E85 - Summer Reading List 2026: Books That Challenge How We See the World, Teaching, and Ourselves

On our second ✨annual✨ summer reading list, we explore a curated selection of memoirs, nonfiction, and fiction that have shaped how we think about identity, belonging, error, and what it means to be human. This year's picks lean heavily into nonfiction and memoir, reflecting a shared desire to understand the systems, stories, and inner critics that shape us and our students. Books discussed include:🏪 Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner🗣️ My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes🌎 How to Hide an Empire by Daniel Immerwahr🛂 Conditional Citizens by Laila Lalami😵 Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz🫶 How to Be Enough by Ellen Hendriksen🚪 Exit West by Mohsin Hamid,🍜 Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz👽 The Humans by Matt Haig Anna and Shé discuss how each book has shifted their worldview, their teaching, and their understanding of themselves, and offer practical ideas for bringing these texts into classrooms, book clubs, and professional development.Watch this video episode now on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 🎥Related Teacher Think-Aloud episodes:E 70 - Summer Reading Special: Stories That Cross BordersE 81 - The Monolingual Bias: Advocacy for English Language Teachers (with Lilian Ardell)E 66 - “Being a native speaker isn’t a qualification” (with Meri Maroutian)💡 Reflect with us: Which cultural assumptions did your last great read challenge for you?What question did your last great read leave you with?How might you bring one of these texts — even just an excerpt — into your classroom or professional development?🎧 SponsorThis episode is sponsored by Ellii, one of the world’s leading content libraries for English language teachers. Looking for ready-made lessons that get students talking? Visit Ellii.com.Use code THINKALOUD for 15% off your first membership term. Admins can also request a two-month free trial to pilot Ellii for your program.📚 Chapters00:00 Sponsor Ellii00:18 Podcast Partners00:47 Sandman Stories Promo02:06 Summer Reading Returns03:23 Why These Books05:02 Crying in H Mart07:43 My Broken Language12:21 How to Hide Empire16:21 Conditional Citizens20:48 Exit West Magic Doors23:38 Empathy for Refugees24:32 Two Book Pivot25:05 Being Wrong Explained27:18 How to Be Enough28:54 Teachers Need Both31:19 Automatic Noodle Robots32:37 Robot Rights Debates34:39 The Humans Alien Lens36:38 Language Learning Vulnerability38:23 Wrap Up and Takeaways39:47 Classroom Uses and Prompts41:23 Reflective Questions Finale42:14 Book Club and Goodbye#SummerReadingList #BooksForTeachers #ELTBookClub #TeacherReads #CulturalIdentity #LanguageAndIdentity #MemoirReading #CriticalLiteracy #ELT #TESOL #TEFL #ESLteachers #EFLteachers #LanguageTeaching #StudentCenteredLearning #MeaningfulCommunication #TeacherThinkAloud #ELTPodcast #TeacherDevelopment #ProfessionalGrowth #ReflectivePractice #ReflectiveTeaching #TeacherEducation #TeacherPD #GlobalELT