What we're reading on the beach this summer

It's time for our annual beach reading recs. Today we bring you three books, with a little economic learning to boot. Our recs: <br /><br /><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788713/who-is-government-by-edited-by-michael-lewis/" target="_blank">Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service</a> by Michael Lewis <br /><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611567/el-dorado-drive-by-megan-abbott/" target="_blank">El Dorado Drive</a> by Megan Abbott <br /><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776856/algospeak-by-adam-aleksic/" target="_blank">Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language</a> by Adam Aleksic <br /><br /><strong>Related episodes: <br /></strong><a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/08/12/1197968112/best-economics-books-to-read-this-summer" target="_blank">Beach reading with a side of economics</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/24/1256157822/federal-reserve-beige-book-cheap-beach-entry" target="_blank">How to beach on a budget</a> <br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/24/1256157822/federal-reserve-beige-book-cheap-beach-entry" target="_blank">How to beach on a budget</a> <br /><br /><em>For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at </em><a href="http://plus.npr.org/" target="_blank"><em>plus.npr.org</em></a><em>. <br /><br />Fact-checking by </em><a href="https://www.npr.org/people/g-s1-26724/sierra-juarez" target="_blank"><em>Sierra Juarez</em></a><em>. Music by </em><a href="https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank"><em>Drop Electric</em></a><em>. Find us: </em><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney" target="_blank"><em>TikTok</em></a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/" target="_blank"><em>Instagram</em></a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money" target="_blank"><em>Newsletter</em></a><em>.</em><br /><br />See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>