Summer reads
(and more) Summer reads
(and more) Summer reads
(and more)

Could your morning commute use a podcast pick-me-up? Are you scanning library shelves for local writers? Or do you want to kick back with some popcorn and enjoy the latest Wayans Brothers installment? Fill your summer with alumni-created media, from enlightening books to thrilling podcasts and more.

Another Roadside Balloon

Photographs and design by Eirik Johnson, ’97
Cover design by Shawn Hazen
Published by Mad Dog Press

A lecturer in the UW School of Art + Art History + Design, Johnson is a Seattle-based photographer whose work examines the intersections of contemporary environmental, social and cultural issues in America and abroad. He is the programs chair of the Photographic Center Northwest and has exhibited his work at museums and galleries nationwide.

Silicon Forest: The Understories of Data and Forests

By Michael Swaine, chair and associate professor, 3-Dimensional Forum, UW School of Art + Art History + Design, and his artist collective, Futurefarmers
Sternberg Press
co-published by PRAx and Oregon State University

This book examines the reciprocity among ecology, technological futures and consumption. It examines the complex interconnections between the ecological, industrial and technological history of Oregon State University and the surrounding Willamette Valley.

Scary Movie 6

Starring Anna Faris, ’99

Faris reprises the role of Cindy Campbell in the “Scary Movie” reboot set for release in 2026. She also will appear in the upcoming movies “Spa Weekend,” “I, Object” and “LeapFrog.” She continues her podcast, “Anna Faris is Unqualified,” featuring celebrity guests.

Designers on Film

Hosted by Jason Tselentis, ’04

Tselentis and his guests dive deep into the art behind a film: art direction, cinematography, costume design and what the movie means to them as designers.

Adults in the Room

KUOW

Adults in the Room is a limited series on Focus, KUOW’s dedicated documentary podcast feed. This series explores powerful topics such as teacher abuse, mountain climbing and much more. The newest podcast is titled “Bad Apples.”

Scabmuggers

By Yvonne Martinez, ’88
Published by She Writes Press

Martinez is a retired labor negotiator and organizer whose new book is based on her experience as a National Fellow of the Harvard Trade Union Program in 1994. Her first book was a memoir called “Someday, Mija, You’ll Learn the Difference Between a Whore and a Working Woman.” She holds a degree in political science from the UW and lives in Berkeley, Calif.

Summer Book Bingo

Want to join Seattle Public Library’s summer reading program for adults? Download a bingo card and start reading for your chance to win a grand prize of a subscription to Seattle Arts & Lectures events.

Need a little inspiration? Here are a few books written by UW alumni and faculty to get your bingo card started.

Water: “Heaven on the Half Shell” by David G. Gordon, MaryAnn Barron Wagner, ’81,  and Samantha Larson; “Seashore Life of the Pacific Northwest Coast” by Eugene Kozloff
Time travel: “The Magical Language of Others” by EJ Koh, ’23
Soothing: “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson, ’77
Seattle Arts & Lectures speaker: “A Fever in the Heartland” by Timothy Egan, ’80
Diaspora: “Cebu” by Peter Bacho, ’74, ’91; “Growing Up Brown” by Peter Jamero, ’81
FIFA World Cup country: “No-No Boy” by John Okada, ’47, ’51
Eye-opening: “Tyranny on Trial” by Whitney Harris, ’33
Pacific Northwest BIPOC writer: “Severalty” by Laura Da’, ’01
Myth and legend: “Dune” by Frank Herbert; “A Screaming Life” by Kim Thayil, ’85
Unplug: “Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry” by Derek Sheffield, ’90, ’99
Outer space: “Orrery” by Richard Kenney
Happily ever after: “Evelyn in Transit” by David Guterson, ’78, ’82, ’83
Queer/trans voices: “Let the Moon Wobble” by Ally Ang, ’21
Historical: “University of Washington” by Antoinette Wills, ’75, and John Bolcer, ’94; “The Deepest Roots” by Kathleen Alcala, ’85; “My Unforgotten Seattle” by Ron Chew, ’02
Horror: “Better Living Through Alchemy” by Evan J. Peterson
Women’s sports: “Solo: A Memoir of Hope” by Hope Solo, ’02
Nominated for a literary prize: “This House of Sky” by Ivan Doig, ’69
Animal: “King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon” by David R. Montgomery

Lead image: Mateo Quispe, '26, photographed by Mark Stone.