Books of the 2022 Spring Season

“You’re saved if you have a book, whether you’re at the DMV or your heart is breaking.” — Selma Blair

There’s a book on this list for most situations, including DMV drudgery and broken hearts. We’ll be spending the summer re-reading our way through the books of our 2022 spring season. Read along with us!

The Chicago Humanities Festival is proud to partner with Seminary Co-op Bookstores as our official bookseller.

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Want to become a chef, a diplomat, an activist? Written by experts in their fields, these books offer some pro-tips on where to start.

Lessons from the Edge: A Memoir by Marie Yovanovitch

My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi

We Need To Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy by Eboo Patel

Our favorite summer activity is relaxing on the beach with a good summer read. These novels and memoirs are the perfect sunbathing material.

Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir by Bob Odenkirk

Deaf Utopia: A Memoir—and a Love Letter to a Way of Life by Nyle DiMarco

Hello, Molly!: A Memoir by Molly Shannon

Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance by John Waters

Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair

Pure Colour: A Novel by Sheila Heti

We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu

Politics are super interesting and often complicated—these books break down topics ranging from gender violence to the filibuster.

Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence by Anita Hill

The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure by Yascha Mounk

Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy by Adam Jentleson

Liberalism and Its Discontents by Francis Fukuyama

Red Carpet: Hollywood, China, and the Global Battle for Cultural Supremacy by Erich Schwartzel

Do you love history? Here are some fascinating true stories.

Architects of an American Landscape: Henry Hobson Richardson, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Reimagining of America's Public and Private Spaces by Hugh Howard

Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands by Kelly Lytle Hernández

The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman

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