---
title: (Almost) Turning the Page on Summer
date: 2022-08-10T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/almost-turning-the-page-on-summer"
section: Articles
---
# (Almost) Turning the Page on Summer

*August 10, 2022* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10)


> Terps Recommend Must-Reads for That Last-minute Beach Trip

*Shutterstock 643434907 1920x1080 — UMD faculty, staff and students offered up their ideas for books to bring on your last-minute beach trip.*

Maybe this was the summer you swore you were finally going to tackle “Anna Karenina.” Or work through the whole Pulitzer Prize winner list. Or delve into an unexplored genre–speculative sci-fi or magical realism or dystopian fiction.

But now it’s August, the month when we reckon with summer’s end and all we’ve done or failed to do. If there’s a beach trip in your immediate future, you can at least catch up on your literary ambitions, and get immersed in what might be your next favorite book as waves lap at your feet.

We asked University of Maryland faculty, staff and students to share with us which books they’d pack along with the sunscreen and beach umbrella.



*“Crying in H Mart: A Memoir” by Michelle Zauner book cover — Courtesy of Knopf*



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*“Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ” by Giulia Enders book cover — Courtesy of Greystone Books*



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*“Happy-Go-Lucky” by David Sedaris book cover — Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company*



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*“Heaven, My Home” by Attica Locke book cover — Courtesy of Little, Brown and Company*



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*“The Huntress” by Kate Quinn book cover — Courtesy of Harper Collins*



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*“A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” by Donald Miller book cover — Courtesy of Nelson*



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*“The Orphan Master’s Son” by Adam Johnson book cover — Courtesy of Random House*



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*“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir book cover*



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*“Winter Work” by Dan Fesperman book cover — Courtesy of Penguin Random House*




**Topics:** [Arts & Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture)


**Tags:** [Books](https://today.umd.edu/topic/books)