What Makes a Summer Read?
AKA My Alternative Summer TBR
It's finally summer here in the UK. Following Midsummer the other week (during which I failed once again to locate myself at Stonehenge) the country was hit by a short yet surprisingly potent mini-heatwave. Temperatures didn't exactly soar off the charts, but they were high enough to impact my day job of dog walking and largely replace it with visiting dogs and hanging out in their gardens. In true British summer style, the good weather didn't last long and so far this week me and my four-legged pals have been soaked by rain and blown around by the wind, which feels far more British than any of this hot weather malarkey.
However, I also noticed that Midsummer brought with it the annual slew of "summer reading" lists and shelves. Goodreads has published its enormous, genre-spanning list of "Readers' Most Anticipated Summer Books", one of the many libraries I am a member of has a list of "Summertime Sleuths" on its home page, and even my local branch of Aldi had a display of cheap "Summer Reads" paperbacks that I could pick up for £2.99 along with my weekly groceries. I may have been tempted to slip one of those into my basket last Friday…
I've never been much of a reader of what are considered typically "summer" reads. The books that get lumped in as the year's hottest beach reads are often romances or cosy mysteries set in the kind of idyllic coastal towns that holidaymakers might be visiting while reading them, and while I'll happily dive in to the odd one or two, they're not the books that frequently leap to the top of my personal TBR. Adding to that, historically summer has been a time when I read less, not more - partly due to entertaining a kid home from school and partly due to personally struggling with the heat which makes it harder to concentrate on reading.
So what makes a summertime read for me? To be honest, I'm not entirely sure, but let's take a look at some of the books I'd like to get to in these warmer months.
Two For Joy: The Myriad Ways to Enjoy the Countryside by Adam Henson
The title says it all, really, doesn't it? I'm incredibly privileged to live with the countryside at the end of my garden path. Just recently I've watched a sparrowhawk snatch a bird out of mid-air, a squirrel leap between trees, and a flock of birds following the local farmer up and down the nearby fields. But I always want to understand more about the nature surrounding me, and I'm hoping this beautiful book will do just that. Already I've learned why the dawn chorus is loudest in spring, and that a fairly common species of ladybird only arrived in Britain as recently as 2003!Â
Read it (Affiliate Link): Amazon, Bookshop
Jurassic Mary: Mary Anning and the Primeval Monsters by Patricia Pierce
I picked up this book about the life of palaeontologist Mary Anning from the independent bookshop in her home town of Lyme Regis, and I'm really hoping I'll be able to squeeze it in this summer. While not necessarily what one would consider a summer read, Mary Anning spent much of her life outdoors on the beach, where she hunted for the fossils that would one day make her famous and an icon for the female scientists who followed her, and that makes it summery to me!
Read it (Affiliate Link): Amazon, Bookshop
The Henna Wars by Adiba JaigirdarÂ
Would you look at that? A romance on a summer reading list? So original. Adiba Jaigirdar is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors, yet somehow I've never picked up her 2020 debut. Her books are filled with queer characters and frequently set in Ireland, both elements that draw me in, and I'm hoping I'll love The Henna Wars just as much as I've loved all her other books so far. To the best of my knowledge, there's nothing inherently summery about this particular book, but I do enjoy the odd romance in these warmer days and that’s enough for me.
Read it (Affiliate Link): Amazon, Bookshop
Lumberjanes Series, Created by N. D. Stevenson
What's more summery than Summer Camp? In June, I attempted to read 30 graphic novels in 30 days, and while I failed at that challenge, I did manage to squeeze in 13 volumes of Lumberjanes. That leaves me with just three volumes to go in order to complete this whole series, and I'm determined that I'm going to get that done this summer. I've been rating the recent volumes a worryingly mediocre 3 stars for the most part, so I'm really hoping that these final issues will tighten things up and end the series off with a satisfying bang.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Do you think I can class this as a summer read because it has the word "outside" in the title, and we typically spend more time outside during the summer? It's a good enough reason for me. The Outsiders is one of a list of classics I've been meaning to get around to, and hopefully I'll finally be picking it up this month. Maybe I'll even try to read it outdoors!
Read it (Affiliate Link): Amazon, Bookshop
I could keep writing forever with an ever-longer list of books I'd love to get to, but instead I'm going to stop here and go make the most of the sunshine with my current book. What are you hoping to read this summer?