The 10 Books You Should Be Reading This July 2025

With the arrival of July comes the realization that 2025 is — somehow! — halfway over. As befits a month where many things seem to be in flux, our recommended reading for the month also covers a lot of territory. These 10 books encompass candid memoirs, emotionally affecting fiction and a strange trip into art-world history. Whether you’re looking for something escapist or to bolster your understanding of the world, these books have you covered.

Laura Poppick, Strata: Stories from Deep Time (July 15)

For some writers, exploring a particular moment in time isn’t enough — instead, they need to think on a planetary scale. That’s fueled notable books by John McPhee and Robert Macfarlane, and it’s done the same for Laura Poppick’s Strata. In delving into the very stuff of our planet, Poppick illuminates transformative moments from history — and explores where we might go from here.

Sam Kean, Dinner with King Tut: How Rogue Archaeologists Are Re-Creating the Sights, Sounds, Smells, and Tastes of Lost Civilizations (July 8)

It’s worth remembering that the ancient world was as rich in sensory detail as our own. When you read about Roman toilets or painted statues, you can get a sense of the complexities of life thousands of years ago. In Dinner with King Tut, Sam Kean chronicles the work done by the archaeologists seeking unorthodox answers to questions about the past.

Richard Mabey, The Accidental Garden: Gardens, Wilderness, and the Space In Between (July 15)

In recent years, you may have read about the practice of rewilding, which is exactly what it sounds like. In his book The Accidental Garden, Richard Mabey reflects on his own experience with transforming the land around him. “We do what humans do in gardens, and allow other organisms to do what they want,” he explained in a 2024 interview. “Allow them to become subjects rather than objects, and effectively become fellow gardeners.”

John Gregory Dunne, Vegas: A Memoir of a Dark Season (July 22)

In 1974, writer John Gregory Dunne published a book about his time in Las Vegas during a period of personal instability and frustration. In the 51 years since then, it’s acquired plenty of admirers, and now a new edition — complete with an introduction by Sweetbitter author Stephanie Danler — is here for the rest of us to immerse ourselves in Dunne’s account of a singular city.

Zara Anishanslin, The Painter’s Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution (July 1)

Look closely enough, and you’ll start to see a fascinating relationship between art and war — with everything from Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to Pink Floyd’s “Hey Hey Rise Up” falling under that loose heading. Historian Zara Anishanslin explores an under-reported aspect of that category, chronicling the lives of artists who used their talents to advocate for the United States during the Revolutionary War.

Lawrence Burney, No Sense in Wishing (July 8)

When Lawrence Burney first made a name for himself, it was through the creation of True Laurels, a website covering art and culture in Baltimore at a time when few others were. Burney’s new essay collection brings that wide-ranging perspective to a host of subjects, from his own family history to travels overseas to Lagos and elsewhere.

Aatish Taseer, A Return to Self: Excursions in Exile (July 15)

You may recognize Aatish Taseer’s byline from his work at T Magazine, where much of what became A Return to Self first appeared. What Taseer has done in this book is impressive: he’s found a way to blend evocative portraits of destinations around the world with his own history in consistently fascinating ways.

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Joseph Lee, Nothing More of This Land: Community, Power, and the Search for Indigenous Identity (July 15)

For his book Nothing More of This Land, journalist Joseph Lee explored big questions both close to home and on the other side of the world, drawing on his experience growing up Aquinnah Wampanoag. In their review, Kirkus called this “[a] searching and timely exploration of indigeneity and its many interpretations.”

Jonathan Lackman and Zachary J. Pinson, The Woman with Fifty Faces: Maria Lani & the Greatest Art Heist That Never Was (July 22)

“The Greatest Art Heist That Never Was” is an intriguing phrase, and this work of graphic nonfiction has a fascinating story at its heart. In this book, writer Jonathan Lackman and artist Zachary J. Pinson explored the curious case of Maria Lani, who posed for dozens of works of art in the first half of the 20th century — then vanished, along with the art she’d inspired.

Issa Quincy, Absence (July 15)

In his debut novel, Issa Quincy brings together seemingly disparate lives and locations for a moving exploration of interpersonal connections and unexpected conflicts. In a recent interview, Quincy spoke of seeking to inspire specific feelings in his readers: “The books that have always stuck with me are Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. I think I am always trying to recapture the feelings those books gave me.”