Cool Beach Reads: 9 Unique Books For Summer
Easy breezy.
Summer reading shouldn’t feel like a chore. Chances are, you won’t be in the mood this season to attempt Moby Dick, for example. Still, I find all the summer reading lists suggesting downright silly pulp just as unappealing. I may not want to read Dickens at the pool, but I need a story with substance, nonetheless. Give me variety! Give me absurdity! Give me adventure! Give me layers! Give me twists and turns!
Give me lots of breeze and just enough ease. (Please.)
These nine books aren’t your typical beach reads. I doubt you’d find them on other summer reading lists. But they’re good. From intergenerational family sagas, to poignant memoirs, to surreal adventures, they’ll hold your attention even if you’re a couple cocktails deep, poolside.
Cool Beach Reads: 9 Unique Books for Summer
*NOTE: I am a proud affiliate of these books, and I do receive a small commission from each sale, at no cost to you.
1. Everything I Know About Love,
by Dolly Alderton
This is the kind of book you can read in a day. Funny and sad, hopeful and realistic, it’s a coming of age memoir about growing up, growing older, and learning to navigate friendships, work, love, and loss.
2. Writers & Lovers,
by Lily King
I could not put this book down. It’s a modern day, real world portrait of an artist as a young woman. The prose, the voice, the characterization makes this book the kind that becomes a comfortable old friend and stays with you forever. A rare delight.
3. Conversations with Friends,
by Sally Rooney
True to its title, Conversations with Friends is mostly dialogue and emails. Sally Rooney pulls it off like a magic trick, though, and—abracadabra!—the reader finds themselves 200 pages in and fully engrossed. (Or maybe that’s just me. But I don’t think it’s just me. See: Hulu’s recent adaptation.)
4. Of Women and Salt,
by Gabriela Garcia
From 19th-century Cuba to present-day Miami, the backdrop is rich for this poignant family chronicle that weaves together the lives of five generations of women, navigating their difficult relationships and long-held secrets of the past.
5. The House of the Spirits,
by Isabel Allende
This masterpiece of magical realism is a sweeping intergenerational family saga—and an excellent novel. The writing is flawless, the characters are layered, the story is breathtaking. A must read, summer or not.
6. Skinny Legs and All,
by Tom Robbins
Same as always, Robbins takes the reader on an outlandish adventure that stretches and bends the imagination along the way. A can of beans is a philosopher, a young waitress takes on the New York art scene, and a rowdy welder uncovers the lost god of Palestine. Enjoy the ride.
7. Kafka on the Shore,
by Haruki Murakami
Murakami novels are a totally different kind of trip, and Kafka on the Shore is my personal favorite of his mind-bending adventures. Fifteen-year-old Kafka runs away from home and discovers a charming, privately owned public library to spend his days in, until things get…complicated. Charming and intelligent, without being pretentious.
8. Reasons to Live,
by Amy Hempel
A collection of fifteen short stories, minimalist and profound. Amy Hempel is one of those rare writers who can say more in one sentence than other authors can convey in a whole novel. These stories are deeply human. Quick reads, but will stay with you for a long time.
9. Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business,
by Dolly Parton
If the opportunity to spend your summer vacation with Dolly Parton presented itself to you, would you say yes? Reading her memoir is most likely as close as any of us normals will get, so here’s your chance!