Summer Reading Recommendations from Leading Authors
The Literary Guide to Summer Reading
As summer approaches, several renowned authors have shared their reading recommendations, offering a diverse selection of books that promise to transport, entertain, and enlighten readers. From award-winning fiction to memoirs and poetry, these picks provide a literary roadmap for the season.
Zadie Smith's Summer Selections
Zadie Smith recommends Margaret Busby's Part of the Story: Writings from Half a Century, a beautiful collection documenting one woman's lifelong passion for African literature and diaspora. She also highlights Luke Kennard's Black Bag as "the funniest and smartest novel I've read in a while."
Mark Haddon's International Picks
Mark Haddon suggests metaphorical summer travel through literature, starting with Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, winner of the International Booker Prize. He also recommends three other books from the shortlist: Daniel Kehlmann's The Director, Ana Paula Maia's On Earth As It Is Beneath, and Rene Karabash's She Who Remains.
Nina Stibbe's Engaging Narratives
Nina Stibbe praises Séamas O'Reilly's Prestige Drama, a darkly funny debut novel about a Hollywood actor in Derry. She also highlights Helen Bain's The Daffodil Days, which explores Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes' marriage through multiple perspectives, and Maria Semple's Go Gentle, an art-heist adventure incorporating stoic principles.
Stephen Grosz's Timeless Classics
Stephen Grosz recommends Deborah Treisman's A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker: 1925–2025, a magnificent anthology of 78 stories. He also suggests JL Carr's brief but beautiful novel A Month in the Country and Stefan Zweig's poignant memoir The World of Yesterday.
Virginia Evans's Escapist Reads
Virginia Evans seeks books that whisk readers away to other landscapes, lives, or times. Her top recommendation is Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins, which she describes as "a perfect novel." She also revisits Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle as a delightful summer companion.
Joe Dunthorne's Character-Driven Stories
Joe Dunthorne rediscovered the pleasures of character, plot, and dialogue in Benjamin Markovits's The Rest of Our Lives. He also recommends Harriet Armstrong's debut To Rest Our Minds and Bodies about young love and obsession, and Sasha Debevec-McKenney's poetry collection Joy Is My Middle Name.
Sarah Waters's Compelling Non-Fiction
Sarah Waters was "bowled over" by Siri Hustvedt's Ghost Stories, a memoir of her life with Paul Auster. She also highlights Hallie Rubenhold's Story of a Murder and Patricia Highsmith's diaries and notebooks, which offer fascinating insights into the author's writing and troubled life.