Summer Reading List 2024

Summer is officially beginning soon and here's a group of seasonally themed books I hope to read during the next few months. Click ‘Show More’ for info & links.

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Books discussed & purchase links:

Summerwater by Sarah Moss

Like Water, Like Sea by Olumide Popoola

The Axeman's Carnival by Catherine Chidgey

The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

This is Fine by Poorna Bell

The Amendments by Niamh Mulvey

Clairmont by Lesley McDowell

Until August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Summer in Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:56 Summerwater
1:28 Like Water Like Sea
2:16 The Axeman's Carnival
3:07 The Other Valley
4:19 This is Fine
5:12 The Amendments
5:47 Clairmont
6:38 Until August
7:22 Summer in Baden-Baden
8:10 The Custom of the Country
9:38 Conclusion

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Get in touch

[dqan]

I'm facing four days of extreme heat warnings, so I think I'll just skip straight to fall and winter readings. ⛄. But you do you. 👍😉. I'm still whittling away at my current reads, though the Wharton novel is tempting to start. Looking forward to your thoughts on those novels though!

[lauraarmstrong]

summer in Baden Baden intrigues me - Going to hunt it down for a summer read.

[jorgem]

The Custom of the Country is my favorite Edith Wharton novel. I love it!

[barbarablonsky]

The Custom of the Country is a great read! I love Edith Wharton. This gives you all the themes of the Gilded Age. Great ending.

[hrh]

I recently finished The Other Valley. It was very good. Some of it takes place during the cold, cold winter so if you’re suffering during a heat wave that might be refreshing. 😊 Until August and Clairmont sound interesting. My summer reading list is, 1. The Safekeep 2. The Guest by Emma Cline 2. Margo’s Got Money Troubles 3. Beautyland 4. Romantic Comedy 5. Good Material 6. The Familiar 7. Beautiful Ruins 8. Heartburn by Nora Ephron

[penelopegough]

The Axeman’s Carnival sounds very interesting and I love books like the Other Valley. Have made a note of both! I love Sarah Moss. summertime was my first to read of hers. She is a marvellous writer. Summer in Baden Baden is very promising. I’m looking for it now! 😊Good list Eric.

[curtjarrell]

Hi Eric. I want to read more Edith Wharton later this year. Possible books include Glimpses of the Moon and your pick, The Custom of the Country. My summer TBR includes The Demon of Unrest by Eric Larson, East of Eden by Steinbeck, Mrs. Dalloway by Woolf, and I hope to finish Don Quixote. Happy reading.

[JohnSeney]

😸 Hey interesting that Mary and Shelley Percy had that get-together and later you mentioned Sophia and Dostoyevsky Fyodor as well 😆 Happens to all of us, who can keep so many writers in order!? 👍

[tammyripp]

I've added Until August, This is Fine & The Custom of the Country to my TBR Eric, thank you! As for my reco, I just finished reading Suzanne Rindell's new book Summer Fridays and loved it (rare for me because not my favorite genre).

[ΛΕΜΟΝΙΑΤΑΣΟΥΛΑ]

Sarah Moss is such a talented writer. I've read ghost wall and i found it so original and well written.

[wouterdemuyt]

Haven't read any of them. The Other Valley sounds great.
When I go to the sea in summer I usually take some 'maritime' novels: the next Patrick O'Brian, The Wager, The Adventures Of Amina al-Sirafi, Victim Of The Aurora.
I'll be continuing my American hisory biographies with Robert E Lee, Ulysses Grant and John D Rockefeller.
And of course some more novels: Martyr! Caledonian Road, Butcher, Night Watch, Let Us Descend, Kairos, There There...
And probably some thrillers: Small Mercies, The Enchanters, Last Frontier, The Man Who Was Thursday...

[raymondconners]

I believe The Lincoln Highway is set during summer

[agathayo]

The Custom of the Country sounds interesting. I've not read any of these.

[NovelFindsByKassi]

I'm really interested in The Other Valley. I own a copy of it and it's deffo on my 2024 reading list.

[debbierussell]

I recently read The Axeman’s Carnival and loved it. There is some serious subject matter in the book but Tama the magpie kept me laughing throughout!

[catherinechidgey]

Hi Eric - I'd recommend you start The Axeman's Carnival asap. 😉Have a lovely summer!

[cindyhaiken]

I loved Summerwater. It’s a great book to read in one sitting. I am really eager to read David Nicholls’ new novel, which sounds like a great summer read, and also Sarah Perry’s new novel Enlightenment, which sounds like a book to read when you’ve got hours inside because it’s just too hot or too stormy to go out.

[HannahsBooks]

The Custom of the Country is such a wonderful read--and the edition you have is phenomenal! I'm hoping to read Hermione Lee's long biography of Wharton late this summer.

[GeraldineRowe]

If you haven't already read it, I can recommend The Summer Book by Tove Jansson.

[katrinamuritala]

I have the other valley would love to read it with you