Summer Reading is here! Let’s share our favorite summer reading experiences. Think of that one book that you read, and it was just the perfect summer reading experience at that moment in time. It doesn’t have to be the most prestigious book or even your favorite, but it’s the one you think of when you think of prime summer reading. Our moods and mindsets affect our perceptions of what we read, so sometimes reading something in the perfect setting is just what we need to create an excellent reading experience.
I’ll go first: My recommendation is Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews. I read it in the summer of 2021, and it’s a summer reading experience I still think about. I had a random Friday in July off from work and decided to spend it at the pool. I was one of a few people there that day, had a cooler full of seltzer, snacks, and an umbrella, and just spent most of the day devouring this novel. I took a few breaks to swim, but otherwise, I parked it on a lounger and kept turning pages. It’s a novel that propels you along with mystery, a fantastic setting (Morocco!), and plenty of atmosphere. I still recommend this novel often!
I remember reading Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur while on vacation in VT during July, 2020. We managed to get away from home for a week, but once at the beautiful hotel (The Woodstock Inn), we stayed in our room quite a bit. So I read a lot and I specifically remember Wild Game from those days in VT. I’m looking forward to making new reading memories during all of my upcoming summer travel!
Every time I think of summer, I think of my favorite book series of all time from back in middle school. It was the Warrior book series by Erin Hunter. It's about 4 clans of cats that live wild in the forest by a suburn area. The first set of the series follows a cat named Rusty, later called Firepelt, that decides to leave his owners and comfortable life behind and join one of the clans of cats. I loved reading it over the summer because I got to feel like I was part of the book and exploring that world of the beautiful, wild forest.
Wow! I love the sound of this and I know my middle school self would have been obsessed with this series. I love when books feel nostalgic in that way. It's so special!
My most memorable summer reading experience was camping in Moab, Utah with a library copy of The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, and reading the entire thing inside the tent because a sudden rainstorm came out of nowhere. It's such a great backlist book and one that still sticks with me after that excursion!
Great Circle is by far my favorite summer read. (Really anything by Maggie Shipstead is perfect for summer.) I also enjoyed Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet as a beachside read.
I completely agree with you on Maggie Shipstead being perfect for summer! I've only read A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet, I'm going to have to check out Mermaids in Paradise (even the title sounds summery!)
Two summers ago I read Middlemarch by George Eliot--which may seem like a strange beach read, but it was so perfect. I was totally consumed, and it just kept going!!
Mine is The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier. I read a rave review of it and brought it to Austin last year for SXSW and ending up hanging out by the pool all day and tearing through it. I want more reading experiences like that!
This feels a bit lame because they're such popular books but a few years back I read Beach Read, Where the Crawdads Sing, and The House in the Cerulean Sea on the beach. Those will forever be the perfect summer books in my mind.
I remember reading Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur while on vacation in VT during July, 2020. We managed to get away from home for a week, but once at the beautiful hotel (The Woodstock Inn), we stayed in our room quite a bit. So I read a lot and I specifically remember Wild Game from those days in VT. I’m looking forward to making new reading memories during all of my upcoming summer travel!
Oh, that's such a good one! And what a unique memory of it; definitely something that will stay with you.
Every time I think of summer, I think of my favorite book series of all time from back in middle school. It was the Warrior book series by Erin Hunter. It's about 4 clans of cats that live wild in the forest by a suburn area. The first set of the series follows a cat named Rusty, later called Firepelt, that decides to leave his owners and comfortable life behind and join one of the clans of cats. I loved reading it over the summer because I got to feel like I was part of the book and exploring that world of the beautiful, wild forest.
Wow! I love the sound of this and I know my middle school self would have been obsessed with this series. I love when books feel nostalgic in that way. It's so special!
My most memorable summer reading experience was camping in Moab, Utah with a library copy of The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, and reading the entire thing inside the tent because a sudden rainstorm came out of nowhere. It's such a great backlist book and one that still sticks with me after that excursion!
Oh my gosh, I love this story! That's certainly a memorable story and what a cozy book to be curled up in a tent with ◡̈
I loved reading Pillars of the Earth two summers ago. It's a big engrossing historical fiction in medieval England.
That sounds like a wonderful read to sink into for the summer!
Great Circle is by far my favorite summer read. (Really anything by Maggie Shipstead is perfect for summer.) I also enjoyed Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet as a beachside read.
I completely agree with you on Maggie Shipstead being perfect for summer! I've only read A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet, I'm going to have to check out Mermaids in Paradise (even the title sounds summery!)
Two summers ago I read Middlemarch by George Eliot--which may seem like a strange beach read, but it was so perfect. I was totally consumed, and it just kept going!!
Yes, sometimes deep and engrossing reads make for the best ones because they just completely suck you in!
Mine is The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier. I read a rave review of it and brought it to Austin last year for SXSW and ending up hanging out by the pool all day and tearing through it. I want more reading experiences like that!
LOVE this book for summer reading!!
Aren't those the best kinds of reading experiences?! I'm also seeking those out. And now I'm off to look up that book...
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield not only sounds summery but completely consumed me on the beach last August!
Same! It was actually kind of funny to read it while at the beach because it gave me a new perspective on the ocean 😂
This feels a bit lame because they're such popular books but a few years back I read Beach Read, Where the Crawdads Sing, and The House in the Cerulean Sea on the beach. Those will forever be the perfect summer books in my mind.
They're such good ones, though! Perfect summer reading.