7 Books You Have to Read Over Summer Break

Summer break is the perfect time to catch up on pleasure reading. After all, the school year can be so exhausting with papers, projects, and tests that it can be almost impossible to add more to your reading load. Now that you have a break, it’s the perfect time to sit back, relax, and dive into one of these books below. For best results, grab your sunglasses and a cool glass of water and enjoy your summer reading outside in the summer breeze.

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1. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? By Maria Semple

This book is hilarious and heartwarming at once. It tells the story of a 15-year-old narrator, Bee, and her architect mother that turns up missing right before a family vacation to Antarctica. Soon to be made into a movie, this book is the perfect summer read. The story is told through a series of different artifacts, like emails or conversations, and you just won’t be able to put it down.

2. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

You might have heard of this book from the its adaption into the hit TV series of the same name. The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian work that explores feminist themes like women’s independence. This would make for a great read in a group setting – after you all read the book, you can watch the show together and discuss which you preferred. 

3. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Often included on college required reading lists for incoming students, this book is a must for young people. The book’s style is that of a letter written to the author’s son about his experiences with racial conflict in America. The account is autobiographical, and it recounts Coates’s own personal history of his upbringing in Baltimore. This book has been heralded as one of the most important narratives about race in our time, and reading it is super insightful for a young person.

4. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett 

This book is pretty unexpected in a lot of ways: it tells the story of a group of high-profile businesspeople, diplomats, and an opera singer who are taken hostage by a group of young terrorists. Throughout the novel, some unexpected relationships form, and some of the characters even fall for each other. This exciting novel is full of subtle action, and it serves as a great beach or poolside read.

5. The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

The Opposite of Loneliness is a compilation of short stories, poems, and non-fiction pieces by Marina Keegan that was published posthumously, as the author died only a few days after her graduation from Yale. The pieces are witty and strikingly capture what it’s like to be young and searching for love, a career, and meaning in life. This is a perfect book to read cover to cover and pass to a friend to share the experience. 

6. Less by Andrew Sean Greer

This 2018 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction is a real gem – it explores topics like same-sex relationships, love, and getting older through the character of Arthur Less, a gay writer. Despite writing about rather serious themes, Greer finds a way to make the humor shine through the book, making it deeply human.

7. Becoming by Michelle Obama 

Becoming is former first lady’s memoir about her own upbringing and her journey to the White House. She tells her own personal history, gives details about her family, and describes the major transition of her husband winning the presidency. This book gives great insight into one of the most prominent figures of our time’s experiences in an intimate way.

By now, I bet you’re feeling the urge to crack open one of these amazing books! Now that the weather is great and your school work load is light, there’s no better time to get started on this list. To make things even better, share with friends and start your own book exchange. You’ll be so happy at the end of the summer when you look at all of the amazing books you’ve gotten to read.

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