Explore Graham’s 2026 Summer Reading List, a thoughtfully curated selection from our Quantitative Strategies team designed to broaden thinking across technology, culture, and human behavior. From immersive fiction and compelling memoirs to thought-provoking works on science, culture, and society, each book offers fresh perspectives for curious minds navigating an increasingly complex world, with every recommendation accompanied by personal reflections and insights from members of the Quantitative Strategies team.
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
N’s take: “One of the great Science Fiction works and the first in the Hyperion Cantos series. The book is so rich and dense in layered storytelling, I think I need to re-read it myself. Framed as a pilgrimage to a far-distant planet (Hyperion), Simmons explores core themes – destiny, meaning, suffering and agency – through the book’s several main characters. Written nearly 40 years ago, some elements of the story touch on the power and dangers of AI, making this a book both scary and worth reading right now.”
Paradise Lost by John Milton
I’s take: “Some classics are classics for a reason. In Paradise Lost, Milton recounts the parallel falls of man from Eden and the rebel angels from Heaven in gorgeous blank verse, shading in these familiar figures with tones of moral gray. Where does evil come from — are obedience and ambition virtues or vices — and how do these questions echo from 17th-century England into our own moment?”
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
O’s take: “A strange character, claiming to be Professor of Dark Magic, visits Moscow in the Stalin era of Russia. Turns out, the Devil and his entourage are here to turn the city upside down. While they are having fun, we get to read an interesting interpretation of the story of Pontius Pilatus, Jesus and Matthew Levi. Manuscripts don’t burn in the end.”
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
A’s take: “This is of course a classic: a humorous science fiction series by Douglas Adams, that follows the adventures of the last living human, Arthur Dent, and his alien friend, Ford Prefect.”
The Women by Kristin Hannah
K’s take: “This haunting, beautifully written novel captures the devastating trauma of a nurse in the Vietnam War and the deep injustice she faces upon returning home to a society that refuses to acknowledge her service. It’s tragically sad yet powerful, highlighting both the cost of war and the painful silence imposed on the women who lived through it.”
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
I’s take: “For those in need of a dark, twisty laugh wrapped in a philosopher’s cloak. In Waiting for Godot, Beckett follows two men who wait endlessly for a friend who never arrives. Absurd humor, circular dialogue, and repetition underscore the human desire for purpose and the strange ways we both mark and endure time. As nothing happens, existential drama ensues. The result is a hypnotic work that asks whether meaning is something we find, invent, or just cross our fingers and hope it shows up.”
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy
K’s take: “A memoir by a world-renowned author which grapples with the complexities of interpersonal relationships, human emotions, and social responsibilities. Roy is an eloquent writer known for her fiction work (read The God of Small Things) as well as her political essays (read Walking with the Comrades). This memoir weaves together her experiences that brought these pieces to life and shares what shaped her to become a staunch activist and a deeply caring human being. More than anything, this book is a passionate account of her confusing relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, another remarkable and revolutionary woman who championed various feminist reforms in southern India. It reveals the troubling and conflicting nature of her life, filled with reverence for her mother’s resolve and a longing for her mother’s love.”
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
K’s take: “A detailed account of how gaps in data collection and research can shape the world in ways we often overlook. Filled with facts, statistics, case studies, and real-world examples, the book explores how data bias appears across many areas of life — from healthcare and workplace design to urban planning and public policy — and highlights the broader impact these blind spots can have on everyday experiences.”
Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks by Adam Nayman
I’s take: “Nayman writes an accessible yet rigorous guide which deepens the exploration of one of America’s great filmmakers, treating each of his movies as both standalone projects and as part of the larger body of work. Nayman blends visual study, close analysis, and cultural context to trace PTA’s evolution from nervy prodigy to legendary auteur.”
Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham
B’s take: “This account of the Chernobyl disaster is both detailed and gripping. A detailed account of catastrophic failures in risk management.”
Never Stop: Life, Leadership, and What It Takes to Be Great by Dan Hurley and Ian O’Connor
R’s take: “Dan Hurley is probably the most well-known basketball coach in US today, having brought the UConn men’s team to winning back-to-back NCAA championships. This autobiography traces his upbringing under a legendary but demanding father, constant comparisons to his star athlete brother, his evolution from a volatile young coach fighting through setbacks and anxieties, and the high stakes decision to turn down the Los Angeles Lakers head coach job offer after huge success in college basketball. Hurley’s voice is blunt, self-aware, and inspirational, exactly what fans expect from the face of college basketball.”
The Economic Consequences of the Peace by J.M. Keynes
A’s take: “I recently got my hands on The Economic Consequences of the Peace by J.M. Keynes. Having read The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money and The Means of Prosperity before coming to this book, I regret the order in which life presented Keynes to me as I appreciated the opportunity to discover an earlier Keynes, and a very different side of an author I had already strictly catalogued in my mind.
I approached this title in search of historical context on the events leading to WWII. Keynes’ book offers a contemporary description of the social, economic, and political juncture before and after WWI. With the benefit of hindsight, the book presents strong explanatory arguments for the disarray in which Europe found itself just a generation later. Writing almost immediately after the war, Keynes’ portrayal of Clemenceau, Lloyd George and Wilson and their discussions at Versailles describes his view on the expected consequences of the imposition of revanchist reparations on Germany, placing a burden that far exceeded the country’s economic capacity for repayment. Keynes presents an economic argument that puts the Treaty of Versailles at the center of his view that ignoring the economic reality and hardships the Treaty imposed on German citizens would have dire consequences for Europe.
It is certainly a book with many things to learn from and reflect on. Much of its significance extends beyond the economic consequences of the Treaty of Versailles and into the deeper question of how Economics reflects and affects humanity – a question at the core of his views on human nature, social order and government that is reflected in his later publications for which he is best known.”
The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World by Christine Rosen
N’s take: “We all know it – digital communication and social media are governing our lives, and aside from some positive impacts this may have in terms of convenience and “frictionlessness”, the book explores all the negative effects that our hyper-mediated world has on our health and human experience. It explores what we lose when we replace physical interactions with both people and objects in our environment with digital tools and services, and how what looks like “progress” on the outside may not always be it.”
Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization by Bill McKibben
K’s take: “This book offers a cautiously optimistic view of how we can ensure a cleaner and more just future by making a rapid shift to solar energy. The author outlines how we have the necessary technology as well as the resources, and that those are not the things holding back progress.”
Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control by Stuart Russell
R’s take: “Written by the author of one of the most popular AI textbooks, this book puts timely emphasis on AI safety and points out the greatest risk from advanced AI is alignment — systems pursuing goals that don’t fully reflect human values. Russell proposes a new paradigm for AI design: machines should be built to be uncertain about human preferences so they remain corrigible, deferential, and aligned with human well‑being. The book covers near‑term issues like autonomous weapons, algorithmic misuse, and societal disruption, while also exploring long‑term existential risks. Yet Russell remains optimistic that beneficial AI is achievable with the right foundations.”
The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us by Benjamin Recht
D’s take: “This book explores how mathematical optimization has come to shape modern decision-making while questioning the extent to which it can truly improve human judgment. This question is highly relevant today, with Recht making a compelling case about the trade-offs associated with relying on mathematical rationality alone.”
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