Whimsical summer reading list 01
New releases, classics, and weird fiction all in one place
What would I be without curating reading lists for the seasons? This one is extra special because I actually experience basking in the summer heat while reading a new favorite book, unlike pretending Florida gets a true fall or springtime anymore. Here is part 1 to my essential books to read during the slow, yet sometimes grueling, summer months.
New releases to preorder:
The newest gift from NYRB comes from Letters Never Sent by the one and only Eve Babitz. Spanning her young adult life, Eve casually name-drops famous celebrities and falls in love messily in every city she passes through. This nearly 500-page collection of letters and diary entries from Babitz (and commentary from Lili Anolik) gives us a glimpse of the imperfections that made Eve and her writing so captivating.
One of my favorites of the year so far, Deborah Levy cannot write anything I won’t pick up and devour in one sitting. Following a fictitious writer studying a real-world writer icon, Gertrude Stein, against a Paris backdrop, creates a fully immersive experience. This book experience needs to be read outside while the birds chirp, and that is the only way.
This one I contemplated putting on the list because of the novel’s strong Covid prevalence, and sometimes that being recognized in literature is a lot. However, I loved the idea of being a creative in a capitalistic, dominant world, all while not conforming to society’s standards for women, their choices, and their sexuality.
The classics for the soul:
It would not be a complete list without one of my favorite coming-of-age novellas set in a summer village with a claustrophobic feel. Also, let’s take a minute to discuss the cover itself, because I want it framed.
Dare I say my favorite Virginia Woolf book (it depends on the day). Set at a summer home off the coast of Scotland, exploring, much like the season of summer, the passing of time, and what is the purpose of life to begin with. Woolf blends stream-of-consciousness with messy lives beautifully.
Summer classics have a small theme: coming-of-age stories set in beautiful villages that become too much for the young protagonists to handle. Like Edith Wharton’s Summer, Sagan’s French Riviera set novel focuses on a young girl’s journey to carve her own path in a constrictive society, all while trying to understand love, parental resentment, and sexuality.
Sticky summer vibes:
There is something about this quartet that needs to be read in the summer. I do not make the rules; I am just the messenger. A complicated friendship spanning 4 books from childhood to middle-aged reflections with a sticky Naples, Italy, suburb. There is just something about this quartet that makes me want to scream from the rooftops about how much it means to me. If I had to pick one book for you to read from this list, I would implore you to read this one and the other 3.
I vividly remember reading and finishing this book late May one year in my car while I waited in the drop-off line to pick up my little brother from school. This book has always stuck with me, because I can remember every feeling while sitting in my driver’s seat, fully immersed in these young women’s lives, entertained with “what ifs”, motherhood, and the importance of choice in this world.
Here is 2 for the price of 1 because both deserve to be on this list. One focusing on a murder in South Florida and the other an English coastline that deals with girlhood obsession, grief, sexuality, and well..murder. If you want something for the pool or beach that will also unsettle you greatly, these are the winners.
Another nostalgic book for me, and one that actually kick-started my love for reading again back in 2021. Reading this while on a quick trip to Ocala, Florida, sticky rain, and reading about a 1960s cult and a girl’s obsession turns to disaster. This truly is the quintessential quick summer read that will have you both hooked and disgusted.
My long and personal summer tbr:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Nymph by Sophie Montrone
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
August Blue by Deborah Levy
Life of M by Rachel Cusk
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Kitten by Stacey You
Girl’s Girl by Sophie Feldman
Heap Earth Upon it by Chloe Michelle Howarth
Hooked by Asako Yuzuki
Happy summer reading to my Substack lovelies 🦪
