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Not Your Usual Summer Reading

For some, the summer is a time to indulge in frothy beach reading: the latest chick lit or globetrotting, highly unbelievable thriller.

But book critic Maureen Corrigan has taken a different tack this year: She's catching up on more substantial reading that she hasn't had time for yet.

Corrigan found that David McCullough's 1776 piqued her curiosity about that era of American history. Now, she wants to tackle other books to learn more.

Corrigan discusses her catch-up reading list -- and other books to which it has led her.

Maureen Corrigan's Summer Catch-Up Reading List

1776 by David McCullough

Making an Exit by Elinor Fuchs

Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller

Books to Read after 1776

George Washington: Man and Monument by Marcus Cunliffe

The American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood

Washington's Crossing by David Hackett Fischer

Copyright 2023 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Maureen Corrigan, book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, is The Nicky and Jamie Grant Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is an associate editor of and contributor to Mystery and Suspense Writers (Scribner) and the winner of the 1999 Edgar Award for Criticism, presented by the Mystery Writers of America. In 2019, Corrigan was awarded the Nona Balakian Citation for Excellence in Reviewing by the National Book Critics Circle.