Hello dear Off-Topicers,
Recently, Nicki requested a newsletter dedicated to summer holiday reading suggestions and as it’s now August 3rd (how?), it’s really a now-or-not-until-next-year situation. So here it is, with apologies for hurried thoughts and any typos (because it’s also a write-it-in-an-afternoon-or-not-at-all sort of thing). I’ve divided things into categories to suit different moods and tastes.
Emotive novels that still feel like sunshine
Shotgun Lovesongs, by Nickolas Butler - I remember reading this on holiday several years ago and it’s stayed with me as being an incredibly warm and big-hearted sort of novel. My vague recollections are that in the aftermath of heartbreak, it explores small-town roots, male friendship, music, and possibly a bit of farming (?!). I’ve read quite a few Nickolas Butler novels since, and I still think this is the best. I’d love to reread it.
Still Life, by Sarah Winman - Set largely in Florence around an eclectic cast of characters, I read this with one of my book groups last year and it was universally loved.
A Month in the Country, by JL Carr - a perfect book if you’re staying in England this summer (so ridiculously english, I’ve found it feels odd to read it anywhere else; I once tried and failed in Spain…). The story of a man recalling a summer just after the First World War, when he worked in a church uncovering a mural. It’s a quiet book and so slim it can be read in an hour or two.
All My Mothers, by Joanna Glen - I think Joanna could write a book set in Antarctica and make it feel like a warm blast of sunshine, but this one is set in Spain so doubles down on that. It’s a book about family, friendship, and belonging. I like to think I’m this book’s biggest fan, but actually, everyone I know who reads it falls in love with it just like I have, so I’ll settle for most-adoring-along-with-many-others.
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd - Sue Monk Kidd has this amazing way of writing about difficult topics (in this case, racism) while simultaneously swaddling the reader in sunshine. And by that I don’t mean she shirks the issue - I remember sobbing over this book - just that the writing and imagery are gorgeous and that she also focuses on the goodness of humans. I loved everything about this book from its central character Lily, to the beekeeping sisters who welcomed her in.
To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - several summers ago I stayed in a damp English chapel about a mile inland from the sea. The days were lovely, but I remember the highlight being the moment when I could lie on the sofa and get back to this novel. I really didn’t want to do anything else.
In the Unlikely Event, by Judy Blume - later that same holiday, my sister joined us and, along with my then-teenage daughter, we read this book (we’d been to a book signing with Judy a few weeks earlier, so had two copies between three). We all loved Judy Blume’s books as young teenagers, so meeting her again through her adult fiction was a delight. Set over one summer in the 1950s, when three random plane crashes change the lives of the town’s residents. Judy circa 2015: still awesome (and actually, Judy Circa 2023: also awesome - I’m currently halfway through this documentary).
Plainsong, by Kent Haruf - I think this was the first Kent Haruf I ever read, and he’s one of those authors where once you’ve started, you’ll want to read his entire back-catalogue. His novels are set in small town America, populated by complicated but earthy characters. It’s hard not to fall in love with them and to want to move to fictional Holt.
The Other Half of Augusta Hope, by Joanna Glen - more deliciously quirky characters, and a story that will make you laugh and weep. Sewing Burundi onto my Liberty print map of the world held an extra special dollop of sunshiny-yellow significance because of this novel (it’s the tiny place just above Tanzania).
Lake titles (sometimes a section just presents itself)
Crow Lake by Mary Lawson - I read this over twenty years ago and really, I can’t remember the details. I have a hazy recollection of two children lying on their stomachs watching pond skaters in the opening chapter, but that could be a figment. But either way, my memory is of it being utterly wonderful, and my mum, who’s read it more recently on my recommendation, says it is. (Mary Lawson’s entire back catalogue is excellent).
Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett - The story of grown-up children who gather to work on the family’s cherry orchard during lockdown, as their mother reflects on a long-ago romance. It took me a while to settle to its intentionally slower pace, but would it be a good one to read lying in a hammock strung between two apple trees1 while on holiday? Absolutely. An Ann Patchett novel is always a good thing (Nb. I think many independent booksellers have extras like bookmarks and notepads to go with their copies).
And because I may never do another lake roundup, I’m allowing myself an unseasonal entry with How a Woman Becomes a Lake by Marjorie Celona - a quiet and beautifully-written crime novel that I read back in 2020.
Modern love stories
Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld - wonderfully snappy dialogue, excellent characters, well-plotted; this may just be the best romcom ever. No actually, it is. It just is. Based around the US show, Saturday Night Live, it’s so well-researched and raises the bar for all romances ever after.
A Very Nice Girl, by Imogen Crimp - this was one of those random purchases from the tables at Waterstones that felt like hitting gold. From memory, it’s actually quite a rainy, wintry sort of book, but as that’s pretty much our August in the UK, it’s not entirely unsuitable. It’s the story of a girl falling for a slightly unknowable older man against a lonely London backdrop, while wavering over committing to her singing career. As you might expect, there are moments where this scenario feels a little depressing (not the novel itself, just the situation), but don’t be put off as it’s actually brilliant and has lots to say about motivation, sex, money etc. This stayed with me long after reading and I gave it a solid five stars on Goodreads.
Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan - on the surface, this isn’t an entirely dissimilar story to the one outlined above - a girl in a new city (this time Hong Kong), featuring another unknowable man. But the tone is very different, and I enjoyed the narrator’s slightly sardonic voice. (I’m finding myself wanting to draw parallels with the TV series This Way Up, because they both have a female Irish lead, teaching English as a foreign language, with a deadpan sense of humour).
Pineapple Street, by Jenny Jackson - set in a world of immense privilege, it would be easy to write this one off as vacuous, but as the story unfolds around an adult New York family and their respective partners, it explores acceptance, values, class, and money from several viewpoints.
Sorrow & Bliss, by Meg Mason - Okay, so there will be sorrow. Lots of it. But also bliss. Read it for the brilliant depiction of the bond between sisters, an eccentric and messy family, and a woman trying to discover where she ends and her mental illness begins (and vice versa).
Epic books to get lost in
American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins - there’s nothing holidayish about this novel. But there is intense heat, writing that makes the pages fly, and an edge-of-your-seat story that will stay with you, as a mother and son try to reach the Mexican border. Whenever I see a headline about refugees, it’s the memory of this book that reminds me to think beyond the numbers and to imagine individuals with once richly-peopled lives. Heartbreaking, worthy of your time, and incredibly accessible (and by accessible, I mean reading it doesn’t feel at all like work).
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini - again, this isn’t an easy read. It’s utterly brutal. But sometimes summer is for reading epic books you might not have the space for at other times. Set between the dry heat of 1970s Afghanistan, and modern day America, it’s a story of friendship and regret. The writing and imagery are exquisite.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin - I loved The Storied Life of AJ Fikry enough to want to read Gabrielle’s next book, although I wasn’t initially enthused by the idea of it being set around a computer game. But somehow I fell in love with the virtual worlds the programmers create and the metaphors they carry. And all without being converted into someone who’d ever want to play a computer game. Quite a feat. I adored this book. One to read even if you don’t think you’ll like it.2
Glorious beach reads
Beach Read / Book Lovers, by Emily Henry - I can’t quite remember how these two stories differ (when I first saw Book Lovers, I thought it was a rebranded version of Beach Read; it’s not), but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of them. I’m happy to embrace familiar tropes if they make my cheeks ache with smiling while reading.
Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant - I read this book last summer and it was totally outside my normal reading zone, but I really enjoyed it. A tense psychological thriller that I raced through.
Nora Goes Off Script / Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan - Both are will-they-won’t-they style romances with excellent characters - I loved both of these and stayed up late to finish them.
Novels set around a coming-of-age summer
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau - a wonderful coming-of-age novel steeped in sunlight and the crackle of vinyl, as Mary Jane spends an eye-opening summer nannying for an unconventional family. Nb. The hardback cover was much more appealing (to me, the paperback one feels like it misrepresents the novel).
A Crooked Tree, by Una Mannion - when a mother leaves one of her children by the side of the road following an argument, it sets in motion a chain of events that unravel over the course of one long summer, where it feels like the adults have temporarily checked out. Beautifully written.
The Great Godden, by Meg Rosoff - a short book that takes place over a summer by the beach with lots of underlying tensions.
Spit Against the Wind, by Anna Smith - I read this a decade ago, so can remember few of the details (that’s a theme here), but what I do recall is that it’s set in the 1960s during a Scottish summer and is both unsettling and compelling. I remember reading Anna’s other novel, Homecoming, immediately after, which is always testament to having enjoyed something.
Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume - this was Judy’s adult fiction debut, and another that I read years ago. I do remember absolutely loving it (if little else), which is why it’s here.
Right. I think that’s it - it’s been so hard to stay on track and not be diverted off into unseasonal favourites…
With love (and very much welcoming any recommendations you might have),
Florence x
Ps. In non-book thoughts: good luck to anyone exhibiting at Festival of Quilts over the next few days. x
It’s actually more peaches and cherries in this book. And I’m now wondering if lying beneath apple trees wouldn’t be a hazardous activity. So don’t say you weren’t warned - it’s really just the serving suggestion that appeared in my head.
I’m now puzzling over whether if I had to pick just one book for the entire world to read (as that seems to be the implication of that rather peculiar statement), if it would actually be this one. In truth, I think the children’s book, Wonder, by RJ Palacio might win (I can’t imagine a better book for inspiring kindness in the world).
Thank you so much for such an extensive list. It should keep me going for a few summers/holidays! Love a good book recommendation especially by someone who loves books and reading!
I’ve read quite a few of these and will be adding more to my list! I always get excited when I see one of your recommendations in the library.