The only thing better than sprawling on a sun lounger with a piña colada in hand? Letting the lull of crashing waves pull you into a trance as you turn the pages of a delicious summer read. Writer Julia Novis rounds up eight titles worth slipping into your beach bag for your next sunny escape.
Summer might be well underway, but whispers of a prelude heatwave hitting London this week have given us yet another taste of the season. And then… there’s a bank holiday weekend on the horizon. Your annual leave finally gets the green light, and you’re off to join the cool crowd in Marseille? Just like that, you’ve stumbled into a midnight summer’s dream. But no Shakespearean-inspired revel should be without a sprinkling of literate sucre. After all, the only thing better than a holiday is a holiday read.
For travellers prone to overweight luggage (and those emerging from a reading slump), we’ve included plenty of slim, slip-into-your-handbag titles. For the ones with space to spare, My Brilliant Friend – the first of Elena Ferrante’s four Neapolitan Novels – is the perfect summer-long project. Brat Summer enthusiasts will savour in the heady parties of Happy Hour, Slow Days, Fast Company, and The Great Gatsby. If a quieter coastal escape is calling your name, Great Big Beautiful Life and Bonjour Tristesse offer equal parts respite and entertainment. If watching Katy Perry in space awakened something in you, Atmosphere could be your cosmic match – and if you’re after deeper self-reflection, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone.
Wherever the season takes you, one of these will be your perfect companion. Now, dive in…
The Hot Girl City Break Reads
Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados
Marlowe Granados’ debut is the ultimate Hot Girl summer read. Part-novel part-virtue signal, this will have you laughing and vigorously nodding in public. Follow Isa and Gala as they charm their way through a summer in New York City, in a story by a party girl for the party girls.
Shop Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados here.
Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz
Penned by ultimate It Girl of 1970s Los Angeles, this collection of essays is the gateway drug to an Eve Babitz love affair. Look back on a bygone era of Hollywood through Eve’s surprisingly contemporary point of view. RIP Eve, you would have loved Brat Summer.
Shop Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz here.
An Escape from the City
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The first instalment of the Neapolitan Novels follows two best friends through a childhood in 1950s Napoli. If you’re looking for a series to dive into this summer, look no further. The four novels follow Lenù and Lila’s complex friendship from childhood to late adulthood. Dealing with love, heartbreak, violence, success and friendship at its core, prepare to pick it up and be unable to put it down.
Shop My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante here.
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Emily Henry is the queen of beachside reads, and her most recent release takes a slight turn from her usual romance plots (though rest assured that there is plenty of romance for all the lover girls out there), following writers Alice and Hayden as they compete for the chance to tell the story of the now recluse publishing heiress Margaret Ives. Run away to Little Crescent Island and uncover the former Tabloid Princess’ secretive past.
Shop Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry here.
Mid-Year Resolutions
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
If reading more classics was on your New Year’s resolutions list, summer is the perfect excuse to revisit this infamous piece of assigned reading. With Charli XCX still riding the wave of Brat Summer and party 4 u enjoying a TikTok renaissance, The Great Gatsby continues to feel fresh as the tale of the original yearner. Taking place over the course of the summer months, experience the glitz, glamour and excess of 1920s New York.
Shop The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, here.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
This isn’t self-help, but it will almost certainly spark a little soul-searching. Therapist and New York Times advice columnist Lori Gottlieb’s memoir is the perfect pick for anyone lagging behind on their New Year’s resolutions and in need of a mid-year reset. It also doubles as an excellent gift for that emotionally stunted situationship who insists they don’t need therapy.
Shop Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb, here.
What I’m packing for my Holiday
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
Published in 1954, when Sagan was just 18, this novel unfolds over a summer on the French Riviera. It follows Cécile, a precocious 17-year-old, as she spends the season with her father and his mistress. The book was an overnight sensation, and Cécile’s coming-of-age journey and awakening continue to scandalise and captivate readers to this day.
Shop Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan, here.
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The newest release from the author of Daisy Jones and the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Though a love story in a space mission might have been unexpected, it feels especially relevant after Blue Origin’s girlboss space mission. Reid never disappoints with her rich and interconnected universes, this might be the perfect airplane read to make a long flight go by in a flash.
Shop Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid here.
Words – Julia Novis
