Is It Too Soon To Talk About the Book of the Summer?
Probably, but let's do it anyway
Hi book pals,
The other weekend, I was up in Maine and we were driven inside by rain. Which is how we found ourselves at a brewery the afternoon of the Kentucky Derby. We spent a solid hour poring over the horse names and odds in my friend’s sports betting app. And not to sound like a total degenerate—but wow, gambling makes horse racing so much more fun! Even when you lose, which I did.
It got me thinking that it’s a shame there’s no gambling market for anything I have an outsize knowledge of—which, let’s face it, is mostly books. And while no money’s changing hands today, I thought it could be fun to place some early bets on the Book of the Summer.
What’s a Book of the Summer, you ask?
A Book of the Summer (BotS) is a big time best-seller with major crossover appeal. I’m not talking about a blockbuster romance that only gets one corner of the book world buzzing (it’s surprisingly hard to sell non-romance readers on a romance), I’m talking about that singular book that it suddenly feels like everyone you know is reading.
Think: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin in 2022.
Think: Yellowface by RF Kuang in 2023.
Think: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore or The Wedding People by Allison Espach in 2024.
It’s the kind of book that your cool younger sister, half your office, and your mom’s book club might all conceivably be reading… at the same time.
To spice things up, I also asked some bookish insiders for their bets, too. It’s all going behind the paywall because opinions and speculation (even a bit of gossip) are running rampant!
Alright book nerds, start your engines!
The Favorites
If I had to pick the most likely contenders, it would probably be these two.