Summer Reading List 2025: Fictional Favorites for a Fever-Dream Season

After the Chicago Sun-Times accidentally published a list of fake, AI-generated summer reads (read the surreal saga here), I was inspired. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em — but lean into the nonsense.

So here it is: our completely fictional, totally absurd, and surprisingly compelling Summer Reading List for 2025. These books don’t exist (yet), but maybe they should. Each one starts off sounding like something you’d find on a bestseller list, then takes a sharp left turn into the bizarre. And yes, you can buy them — just don’t say we didn’t warn you about the links.

1. The Lavender Conspiracy by Dr. Penelope Thistle

A slow-burn thriller set in the sleepy hills of Provence, where a botanist uncovers a hidden world of genetically modified lavender fields… that whisper at night. Turns out, the plants aren’t just fragrant — they’re sentient, vengeful, and learning how to tweet.
👉 Buy now

2. The Last Mango in Paris by Jean-Claude Baguette

A bittersweet romance between a melancholy fruit vendor and a reclusive mime, told almost entirely in fruit metaphors. Just as their relationship ripens, an army of rogue produce inspectors arrives…