While torrential rain and thunderstorms don’t feel too promising, summer is well on its way, and with it (fingers crossed!) more freedom, especially to travel. We’ve can’t wait to be back on a sun-lounger catching a tan, cocktail in one hand and sporting a new bikini. Besides suncream and a pair of sunglasses, a holiday must-have is, of course, a summer book.
While we can’t guarantee a holiday abroad this summer, there’s plenty of sunny spots in the UK for a staycation that will be just as relaxing. We’re thinking holiday cottages with hot tubs, unique Airbnb’s and weekend breaks in the Cotswolds, Dorset or maybe Cornwall.
After THE most difficult, strangest year of our lives, we’re well due a bit of TLC and one of our favourite things to do is to get stuck into a new book on holiday when you have all the time in the world to read without interruption. So, we’ve created an exhaustive list of our favourite summer books to pack in your suitcase. Whether you want fiction, non-fiction, romance, thriller, self-help or fantasy, we’ve got you covered.
With 23 titles to choose from, you’re spoilt for choice, with each one perfect for starting while on the plane, while tanning on the beach or in your hotel room surrounded by peace and quiet.
If you love reading love stories, pick up a copy of Love In Colour by Bolu Babalola, a celebration of romance, spanning folktales from West Africa, Greek mythology, Middle Eastern legends and more, across genres, continents and perspectives. For fans of fashion, you’ll enjoy style icon and Vogue alumni, André Leon Talley’s memoir, In The Chiffon Trenches, which documents his decades in the cutthroat fashion industry. One of our favourite new books is Luster by Raven Leilani which scored a spot in the longlist for the Women’s Prize For Fiction 2021, telling the honest, raw and often dark story of the main character Edie, as she navigates relationships, romance and racial and sexual politics.
Looking for more reading recommendations? Head this way for the best poetry books to add to your bookshelf pronto, over here for all the books on the Women’s Prize shortlist and here for best romance novels ever written.
For more from Glamour UK Freelance Commerce Writer Louise Whitbread, follow her on Instagram @louisewhitbread.