Your Summer “Must Read” List

As the weather grows warmer, so too does the desire to bask in the sun while delving into your newest summer read. Exams and summative projects will soon be over, and the only thing you’ll be worried about cramming in is all those good books you’ve been waiting all year to read. However, if you aren’t one of the few people who, like me, spends the year carefully selecting (and re-selecting…) the books they will read this summer, never fear! The list below offers four great, summer-friendly reads; you will find classics, mystery, fantasy and chick-lit. Happy reading!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scot Fitzgerald

Here is a novel that, at once glamorous and compassionate, reveals a hero like no other; one who could live at no other time and in no other place. But he will live as a character, I predict, as long as the memory of the reader lasts. It is the story of Jay Gatsby, as told by Nick Carraway, and of his sumptuous entertainments and love for Daisy Buchanan; it is a story that ranges from pure lyrical beauty to brutal realism. It is a magical, living book, blending irony, romance, and mysticism. The Great Gatsby will remain a classic for decades to come.

The Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling

I know this isn’t a single book, rather an entire seven-book series, but I feel compelled to share this childhood (and current) favorite. These books were a defining force in my childhood, likely owing to the fact that my best friend and I instantly bonded over this series. The first book, The Philosopher’s Stone, will start your journey through the life of the young wizard Harry Potter and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasly. Although you may know them as Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint from the movies, reading the books is well worth your time. The central plotline concerns Harry’s continual struggle against Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who yearns for immortality and intends to overthrow the governing body of the wizarding community and conquer all wizards and muggles (a name used to describe all non-magical people).

Along with the characters you will laugh, cry, rejoice in their victories, and cheer them on through adversity and at the end you will be heartbroken that this wonderful adventure ended so soon.

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

This book contained all the things I love about good summer fiction: historical, sprawling beach residences and undiscovered family secrets. This is no ordinary story of growing up; there are dark and sinister secrets lurking beneath the surface of a once-picture perfect family. With the back drop of the forties to the sixties you can watch the family grow and their secret revealed. Brilliantly told from five perspectives, Tigers in Red Weatherslowly shows you the true colours of every member of this family, painting a beautiful but fragile picture of the characters.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

This delightfully dishy novel about the all-time most impossible boss in the history of impossible bosses starts when Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job “a million girls would die for:” assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile editor of Runway magazine. No sooner has she accepted the honour than she was thrust into a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women, and handsome men clad in tight ribbed turtle necks that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym.

Narrated in Andrea’s smart, refreshingly disarming voice, it traces a deep, dark, devilish view of life at the top only hinted at in gossip columns and over Cosmopolitans at the trendiest cocktail parties. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, however, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her.