This week, we’re taking a breath. EU Confidential is stepping away from summits, trade battles, and late-night trilogues — and turning to something more refreshing: books.
Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by audio producer (and self-confessed book nerd) Dionisios Sturis for this special summer reading edition. From sharp political non-fiction to playful fiction, poetry and literary escapes, we’re sharing what EU insiders are packing in their holiday bags — and what they think you should read this summer.
You’ll hear from:
-Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat
- Jessica Rosencrantz, Sweden’s minister for EU affairs
- Glenn Micallef, Commissioner for intergenerational fairness, youth, culture and sport
- And from listeners and colleagues with their own smart, silly, brainy and bloody picks
We also speak with Jeroen Reijnen, author of "Big in Brussels" — an insider’s guide to surviving (and thriving) in the EU bubble.
So pour yourself something cold, put your phone on silent, and dive in.
And here is our summer reading list:
-
Bonjour Tristesse – Françoise Sagan
-
Killing Thatcher – Rory Carroll
-
Do Not Disturb – Michela Wrong
-
The Great Game – Peter Hopkirk
-
The Situation Room – George Stephanopoulos
-
Autocracy, Inc. – Anne Applebaum
-
I Giorni di Vetro (The Days of Glass) – Nicoletta Verna
-
Dak li l-Lejl Iħallik Tgħid (What the Night Lets You Say)– Pierre J. Mejlak
-
The Vegetarian – Han Kang
-
Human Acts – Han Kang
-
Tatendrang (Urge for Action) – Theresia Töglhofer
-
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – John le Carré
-
Perfection – Vincenzo Latronico
-
Prague – Arthur Phillips
-
Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf
-
Common Sense: A Political History – Sophia Rosenfeld
-
I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There – Róise Lanigan
-
The Redbreast – Jo Nesbø
-
The Kingdom – Jo Nesbø
-
The Kindly Ones – Jonathan Littell
-
The Empusium – Olga Tokarczuk
-
Tell Me Everything – Elizabeth Strout
-
There Lives the Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die – Tove Ditlevsen
-
Notes from a Big Country / I’m a Stranger Here Myself – Bill Bryson
-
H is for Hawk – Helen Macdonald
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices