Summer Books List 📖

I know a post is going to be a good one, when it’s a book or movie recommendation.

For many people summer is the season of reading mostly because since childhood we always read books in this period, either for our own pleasure or as a homework. Also it’s a great leisure for hot days, when you don’t want to do anything or go anywhere.

The books in this list are going to be very different from each other. They’re of various genres, and the mere thing that is uniting them, is the atmosphere of summer. Some of them actually take place in the warmest season of the year, others just have the adventurous and careless feeling, that we all love about summer. So, let’s start:

1. TJ Klune – The House in the Cerulean Sea. I honestly think, that it belongs to the Top 10 books that I’ve ever read. I can describe it as a warm hug, as a meeting with an old dear friend. The main character is a case worker, who travels to a peculiar orphanage, where kids with different magical powers are living. It’s full of kindness, positivity, humor and fantasy, but also raises a series of important issues that we still face to this day.

2. Morgan Matson – Since You’ve Been Gone. If you’re looking for a light but interesting read – this one’s perfect for you. It’s about a teenage girl, whose best friend suddenly disappears, leaving a to-do list to complete over the summer. With the main character you’ll learn how to conquer your fears, and do things you always wanted to do but never dared to. After finishing the book I frankly was thinking about making a “crazy bucket list” and challenging myself.

3. Agatha Christie – Towards Zero. I love detectives, especially Agatha’s novels, but this one stands out among the rest. Why? Because in pretty much every book the murder happens in the very beginning, and you get to investigate the case in the past tense. But in this one, you actually read the backstory, get acquainted with the characters and their life stories before the fatal event and it gives you a better opportunity to get your own clues and try to find the murderer. And oh, it happens during hot August, in a fancy country house, so it’s definitely good for summer.

4. Jules Verne – The Mysterious Island. If I told the plot of this story, you’d think that it’s the most boring book ever. Because to be completely honest, nothing truly happens in here. Just a bunch of political prisoners escape the prison and get stranded on a deserted island, where they become the Robinson Crusoes. But I swear, somehow it was soo interesting to read, that whenever I put the book aside, I wanted to pick it up again and keep reading. There’s the feeling of mystery throughout the whole story (hence the title), and there’s so much information about surviving in the wilderness, that I’d actually want to have this book if I’d ever be stranded on a deserted island. Cause besides a great and entertaining story, it’s also a proper guideline.

5. Ivan Turgenev – The First Love. This was the first Russian book that I loved. I read it twice, but want to reread again, cause I forgot most of the nuances of the plot. But it’s one of those atmospheric stories, that just transfer all the chill and peaceful summer vibes. The descriptions of the first love were so on point, that I felt like it was I who’s in love, and not the main character.

6. Shakespeare – A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The great English poet doesn’t even need a review, cause his works are always interesting to read, even for those, who, like me, prefer prose over poetry. He manages to combine humor, cool dialogues, magic and fantasy with bigger topics, so you’ll never be bored with a Shakespeare work.

7. Nicholas Sparks – The Last Song. I never expected to like a book of this genre, because I don’t love plain love stories with a bittersweet end. But this book stood out, and I don’t really know why. Maybe because the teenage me was a fan of Miley Cyrus, so subconsciously the book evoked good memories when reading it many many years after watching the movie. The book has quite an interesting plot, even for a chick flick, and I definitely got all the summery vibes from it.

I guess I should also mention some other books, that are perfect for summer, but didn’t make it in this list, simply because I already talked about them in other bookish posts. They are: