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The Read Well Podcast

The 11 Books We're Reading in Book Club 2025 - 2026


11 Books for a Year of Deep Reading

Hello Reader,

One of my favorite moments every year is sharing the new reading list with all of you—and this year, it’s especially good. I’ve spent the past few months thinking carefully about the arc of our year: what kinds of conversations we want to have, what stories will challenge us, and how we can keep growing together as readers and thinkers.

We’re covering a lot of ground this time around—classics, sci-fi, philosophy, memoir, nature writing, and even a trip back to Ancient Greece. Some of these books will feel like old friends, some will stretch us, and a few might just change the way we see the world.

Here’s what we’re reading together:


📘 June 17 – July 17, 2025
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
A devastating and beautiful portrait of American resilience. Get ready for big emotions and unforgettable prose.

📙 July 29 – August 26, 2025
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
A sweeping conversation about why stories matter—perfect for the deep thinkers (that’s us!).

📕 September 2 – September 24, 2025
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Dystopia, consumerism, and engineered happiness. It's unsettling, provocative, and always timely.

📗 October 7 – October 23, 2025
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Quiet, masterful storytelling about memory, regret, and the cost of loyalty. Bring tissues.

📘 November 4 – December 9, 2025
An Immense World by Ed Yong
Let’s zoom out—and in—and marvel at how animals experience life. This one’s pure wonder.

📙 December 16, 2025 – January 2, 2026
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Time travel, slavery, and survival. A genre-bending classic that grips you from page one.

📕 January 13 – February 8, 2026
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
A wise, humane book about aging, medicine, and what it means to live well to the very end.

📗 February 17 – February 28, 2026
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
Short, gorgeous, and haunting. Baldwin always gets to the emotional core.

📘 March 10 – April 3, 2026
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
A mind-bending look at utopia, anarchy, and the human cost of ideals.

📙 April 14 – April 29, 2026
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Wicked wit, beauty, and decay. It’s Wilde at his most chilling—and most quotable.

📕 May 12 – June 29, 2026
The Odyssey by Homer
Epic in every sense. We’ll end our year with a hero’s journey through gods, monsters, and memory.


More details will come as we get closer to each book, but for now—mark your calendars, stock your shelves, and let’s get excited. It’s going to be a good year.

If You Haven't Joined Book Club Yet, You Can Learn More Here:

👋 Until next time, read slowly – take notes – apply the ideas.

-Eddy


New This Week:

This Week's Book Recommendation

Red Rising by Pierce Brown


Listen to the Podcast

Why I Quit Some Books (and You Should Too) | EP99


Watch the Show

Season 3 Book Club Announced!


What's New at Edgewater Bookstore

Get Stocked Up for Book Club with 10% OFF!

This Week's Book Recommendation

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

This book caught me off guard.

Think The Hunger Games meets Gladiator meets Ender’s Game, but bloodier and with better political theory. But what surprised me—and what really stayed with me—is how deeply this book wrestles with morality, identity, and the price of transformation.

Darrow, the main character, is thrown into an impossible situation and forced to become something he hates to destroy it from the inside. The book isn’t just about rebellion or revenge—it’s about what happens to a person when they’re asked to lie, kill, and betray in service of something bigger. Red Rising asks: How do you hold onto your soul when the world demands you sacrifice it?

It’s also just pure, page-turning fun. The kind of book that makes you stay up way too late.

If you’re in the mood for something that delivers both entertainment and substanceRed Rising is a fantastic pick.

And once you start, fair warning: you’ll probably want to read the whole series.

Listen to The Podcast

Why I Quit Some Books (and You Should Too) | EP99

I read to spend time with people—fictional or not—that make me think, make me laugh, or just feel like good company. In this episode, I talk about why Less by Andrew Sean Greer worked for me, why Artemis by Andy Weir didn’t, and why I give every novel exactly 50 pages to win me over. This isn’t about snobbery—it’s about using your time wisely.

Watch the Show

11 Books for a Year of Deep Reading

video preview

This is episode 100 of The Read Well Podcast, and to mark the moment, I’m sharing the 11 books we’ll be reading together from June 2025 to June 2026 in season 3 of the Book Club. If you’re someone who wants to read more deeply, especially when it comes to philosophy and big ideas, I think you’ll want to see what’s on the list. I’ll also explain how to join us for book club—whether you want to talk, listen, or just read alongside a community.

Get the Books

You can get all the books for book club at Edgewater Bookstore. Note, if you get them all at once, you save 10%

Hi, I'm Eddy.

How Can I Help?

Feel free to respond to this email. Let me know how I can make your experience in our reading community better, or if you have questions, I'm all ears.

As always, read slowly - take notes - apply the ideas.

-Eddy

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