Summer reading: not just for kids anymore!

It's a great time for adults to mix up their reading, too—whether you're hunting down a classic beach read (even if you're stuck in the city) or finally cracking open that giant biography you've been meaning to get to for ages.

If you're open to suggestions, we've borrowed the theme from the kids' and teens' summer reading program: space! Life on other planets, Earth's place in the cosmos, interstellar travel, intergalactic conflict... the theme opens up some great subjects for adults, too.



So strap in, get ready for blast-off, check out the books below, and visit our Summer Reading 2019 site for our picks for all ages.

Suspenseful, Detailed, & Realistic

Immerse yourself in another world with three novels that take you out of this world and into a brand new one.

The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord

Planet-hop with three students at an intergalactic school for the psychically gifted.

Semiosis by Sue Burke

What if plants could think, and communicate, and enact their will? A group of colonists from Earth, newly landed on a planet that wasn't their intended target, is about to find out.



Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

Robinson is best known for hard science-fiction with a twist about social dynamics. In this story of a dying spaceship bound for a planet that may not be fit for humans, he explores both intergenerational and interplanetary conflict.



True stories

Learn something new about the past and the (possible) future.

Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt

"Talk about forgotten history!" one reviewer exclaimed about this story of the women who worked as "human computers" in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and were instrumental the U.S. space program. A great book club pick.



The Moon: A History for the Future by Oliver Morton

Did you know that a piece of Earth's surface was lodged in the surface of the moon? Neither did we, before we read about this book. Check it out.



Out There: A Scientific Guide to Alien Life, Antimatter, and Human Space Travel (for the Cosmically Curious) by Michael Wall

One biologist and writer's take on alien life and the possibility that there really is something out there.

Fun stuff

A little humor goes a long way in zero gravity.

Space Opera by Catherynne Valente

Get ready for Galactivision! It's a galaxy-wide competition, begun after "intelligent space-faring life" nearly extinguished itself. Now, representatives from Earth must prove themselves worthy of the planet's continued existence.​



​Artemis by Andy Weir

Lots of people read Weir's breakout novel, The Martian, and his 2017 novel deserves just as big an audience. This one takes place on the the moon, stars a part-time smuggler who gets in over her head, and winds up involved in an intergalactic technology war.



Waste of Space by Gina Damico

Summer: a good time for grownups to lighten up and try a YA crossover! This is a dark satire, a send-up of reality TV culture that puts 10 teens into a life-or-death situation inside a spaceship that may or may not be orbiting Earth. The writing is sharp, the characters are funny and self-aware, and the story hits the sweet spot between silly and dark.

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Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!