,800 Americans illegally embarked for Spain to defend the democratic republic that had been violently besieged by…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Patriot

  a Memoir

  Navalʹnyĭ, Alekseĭ,

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  "Navalny was a Russian political activist severely poisoned in August 2020. Navalny blamed the poisoning on Russian President Vladimir Putin and was incarcerated in Russia on Jan. 17, 2021. While in prison, Navalny continued his activism, in part,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Nightingale

  Hannah, Kristin,

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  "The book focuses on two sisters, Vianne and her rebellious younger sister, Isabelle. They are estranged [in German-occupied France during World War II] and we see how they bravely navigate differing viewpoints and experiences through the paths they…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Snow Falling on Cedars

  Guterson, David

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  "Guterson sets his novel on a fictional island called San Piedro and traces the reverberations of the [World War II Japanese American] expulsion and its lasting effects on the relationships and everyday life of a small community, including the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Cue the Sun

  the Invention of Reality TV

  Nussbaum, Emily, 1966-

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  "Pulitzer Prize-winning author Emily Nussbaum reviews the history of reality television. From its earliest iterations to its current forms, this genre has been fraught with controversy throughout. ... This book made me reflect on how reality…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Stay True

  a Memoir

  Hsu, Hua, 1977-

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  "As Hua Hsu navigates the college experience at UC Berkeley, living alongside counterculture and punk rock scenes, he learns how to appreciate what is near. One of the lessons he learns is how friendships are built on unconditional reciprocity and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Small Things Like These

  Keegan, Claire,

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  "Set at Christmastime in 1980s Ireland, a man witnesses the suffering of a young woman that makes him consider his past and decide whether or not to stand against his community in order to ease the pain of another. Acts of beneficence and bravery…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Everything Sad Is Untrue

  (a True Story)

  Nayeri, Daniel,

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  "Although written for middle schoolers, even those no longer young at heart will sense their hearts expanding while reading this autobiographical novel. Joining the narrator’s immigration journey from Iran to Oklahoma, I found myself weaving those…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Grapes of Wrath

  Steinbeck, John, 1902-1968

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  "As the Joad family is forced from their farm in Oklahoma and into the fields of California, they are met with the reality that, like themselves, thousands of others are starving. Yet, from the moment they enter the government camp, the Joads are…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Sirens' Call

  How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource

  Hayes, Christopher, 1979-

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  "You’re probably reading this on a device that is likely to buzz, ring, or otherwise demand your attention at any moment. You may be doing so when there are live people about, whom you might instead be talking to and learning from. Wondering why…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• An Immense World

  How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us

  Yong, Ed,

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  "Yong explores fascinating realms of non-human perception. Not only does he fill the book with curious discoveries, such as how snakes used their forked tongues to smell the world and how catfish have taste buds all over their bodies, he also…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Summer Reading List: Generosity | UC Berkeley Library

  View on berkeley.edu

  View the full list and entire annotations, as well as a link to all the previous UC Berkeley Summer Reading Lists, going back to 1985!