TITLES Summer Reading List
Summer is here! Whether you are in the big city, sweating on the subway, in the countryside, laying in the grass or by the sea, getting a good tan on, you need a summer read. If you ask me, reading a book in the sun with a cold beverage on the side is one of, if not the, best things we get to experience as humans in our lifetime.
But since summer is always over before you know it, you don’t wanna waste those precious days of sun on a disappointing book. You need the perfect summer read. So; what makes a book a perfect summer read? The most obvious trait might be a summery setting, perhaps by the ocean or a romantic Mediterranean village. Surely, romance works best in the summer, so you might find yourself enjoying a steamy love story to add to your own summer adventures. But for me, the biggest and most crucial part of the perfect summer read, is transformation. Whether it’s a coming-of-age story or a character study, the best novels confront their characters with situations and obstacles that require them to change, adapt and learn. These books can help us reflect on our own lives and the transformations we are going through.
Here is a list five transformative and summery books, perfect for your day at the beach or park or pool. This list includes a modern classic, contemporary fiction and BookTok hits, so should provide a fit for everyone! If you’re still in search of a summer read, you might want to consider one of these!
Happy Hour – Marlowe Granados
“It takes practice to have restraint, and we are not yet at an age to try it out.”
If you’re a real 365 party girl and are trying to have a brat summer [https://people.com/what-is-brat-summer-charli-xcx-8671232], I have the book for you (and if these terms mean nothing to you, you must’ve been living under a rock). Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados is the book for It-Girls or those who want to live vicariously through It-Girls. Happy Hour chronicles the adventurous summer of Isa and Gala in New York City, where they navigate odd jobs and high-society parties while living on the edge of glamour and financial strain. Their escapades reveal the raw, vibrant pursuit of pleasure and identity in their twenties. Don’t expect perfectly likeable characters or a polished plot; expect atmospheric, pulsating images of a New York Summer and cunning observations about being a lost twenty-something year-old.
Hot Milk – Deborah Levy
“She was a voyeur. Of her own desire. […] She wanted to behead her desire for me. Her own desire felt monstrous to her. She made me the monster she felt herself to be.“
Deborah Levy has long been BookTok’s favorite. With renowned novels like The Cost of Living or Things I Don’t Want to Know, she is one of the biggest names in contemporary literary fiction. Her 2016 novel Hot Milk was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and for good reason. In this novel, 25-year-old Sofia and her mother Rose are traveling from the UK to Spain, to visit a neuro-specialist seeking out treatment for Rose’s mysterious leg problems. While the controversial Dr. Gomez is working his methods on her, Sofia spends her days swimming in the Mediterranean sea and exploring the Andalusian village. The unfamiliar surrounding and the puzzling acquaintances she makes, leave Sofia questioning almost everything she knew to be true, including her familial relationships and her sexuality. Hot Milk utilizes references to Greek mythology and anthropology to uncover serious themes like motherhood, narcissism and identity. While at times unconventional, the writing style is clever, funny and unique. Watching Sofia’s transformation unfold makes for a beautiful reading experience.
Brutes – Dizz Tate
“We would not be born out of sweetness, we were born out of rage, we felt it in our bones.“
Brutes can definitely be categorized under the polarizing buzzword ‘Weird Girl Fiction’. Dizz Tate’s debut novel is all The Virgin Suicides gone 21st century. Set in Falls Landing, Florida, Brutes follows a clique of 13-year-old girls and their obsession with the towns preacher’s daughter, Sammy. When Sammy goes missing the girls find themselves discovering more and more dark secrets about their home town and the people that inhabit it. From the swampy Florida heat to the nauseating sweetness of teenage girlhood, this novel feels sensorily sticky. Unlike many other attempts at capturing the chaos of this age, Tate manages to convey the debilitating grossness of being a 13 year old girl. Brutes is definitely a weird book with a dizzying storyline and prose so beautifully truthful that it will move you.
Sex and Rage – Eve Babitz
“People go through life eating lamb chops and breaking their mother’s hearts.”
Ending on a high with the 1979 California Classic Sex and Rage; Eve Babitz’s autofictive writing is arguably as Cali as it gets. The novel follows Jacaranda, a young, free-spirited woman navigating the vibrant and hedonistic landscapes of 1970s Los Angeles. Between surfing, parties, and affairs, Jacaranda searches for her identity. Her lack of worries and responsibility makes for a glamorous lifestyle but leaves her without a real career or purpose. So, at 28, she decides to make a name for herself as a writer. Between LA and New York, we follow Jacaranda’s wild attempt to figure out who she really is, beyond being a California-bred party girl. The novel’s spontaneous tone makes for a fun read and offers insight into the American bohemian lifestyle of the 1970s.
Check out this TITLE article about Eve Babitz and her legacy.
