Here comes the sun
Recommendations #9
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June, in the Northern Hemisphere, is summertime. June holds all the promise of summer - the plans, the festivals, the hope! - which allows you to actually enjoy it. In July there is a pressure to ‘make the most of it!’. And by August we are faced with the melancholy of it all slipping away again, until next year.
All that to say, I am LOVING this May/ June time but wow has it been busy. Two weddings, a holiday to Greece (where I read, a lot), weekends in the countryside, trips to the coast, live music, sea swims, yoga, days in the park with pals…
Oh and a trip to Glasgow that featured a burger who’s bun was actually two glazed donuts:
Currently reading: Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors early days but I think I’m enjoying it!
On to the recommendations. For those that are new here (hi, welcome!), I split my book reccs into four categories and include a mix of new releases and books I’ve previously loved that feel timely. Hopefully there’s something for you.
COSY & COMFORTING
A book that has no ulterior motive and is simply a delightful time.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Published: 1972
Summary: Beloved author Tove Jansson (1914-2001) was the creator of the Moomins* but she also wrote adult books. In The Summer Book, follow a grandmother and her 6 year old granddaughter whilst they spend a summer together in a ramshackle shack on a remote island in the gulf of Finland (they are literally the only ones there). The writing and their relationship is brusque, to the point and yet so full of love. Sophia (the granddaughter) and the unnamed Grandmother each have their own idiosyncrasies and foibles but fall into a natural rhythm together as the summer passes. (It’s worth noting, Sophia is mourning the death of her mother and this is handled so gently). Do read it this summer.
I have just been alerted that it’s being made into a film featuring Glenn Close. Count me in! (You’re only allowed to watch the trailer after reading the book).
LOVE & BEING HUMAN
Everything and anything that gives insight and exposes the true messiness of being human.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Published: June 2022
Summary: I’ve obviously been waiting until June to recommend this. Seven Days In June follows Eva and Shane for, yep, seven days in June. But they’ve been here before, 15 years prior and Shane left Eva broken hearted. It’s a sweaty, steamy and humid week in Brooklyn for these two and just an excellent, fast paced romp of a read.
Oprah agrees as it was her bookclub pick in 2022, plus, it has 200k+ reviews.
INTENSE & REWARDING
Books that can fall on the heavier side but really give you something to get stuck into.
Wellness by Nathan Hill
Published: Sept 2024
Summary: It is impossible to sum this book up. It is a 600 page tome of a book that achieves so much. Whilst following Elizabeth and Jack’s relationship from college to the ennui of early parenthood, it somehow manages to touch on the invention of condensed milk AND the detailed progress of the Facebook algorithm! It’s baffling, quite tenuous at times but also really compelling. I didn’t like any characters but was riveted by the ‘wellness’ portion that ran throughout the book on the ‘science’ of the placebo.
If you’re not necessarily a speedy reader and want one book to keep you company this summer, this is it! Speedy readers should read it too. I’m almost compelled to have this on my shelf as a potential re-read.
PICK ‘N’ MIX
Anything that doesn’t fit into the other three (e.g. fantasy/ non-fiction) or simply something I want to recommend.
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
Published: 1950
Summary: I am shocked that only 60k people have rated this on Goodreads. I expected it to be up there with the modern classics of Birdsong with 1m+ reviews. Thankfully, it has made it onto the BBC Top 100 Books You Need To Read Before You Die** list.
Written in a similar way to Gatsby with a slightly arbitrary first-person narration and following a undeterrable woman character à la Kristin Hannah, it is really unputdownable.
Follow Jean Pagent as a POW during the Japanese invasion of Malaya. The Japanese had no where for women and children to go so they were marched, for miles, for months on end, from place to place. Jean is resilient in the face of this torture and along the route she is helped out by Joe whom she tracks down after the war is over.
Set in Malaysia and then the outback of Australia this book can only be read in the summer to truly experience the heat and depth of this story.
TBR
It’s been a while since I’ve done a TBR update. It’s a real mishmash of old and new books and it’s starting to get a bit unwieldily (help):
Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth (physically sitting on my bedside table)
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (waiting for me on my kindle - early reviews for this have been amazing)
Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (waiting for me at the library)
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico (ALSO waiting for me at the library)
The Shell House Detectives by Emylia Hall (YEP waiting for me at the library, with a deadline to pick it up by tomorrow)
Consider Yourself Kissed by Jessica Stanley (I’ve seen mixed reviews - I’m 5th in the queue at the library)
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (physically sitting on my bedside table, I might abandon all hope of ever getting to this one)
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune (sitting on my kindle - psst. it’s currently 99p)
Love at First Sight by Laura Jane Williams (pre ordered and due out next week)
Brideshead Revisted by (re-added to this list after reading the top 100 books to read before you die**, and remembering I have it on my bookcase!)
And a couple by Mary Lawson (also sitting on my kindle due to having kindle library sharing with my Mum, thanks Mum!).
It looks like I probably don’t need to re-read Wellness again then. I think I have enough to keep me busy.
If you have any opinions on which of the above I should read next, please let me know. As you can see, I am quite literally drowning in a sea of books of my own making.
*Please tell me the Moomin stories were as integral to your childhood as they were mine? Magical, quite creepy but also really comforting. If so, can we please discuss.
** Full BBC Top 100 Books You Need To Read Before You Die list here, I’ve read 24! Which I’m pretty happy with.
All historical books recommendations are also categorised into ‘cosy’, ‘love’, ‘intense’ and ‘pick n mix’ shelves on my bookshop.org store (if you buy through any of the links via bookshop.org I may get a tiny kick back commission).
And if you’re still here, I get an email saying “xyz has liked your post” every time one of you clicks ‘like’ and it quite literally makes my day!
Happy reading xo
If you’d like to read more of my recommendations see my previous Substack posts here:
Some great recommendations here for me to get stuck into - I’ve just started listening to Atmosphere and I’m already hooked!
Loved 7 Days in June, and really want to read Wellness!