The New Yorker’s Summer 2026 Pocket Reads: A Curated Selection
The New Yorker has unveiled its summer reading list featuring a variety of short books. Recommendations include Muriel Spark's classics, "The Girls of Slender Means" and "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," suggested by Rachel Syme. Sarah Larson highlights Robyn Hitchcock's memoir "1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left," while Jennifer Wilson recommends Alexander Pushkin's "The Captain's Daughter," translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler. Other notable mentions include Gerald Durrell's "My Family and Other Animals," Nancy Mitford's "Wigs on the Green," and Patrick Modiano's "Ballerina," translated by Mark Polizzotti.
Key facts
- The New Yorker published a summer reading list of short books.
- Rachel Syme recommends Muriel Spark's 'The Girls of Slender Means' (1963) and 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' (1961).
- Sarah Larson recommends Robyn Hitchcock's memoir '1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left'.
- Jennifer Wilson recommends Alexander Pushkin's 'The Captain's Daughter' (translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler).
- Kyle Chayka recommends Gerald Durrell's 'My Family and Other Animals' (1956).
- Jon Allsop recommends Nancy Mitford's 'Wigs on the Green' (1935).
- Naomi Fry recommends Darcy O'Brien's 'A Way of Life, Like Any Other' (1977).
- Helen Rosner recommends Lady Caroline Blackwood's 'Great Granny Webster'.
- Alexandra Schwartz recommends Patrick Modiano's 'Ballerina' (2023, translated by Mark Polizzotti).
- Hua Hsu recommends Amit Chaudhuri's 'Sojourn'.
Entities
Artists
- Muriel Spark
- Robyn Hitchcock
- Alexander Pushkin
- Gerald Durrell
- Nancy Mitford
- Darcy O'Brien
- Lady Caroline Blackwood
- Patrick Modiano
- Amit Chaudhuri
- Rachel Syme
- Sarah Larson
- Jennifer Wilson
- Kyle Chayka
- Jon Allsop
- Naomi Fry
- Helen Rosner
- Alexandra Schwartz
- Hua Hsu
- Robert Chandler
- Elizabeth Chandler
- Mark Polizzotti
- Josh O'Connor
- Brian Eno
- Virginia Woolf
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
- Yemelyan Pugachev
- Catherine the Great
- Tsar Peter III
- Ivan the Terrible
- Zelda Fitzgerald
- Holly Golightly
- Philip Larkin
- Jeanne Moreau
- Miles Davis
- Kenzaburo Oe
- Rachel Cusk
- W. G. Sebald
- Oswald Mosley
- Unity Mitford
- Diana Mitford
- Louis Malle
Institutions
- The New Yorker
- Winchester College
- Marcia Blaine School for Girls
- The Paris Review
- NYRB Classics
- ITV
- Booker Prize
- British Union of Fascists
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Corfu
- Greece
- Cotswolds
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Paris
- France
- Berlin
- Germany
- Siberia
- Russia