Summer 2026 Top Ten Reads

Summer is just around the corner. Students have long anticipated the break from learning to enjoy fun at the beach, mountains, or by the pool.

For many, it will provide an opportunity to seek out a book to read while lounging in the backyard, poolside, or even with our toes in the sand.

This summer has some promising reads for everyone.

Here are the ten must-reads for Summer 2026

Padre Pio’s American Daughter: The Story of Mary Pyle (Sophia Institute)

A spiritual companion to St. Padre Pio, Mary Pyle's life was not loud or dramatic but filled with love. Ordinary in appearance, heroic in self-gift, hers was a holiness shaped by obedience, Eucharistic devotion, and total trust. Today, as her cause for canonization gets underway, her story invites us to listen more closely to God's quiet call - and to discover where love, when followed fully, might lead us.

The Spiritual Legacy of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Fr. Charles Connor (Sophia Institute)

As we gear up for his long-awaited beatification, Fr. Charles Connor released this timely work analyzing the spiritual life of the Catholic Church’s “great communicator”.

In this book, Fr. Connor takes us deeper into how Fulton Sheen read hearts, brought the wanderers back to Christ, and even those who don’t know Christ to him.

The Heart of All Nations Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa (Ignatius)

Since 1990, Cardinal Pizzabella has lived and studied in the Holy Land. He started as a student of scripture and rose to Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.

He described the role as, “part radical and part museum curator—a radical in preaching and living the Gospel, but a protector of the Christian memory, faith, heritage and story that weave us into one believing people over the centuries”.

In his authorial debut, his eminence writes how we should bear witness to Christ with courage.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame- Victor Hugo

Released almost 200 years ago (March 1831 to be exact), Victor Hugo wrote this classic to save the beloved cathedral of Paris from modernization and even demolition.

It follows a deformed bell ringer who wanted to protect a gypsy woman from death.

Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity) (Ignatius)

The pope’s first encyclical will soon be available to Catholics. In it, Pope Leo XIV holds back no punches on the concerns of Artificial Intelligence.

This is set to be released on July 10th, but preorders are accepted now.

Jesus, I Surrender Myself to You: The Life of Don Dolindo Ruotolo (TAN)

There is a story behind the powerful surrender prayer that is becoming a go-to for many Catholics. Both a biography and a devotional, Don Donlindo Ruotolo’s biography has been long anticipated. His life has mirrored that of Christ. His surrender prayer has helped bring peace to many Catholics.

An American Knight: The Life of John W. Ripley

Norman Fulkerson wrote this biopic about a Vietnam War hero who uttered a prayer, “Jesus, Mary, get me there,” to help him accomplish his objective by blowing up a bridge to slow the North Vietnamese Army’s advancement.

His actions were reinvestigated by the State Department, and have concluded that Ripley’s actions were upgraded to the Congressional Medal of Honor.

His story goes further to sharing his congressional hearing on why homosexuals should not serve in the military, and women aren’t meant for combative roles.

Blue Miles

This follows the monks of Presentation Abbey in a fictitious memoir about Padre Samuel. It will bring readers to the silence of Christ’s suffering through the elderly priest.

Sins of My Father

Dr. Dan Schneider dissects generational sins that are found in the bible with a Catholic lens. This discussion goes far back to the early fathers, especially to St. Augustine.

The book gives us a deeper understanding, prayers to overcome curses, and how the dogma of original sin was developed by St. Gregory the Great.

Communion

Vice President JD Vance came out with a groundbreaking memoir that picks up where his first one left off. This time it documents his return to the faith, which led to his conversion to Catholicism.

Reading awaits us. Books open and screens away.