Our Summer 2026 Reading Recommendations

With several independent publishers learning last month that their distributor was on the verge of bankruptcy, we need to support the publishing world now more than ever. At [name of publication]Médianes, we love magazines—as you know—but one of the best things about summer is that it gives us time to dive into a good book as well.To enrich your reading experience, our team has selected books and essays for you (published by some of these struggling presses, but not exclusively).

Day Zero (Hadrien Klent, Le Tripode)

“Following an unprecedented solar storm, all electronic devices on the planet were fried. […] From the local level all the way up to the head of state, the same question keeps coming up: what if this were an unexpected opportunity to reinvent ourselves?” In my suitcase this summer, I’ll once again be packing Hadrien Klent’s philosophical tales, published by Éditions du Tripode.

In *Idleness for All* (2021) and *Life Belongs to Us* (2023), we could already follow the realistic utopia of a left-wing economist who reduces the workday to three hours and allows everyone to rediscover the joy of living. In *Day Zero* (2026), Klent invites us to imagine a post-capitalist society where computers, airplanes, and cell phones no longer work…and where we can finally reimagine everything.

Marine Doux, Co-Founder, Editorial Director

Let's Eat (Emilie Laystary, Divergences Publishing)

Eating is a daily, essential act—one that many take for granted. Yet this simple act says a great deal about our society, our identity, and our relationship with the world—especially in France, a country whose arrogant culinary culture largely overshadows that of others.

Si vous êtes en vacances en train de déguster des plats que vous méconnaissiez jusqu’alors ou que vous profitez d’un peu de temps libre et d’une douce soirée d’été pour convier vos ami·es à dîner, Passer à table vous parlera forcément.

P.S.: On a related note, if you’d like to explore this topic further, someone mentioned in the comments that there’s an excellent book called *Mangeuses: A Story of Those Who Devour, Savor, or Deprive Themselves to the Extreme* by Lauren Malka (published by Les Pérégrines).

Agathe Kupfer, Head of Impact

The Duplomb Law: A Hijacked Debate — A Warning About Misinformation on Health and the Environment (Philippe Grandcolas, Éditions du Faubourg)

The Duplomb Law is a striking example of a twofold denial: a denial of science and a denial of democracy. A great deal of misinformation circulated during the debates in Parliament, which were effectively hijacked.

In the wake of the citizens’ petition, the “Duplomb Law,” *The Hijacked Debate* aims to set the record straight and truly defend farmers. The scientific evidence is clear: the law does not serve the common good; it favors a minority of farms and exposes us to undeniable dangers.

The toxicity of acetamiprid and neonicotinoids, the role of public agencies such as ANSES and OFB… Behind the heated debates lie health, environmental, and democratic issues.

Élise Garnier, Communications Intern

*La passe-miroir* (Christelle Dabos, Gallimard)

The world has fallen apart. Or has been shattered. Humanity is now divided into different realms and factions stemming from family lineages, each with its own unique abilities. A young woman is searching for her place in this world and trying to understand the reality in which she lives. This series of four fantasy novels weaves together mysteries, strange powers, clan rivalries, and reflections on authority.

For my part, I read these books over the summer with a rare and persistent enthusiasm. The desire to understand what was unfolding, and the pleasure of watching situations develop and resolve themselves, rekindled my love for reading on paper.

Christelle Perrin, Co-Founder and Design Director

Promises and Utopias: An Anthology of Web Manifestos (edited by Loup Cellard, published by B42)

Sometimes it feels as though a certain vision of the Internet and the web is fading away. It’s as if, in recent years, these spaces have lost their democratic character and their ability to foster independent communities.

In *Promises and Utopias*. An Anthology of Web Manifestos, researcher Loup Cellard has compiled 29 texts spanning all eras and communities to offer us a deep dive into the Internet’s archives… and to restore our hope and provide us with the means to take back control of the web’s tools and infrastructure.

P.S.: Loup Cellard is also co-editor, along with Guillaume Heuguet, of *Beyond Silicon Valley Ideology* (Audimat Éditions, Tèque 4). This collection explores the often-overlooked dimensions of U.S. tech ideology: venture capital, religious, colonial, and neo-Darwinist influences, and dystopian visions of the future… Check it out in the Audimat catalog.

Marine Doux, Co-Founder, Editorial Director

Babel (Rebecca F. Kuang, De Saxus)

Canton, 1828. Robin Swift is torn away from Canton, his hometown, by an English professor of linguistics. As he enrolls at the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation at the University of Oxford—better known as Babel—he discovers a new world of espionage, geopolitics, and magic. Here, power comes from words and their meanings. Alongside him, we discover a world where the daily lives of young language students are shaped by an imperialist British Empire—an oppressive, exploitative empire.

In *Babel*, what strikes you first is the author’s attention to detail in setting the scene; you can feel every place, every atmosphere, every emotion. Oxford is sometimes warm, sometimes deadly, sometimes revolutionary. Behind these settings lies an uncompromising indictment of imperialism.

Dorine Planté, Support Coordinator

Teen Spirits (Lennie Stern, Éditions de l’Aube)

In every era, young people are a source of concern. Today’s teenagers are no exception to the rule; they are described as withdrawn, mesmerized by their screens, and incapable of sustained attention or genuine engagement. This is a profound misunderstanding. For while misunderstandings between generations have always existed, they are now playing out on uncharted territory: that of an era undergoing profound change, where what is perceived as a loss of meaning actually corresponds to a different way of creating it.

In *Teen Spirits*, Lennie Stern explores this disconnect and offers a different perspective. Teens aren’t talking any less. They’re just talking differently. Stories, voice messages, silences, emojis, videos shared without commentary. These gestures form a precise, effective grammar that is largely invisible to those who continue to expect language to produce what it is no longer meant to. Drawing on concrete examples, without condescension or nostalgia, the author shows how young people are transforming the ways we come together, maintain connections, and engage with the world—transformations that we must learn to interpret differently.

I can’t wait to open this book and dispel the stereotypes surrounding “young people,” who are all too often portrayed as a monolithic group that needs to be deciphered.

Julia Lasry, Editorial and Marketing Consultant

The First Sip of Beer and Other Tiny Pleasures (Philippe Delerm, Gallimard)

Thirty-four two- or three-page pieces, each devoted to a gesture, a situation, or a sensation. Like hearing a news story on the radio while in the car, “as if discovering the reality of a place we didn’t want to know about.” The joy of a surprise invitation, when our evening plans are shattered by an “Would you like to have dinner with us? Just a simple meal, whatever’s on hand.” Or those rare, very rare occasions when we dare to take the plunge: ordering a banana split at a restaurant.

Everything is observed there, examined closely, with a rare attention to the most fleeting aspects of everyday life.

*The First Sip of Beer and Other Tiny Pleasures* is a book to read and reread, one passage at a time, and one that, above all, inspires you to try the exercise yourself: to identify and jot down your own tiny everyday pleasures. These stories remind us that looking at things with a touch of poetry simply makes us feel good.

Sixtine Yung, Project Manager