10 essential books to read this summer
From humorous solo traveller tales to a novel set in a Parisian apartment block, Jude Brosnan from Stanford Books reviews 10 life-affirming books you should read this summer
1: Higher Calling by Max Leonard
If you are already panicking about how you will fill those two TDF-free rest days, you could spend it reading about mountains. Mixing personal experiences, folklore and stories about cycling’s great legends, Max Leonard explores what it is about mountains that lures cyclists.
2: Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce
She shares stories of a nation of apparent contradictions and a people religious yet hedonistic, practical yet poetic, modern yet rooted in tradition. Revolutionary Ride has been one of our most popular new books this year. It’s funny and paints a beautiful picture of hospitality and if you can read it without craving Persian food, you are stronger than us.
3: Roam Alone
Buy it here: www.stanfords.co.uk/Roam-Alone-Inspiring-Tales-by-Reluctant-Solo-Travellers_9781784770495
From cycling around Madagascarto a ‘granny gap year’ in Kashmir these stories are a wonderful mixture that will make you laugh and move you to tears all the while offering practical advice gained through real life experiences.
Writers featured in Roam Alone include Phoebe Smith of Wanderlust, Jennifer Barclay, Hilary Bradt, and 37 new travel writers chosen from a worldwide competition to find the best stories by reluctant solo travellers. The book is chosen and compiled by Bradt who have been crafting unique guidebooks since 1974, so are oracles of travel writing.
4: Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
Buy it here: www.stanfords.co.uk/Men-Without-Women-Stories
In his collection of seven short stories he explores the bereft feelings of loneliness and grief that are so unique to every individual and from which he constructs wonderfully obscure tales.
Murakami does not pass an opportunity to portray his love for The Beatles, with two of the stories featuring references. Slightly more substantial that a collection of short stories, if you can only fit one book in your hand luggage, this would be a good choice.
5: Living the Dream by Lauren Berry
Buy it here: www.stanfords.co.uk/Living-the-Dream
Without glamorising, Lauren Berry manages to capture the realities of London life in a sharp-witted humorous way that will have you laughing and cringing at the realness of the circumstances the characters find themselves in.
6: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Buy it here: www.stanfords.co.uk/Pachinko
Min Jin Lee tells this story of searching for home in a new hostile place. The story spans across four decades following the family and the ties that bind them. Throughout the story we learn about the history between Korea and Japan and how it is reflected in attitudes and feelings of the people.
7: These Dividing Walls by Fran Cooper
Buy it here: www.stanfords.co.uk/These-Dividing-Walls
This one building houses such different people and produces so many stories and secrets that manage to cleverly interlace with one another. The author presents us with an interesting cast of characters through who we see a more real, gritty side of Paris than we might be used to hearing about.
8: Out of the Blue: New Short Fiction from Iceland
Featuring twenty of Iceland’s most popular current authors who take this opportunity to transport us to the landscapes of Iceland and sometimes take us to other places to show you things from the Icelandic perspective. Short stories are an important feature in Icelandic tradition and in this first anthology we see how powerful this element of their culture is.
9: By the Olive Groves: A Calabrian Childhood by Grazia Ietto Gillies
Gillies tells us about leaving her birthplace and raising a family in Rome then making the big move to London, all the while retaining her memories and customs of her original home. She invites readers to try some of her mother’s recipes and develop them to suit their tastes. This is an interesting take on a memoir and one that any foodie will love.
10: Aftershock by Jules Mountain
Almost 9,000 people died including 22 at Everest Base Camp. It’s a harrowing story of survival and shows us how powerful and resilient humans can be when set against extreme circumstances.
Main image: Woman reading in summer (Dreamstime)
