Summer Reading
book recommendations, my TBR, & summer vibez
Welcome to today’s issue of Empty Head, where I talk about anything and everything related to summer reading!
As I said in Sunday’s Open Tabs, I’m not sure if I actually like Summer as a season, but it has an undeniable energy that keeps me moving whether I like it or not!
I’ve got things to do, and one of those things is dilly-dallying, wandering towards the next coffee shop with a book in hand. I will be mindlessly drinking 3 espresso drinks per day, and they will all be served over ice. I will forget to eat food to counteract said espresso, but the oat milk in my lattes is a suitable substitute. It’s going to be hot! I’m going to sweat!
The dilly-dallying aside, I actually have so many things on my to-do list in the coming months, so I’m actually trying to not prioritize reading. I don’t want to get through a huge list of books, necessarily, I just want to have the right books by my side while I try to navigate through all of the menial life tasks I need to do—all of the things that I am particularly bad at, like making appointments and going to appointments and moving apartments and planning for the future.
Anyways, with the summer solstice bringing us into actual summer, and 90+ degree days becoming the norm for the next 2 months, I decided I’d do something more casual today and talk about some hot weather reading.
My Summer Reading Criteria
First, let me tell you what makes a book a good summer read, in my opinion. There are 4 main things I look for:
Frivolity: This can be anything in the realm of partying, gossiping, socializing, or frolicking. (Note that despite my use of the word frivolous, this is not necessarily limited to “light” stories.)
Suffocation: This includes, but is not limited to, anything that might be described as a fever dream, characters experiencing anxiety or great inner turmoil, or a general sense of upheaval that makes one feel as if everything is caving inward.
Sweaty: This one is all about atmosphere and setting. If the book is set in a place that is HOT and/or humid and damp, it is automatically a summer read.
Wandering: Wandering is for any season, but I’m particularly drawn to stories with elements of aimlessness, walking, and flaneuring in the summertime.
A book can absolutely fit into multiple categories—and quite honestly should!
Summer Reading Recommendations
Okay, now that you know what I consider a “summer read”, here are my top recommendations for you. [I will leave a little note (1, 2, 3, 4) to let you know how I categorize each of these titles, based on the above criteria. Also linking to my reviews, where available.]
Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval (2, 3)
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (2, 3)
The Guest by Emma Cline (2, 3, 4)*
The Odd Woman and the City by Vivian Gornick (1, 4)
Luster by Raven Leilani (2?)
Florida by Lauren Groff (2, 3, 4)
Last Summer in the City by Gianfranco Calligarich (1, 3, 4)
Poetics of Work by Noemi Lefebvre (4)
In the Cafe of Lost Youth by Patrick Modiano (1, 4)
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri (4)
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1, 2, 3, 4)
My Summer Reading Plans
Lastly, I want to talk about my personal summer reading plans. I almost always make a seasonal TBR to help guide my reading, though it’s meant to be a loose plan rather than a strict checklist. These are some of the main books I’d like to get to in the coming months.
Beautiful World Where Are You by Sally Rooney
Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott
Screen Tests by Kate Zambreno
A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit
Orlanda by Jacqueline Harpman
Woman Running in the Mountains by Yuko Tsushima
How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Faraway the Southern Sky by Joseph Andras
The Last Sane Woman by Hannah Regel
I am really trying to stick to books I already own for the foreseeable future, so my summer reading list is limited to what’s on my shelves. But I think these will all be great!
And because I’m trying not to prioritize reading (over like, doing things I need to do), I will probably be dipping into a lot of collected works, short stories, essays, poetry, and lit mags to get my reading fix. Things that don’t require sustained attention, and are easy to dip into while I wander about.
If you have any summer reading recommendations for me, please leave a comment! Or tell me what you’re looking forward to reading this summer.
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Endorse the frivolity of ‘Vile Bodies’ - I read it 2 summers ago and it is without a doubt a great summer read!!