May 2026 Picks for Higher Education

REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • Two sisters examine what they owe each other and what they are willing to sacrifice to make their dreams come true in this “epic story” (Reese Witherspoon) from New York Times bestselling author Beck Dorey-Stein.

“By turns introspective, inquisitive, and funny, the book is a love letter to nature and the solace it can provide.”—The New Yorker Now in paperback and featuring a new afterword, eye-opening essays about searching for peace in the cacophony of birds and discovering a world of meaning in small moments—from award-winning actor Lili Taylor.

The never-before-published final novel by cult feminist author Elaine Kraf, exploring what happens when a drained writer fakes her death and joins a mysterious club for failing artists

From a brilliant longtime AI insider with intimate access to the world of Sam Altman's OpenAI from the beginning, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history, reshaping the planet in real time, from the cockpit of the company that is driving the frenzy

NATIONAL BESTSELLER An “enthralling” (Los Angeles Times) and “remarkably engrossing” (The New York Times Book Review) novel of literary and psychological suspense about the dark secrets that surface after the disappearance of a charismatic, mercurial teacher at an elite boarding school—by legendary author Joyce Carol Oates “Eerie, shocking, provoking, and beautifully written.”—Gillian Flynn“I found it mesmerizing front to back.”—Michael Connelly“I can’t remember the last time I read something so (darkly, disconcertingly) addictive.”—Rebecca Makkai“An extraordinary novel . . . unlike any other mystery I’ve read.”—Joseph Finder“Tom Ripley, eat your heart out.”—NPR“A classic psychological suspense.”—People AN ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)