{"id":146174,"date":"2026-06-26T12:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T16:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=146174"},"modified":"2026-06-26T18:49:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T22:49:02","slug":"pd-the-bookshelf-the-2026-public-discourse-summer-reading-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=146174","title":{"rendered":"(PD) The Bookshelf: The 2026\u00a0Public Discourse\u00a0Summer Reading List\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Patrick Brown, Contributing Editor<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am sure I am far from the only member of the Public Discourse <\/em>family to be preparing for the release of Christopher Nolan\u2019s adaption of The Odyssey <\/em>later this summer. In part because the tale was initially orally transmitted (and in part because it\u2019s easier to sneak in chunks of listening time while watching kids at the park), I made a point of picking an audiobook recording\u2014Sir Ian McKellen reads the Fagles translation with characteristic aplomb. Samuel Moyn\u2019s Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth\u2014and What to Do About It<\/em><\/a> is on my list for professional reasons, and Leander Schaerlaeckens\u2019 history of the U.S. soccer program The Long Game: U.S. Men\u2019s Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top<\/em><\/a> is helping me get in the World Cup spirit. Then I have to decide whether I want to make room for Caro Clare Burke\u2019s viral tradwife novel Yesteryear \u2026<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexandra Davis, Managing Editor<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My reading group is taking on Les Miserables<\/em><\/a> this summer, so I am currently carrying around what I fondly call my \u201cbrick\u201d with me in my diaper bag. It\u2019s quite the conversation piece when I whip it out at the pool, all 1,100+ pages of it. It\u2019s been a blast sending our favorite witty Hugo lines to our group text thread and declaring which parts of the narrative have left us decidedly \u201cnot okay.\u201d In all seriousness, Les Mis <\/em>will always remain among my favorite stories about human complexity, concupiscence, and redemption. May we all aspire to be Jean Valjean when, at times, we are regrettably more like Javert. (Our reading group will also enjoy a screening of the 2012 movie this summer, which is a masterpiece, Russell Crowe\u2019s singing notwithstanding.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a much lighter, cannot-put-it-down read, I\u2019m nearly finished with the Catholic author (and occasional\u00a0PD<\/em>\u00a0writer) Claire Swinarski\u2019s novel\u00a0The<\/em>\u00a0Supper Club Saints<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve read a contemporary novel that so searingly captures the most honest and often unflattering angles of a mother\u2019s interior dialogue. Not to mention, it\u2019s often laugh-out-loud funny. Claire does enjoy some salty language, though, so\u00a0caveat emptor<\/em>, especially if you\u2019re listening to an audio version….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>

https:\/\/t.co\/mqdGZTdRDW<\/a> Here\u2019s what our editors are reading this summer.<\/p>— Public Discourse (@PublicDiscourse) June 25, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>