A Summer Reading Challenge for 2024

Banner graphics for All Of It's Summer Reading Challenge

Jordan Lauf, producer for All Of It and the Get Lit with All Of It book club, explains how to participate in All Of It's Summer Reading Challenge.

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Brigid Bergin: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Brigid Bergin, filling in for Brian today. Now I want to tell you about something happening over at All Of It with Alison Stewart. It's a Summer Reading Challenge for 2024. I love anything that says challenge in the title. Here's the gist of it. Eight weeks, four books. There are just over eight weeks between now and Labor Day.

Can you read one book in any of four categories our friends at All Of It have put together? Two categories, by way of example, a classic you've been meaning to get to and read a book about or set in New York. Here to tell us about the Summer Reading Challenge is Jordan Lauf, producer for All Of It and of the Get Lit with All Of It book club. Hey, Jordan, glad to have you with us.

Jordan Lauf: Hey, Brigid. So glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

Brigid Bergin: Jordan, I'll ask you to list all the applicable categories, and then we're going to open up the phones to take some book recommendations. First, do you want to say anything more about what you're challenging listeners to participate in?

Jordan Lauf: Yes. I was thinking about back in school when you would maybe spin a wheel or have a list of categories you had to fill out for summer reading. I know for some of us, that felt really fun. For some of us, maybe that felt really daunting, but I wanted to create something similar for adults where I know in the summer we have this long list of books we want to get to, and it can feel overwhelming to pick and choose. I thought I would create some categories to help you narrow down your selection.

As you mentioned, there are seven of them, which we'll go through, I think, in a second, but the challenge is to read four books by the end of Labor Day weekend. We're hoping that you'll do one in any of the four categories. It's not like you're reading four books set in New York, you're reading one set in New York and one classic, et cetera, et cetera. There was some confusion about that the last time I announced it. It's one book in each of the four categories that you pick, or all seven if you really want to go for it.

Brigid Bergin: Oh, wow. As you mentioned, Jordan, I see that there are seven categories. Do you want to list all of them out?

Jordan Lauf: Yes. We've got a classic you've been meaning to get to, something by a debut novelist, a book recommended by a friend, and if you want, you can count me as that friend, a book about or set in New York, a book translated from another language, a book being turned into a TV series or movie, and a book you heard about on All Of It.

Brigid Bergin: Ooh, I love these categories. Listeners, we can take some of your recommendations for books in any of those categories. If you need to hear them again, here they are. A classic you've been meaning to get to, something by a debut novelist, a book recommended by a friend, a book about or set in New York, a book translated from another language, a book being turned into a TV series or a movie, or, and highly recommended, a book you heard about on All Of It.

Your book recommendations in any of those categories, you can call us at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. Let's help each other accomplish this challenge by sharing some great book recommendations. Now, Jordan, tell me, why did you pick these particular categories?

Jordan Lauf: I wanted something that was a little more specific than, say, a normal challenge, which might just say read a biography, read a new novel. I was hoping to get a little more specific so people might think creatively, and I also wanted to push people a little bit outside of their comfort zone. For example, a book translated from another language. It's really easy to only read Western literature, to only read books written in English, but I really find that once you expand into the world of translated literature-- and there are so many more options out there now.

I feel like that's a new trend we've been seeing is people really turning towards a literature written in other countries. It can really expand your worldview about what literature is. You can feel like you almost took a trip because you're going to a different place in the world. I just wanted to give people some inspiration to maybe pick up something new or pick up something they've been meaning to get to. That's where the a classic you've been meaning to get to comes in.

Since we're all New Yorkers or most of us listening are, or some of us in the Tri-State area, a book about or set in New York feels like a good way to ground yourself in the city this summer, and maybe even learn a little bit more about the city that we live in or the state. Yes, I just wanted to give people some fun guidelines as they're selecting their summer reads.

Brigid Bergin: Well, as our phone lines are filling up and we get through to set up our callers, I want to start, Jordan, with you. You brought a few recommendations, right? Let's hear some of the titles that you suggest in books translated from another language.

Jordan Lauf: Yes, and I should mention that you can find all of these recommendations that I'm about to share and more and also how to sign up for the challenge at wnyc.org/summerreading. If you're trying to write down what I'm saying right now, it's all online for you. wnyc.org/summerreading. For translated literature, the first one I'm going to recommend is not for the squeamish, but if you like horror, if you like something a little bit out of the box, I'm recommending Tender Is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica.

It's translated from Spanish, and it is a slim little novel. I think it's about 200 pages or maybe even under, about a future in which all animal meat has become contaminated, so human civilization has started raising other humans as livestock for consumption.

Brigid Bergin: Oh, my.

Jordan Lauf: It's very gross, I will say that, but it's a really interesting thought experiment about both what makes us human and also the depths of human depravity in a survival situation. It tells the story of a man who ends up taking home someone who was supposed to be raised "as livestock" and developing a relationship with that person. Again, not for the squeamish, but I find it really interesting.

If you're looking for more of a thriller, The Dinner by Herman Koch, translated from Dutch, is really fun. It's about two sets of parents who are at a dinner party, sorry, they're at a restaurant, and they're having this conversation that seems normal, but it turns out that their kids have done something really bad and they're trying to figure out what to do about it. You'll have to keep reading from there.

Brigid Bergin: Oh, my goodness. Well, two great recommendations to kick us off. Not surprisingly, Jordan, our lines are full. Listeners, as you come on, we're going to try to move through these recommendations quickly so we can get as many in as possible. I'm going to start with Gretchen in Chelsea. Gretchen, just give us your recommendation and if you remember what category it's in.

Gretchen: Well, the classic. Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. It is an adventure. It's not just a children's book. It's more than that. It's a great read.

Brigid Bergin: Gretchen, thank you so--

Gretchen: Treasure Island.

Brigid Bergin: Thank you for that call. Now, let's do Randy in Highland Lakes, New Jersey. Randy, what is your recommendation?

Randy: I am reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because I want to read Percival Everett's retelling from James, the slave's perspective, the book James, in a tandem.

Brigid Bergin: Great recommendation, Randy. Thank you for that. Let's go to Steve in Manhattan. Steve, what's your recommendation?

Steve: Thank you. My recommendation is a brand new book that's been well received. It's called Pets and the City. Pets and the City. It's written by a house call veterinarian who gains access through her work to all kinds of homes, from the rich and famous to the hoarders and the odd people in Manhattan. It's a delightful read. It's gotten great reviews, and Billy Joel even called it a great New York kind of book. That's obviously for the New York category.

Brigid Bergin: Great, Steve. Thank you for that. Let's go to Allie in the West Village. Allie, what's your recommendation?

Allie: From my book club, last year, my absolute favorite book was Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller. It is absolutely a gorgeous read.

Brigid Bergin: Did you know what category that fell in? Was that recommended by a friend?

Allie: It's got to be recommended by a friend because it was my book-- Yes, because it was my book club.

Brigid Bergin: Perfect. Thank you so much, Allie. Let's go to Tanya in South Amboy, New Jersey.

Tanya: Hi. I am recommending and getting ready to read You Dreamed of Empires. That is a translation, and I believe I also heard about it on All Of It, so I'm hitting two categories at once.

Brigid Bergin: That is great. So many good recommendations there. I think we have time for maybe two more if we can do them quickly. Let's try Leo in Metuchen, New Jersey. Quickly, what is your recommendation?

Leo: Recommended from a friend, I would recommend Born a Crime by Trevor Noah.

Brigid Bergin: All right, Leo, another recommendation for a friend. I think we're going to have to leave it there. Thank you to all of our callers with your recommendations. Remember, you can always also tweet them @BrianLehrer to share more recommendations. That's the wnyc.org/summerreadingchallenge. Though we could hear many more book recommendations, I want to thank Jordan Lauf, producer of All Of It and the Get Lit with All Of It book club for her recommendations. Jordan, thank you so much.

Jordan Lauf: Thanks so much for having me.

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