Out of respect for yesterday’s #BlackoutTuesday, I am posting this a day late. I will be reading, donating, and continuously learning about how I can give my support, and I encourage everyone to do the same: https://blacklivesmatter.com/
On a roll from participating in Top 10 Tuesday last week, I’m back at it again with ‘books with summer vibes.’ Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018.
1. The Girls by Emma Cline
The Girls is set during the restless Californian summer of 1969, when our painfully awkward protagonist, Evie, is drawn into a cult living on the breadline in the Californian hills and led the charismatic egomaniac, Russell.
2. Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
It’s the hot, languid days of a mid-1980s June on the Italian Riviera – and for Elio, a restless, precocious seventeen-year-old, it’s a summer that he’ll never forget, when Italian-American university professor Oliver comes to stay.
3. Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant
In Lie With Me, an escape to Pyros, Greece soon becomes a claustrophobic nightmare for Paul Morris, a place haunted by the ghosts of the past.
4. Atonement by Ian McEwan
The catalyst for this story happens on a hot summer’s day in 1935, where thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses an exchange between her sister and a young gentleman. The way she acts subsequently changes all their lives forever.
5. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
‘Little Dog’ is the son of a Vietnamese refugee, and one summer, when he is fourteen, Little Dog begins working in the tobacco fields. There he meets Trevor, and the two begin an intense relationship. Poetic, elegiac and a window into the immigrant experience.
6. One Day by David Nicholls
St Swithin’s Day, on July 15th, is the anchor in this wildly popular story of Emma and Dexter, who meet at university and who we revisit on July 15th over the course of the years to come. Charming and nostalgic, this is a perfect summer read.
7. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
The sweltering heat of New Orleans is the stage for Tennessee’s William’s phenomenal play that examines madness, sexuality, class, the layers of the past, and – of course – desire.
8. The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley
Our young protagonist Leo has his life changed during a summer stay at an estate in the English countryside in the year 1900. The writing is beautifully evocative of a very different time.
9. Heatstroke by Hazel Barkworth
The only one on the list I’ve not yet read, Heat Stroke looks set to be a dark and gripping literary thriller when a young girl goes missing in the middle of summer.
10. A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare
Finally, for some light relief, one of my favourite of all Shakespeare’s plays – fairies, donkeys, a play within a play – what’s not to love?
What kind of books are quintessentially ‘summer’ for you?
NOVELS AND TEACUPS 
For me the ultimate summer book is A Month in the Country; if you haven’t read it, it’s a must 🙂
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Thank you for the recommendation! I just looked it up on GR, sounds interesting and not one I’d heard of before.
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Great list. Streetcar is so good – and so depressing. Love Ocean Vuong. He’s my current favourite writer on the planet. Thanks for the post.
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Thank you! Ah, he’s amazing isn’t he. I just heard him on an old episode of the Literary Friction podcast and was an even bigger fan after hearing him speak.
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