As soon as I sent my Paperback Summer Reading Guide out into the world, I had a bunch of people reach out and ask, “so now what are you reading this summer?”
Each time it made me chuckle. Because we bookworms just can’t help ourselves!! We get a bevy of recommendations, stack our shelves, fill our library queues, but we still want to know what else we should add to our ever-expanding reading lists.
But it’s also a good questions! I spend the last couple months putting together (what I hope is) a fantastic resource to help readers find great backlist titles for their summer reading stacks. But those are are all books I’ve read! So what will I be reading this summer? What are my resources for tracking down more books that fit my summer reading vibe?
I’m often asked how I find and decide what books I want to read, and I find this to be a difficult question to answer. I have soooo many books I want to read and more coming onto my radar all the time, and I’m not great about remembering or tracking how I hear about those books. Most of my TBR comes from recommendations from the FictionMatters Patreon community. Once a month our literary society gathers on Zoom for Biblio Brunch and shares book recommendations. Some of my best reading experiences of the past three years have come from books shared there, and I’ve built an impossibly tall stack of books to read based on those recommendations alone. If you’re looking for a community of readers who will put fantastic, thought-provoking, often under-the-radar books into your hands, consider joining us for the summer. Your TBR will thank you!
For now, here are a handful of the books on my own summer to be read list along with how it ended up there. I hope it gives you some exciting books to read and a little peek into how I plan my reading life.
20 books on my summer reading TBR
A healthy mix of backlist and new releases, books I’ve been meaning to get to forever and ones that just recently caught my attention, here are 15 books I’m interested in reading this season.
Our Town by Thornton Wilder. On the Parnassus Instagram account, Ann Patchett said that readers might get a little more out of her new book Tom Lake if they’re familiar with Our Town. You don’t have to tell me twice, Ann.
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard. This book has been going around the Fiction Matters Patreon community and every person who’s read it has described it as mind-blowing—the type of book you want to immediately begin again after turning the last page.
The Savage Detectives by Roberton Bolaño. I’m not sure this book is going to be right for me, but Bolaño is on my list of authors I must try at some point in my life and the floppy paperback version was recently on sale at Barnes & Noble so I picked it up. This year, I’ve loved losing myself in a lengthy story, so I think it might be the right time to try it.
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton. After loving both The Luminaries and Birnam Wood, I plan to become a Catton completist this summer.
The Unseen by Roy Jacobson. I’ve been enjoying exploring books published by Biblioasis, and this first book in a sweeping family series sounds perfect for summer. First translated from the Norwegian in 2020, all of the books in the series are now available in English so if I love it, I’ll be able to continue exploring.
Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin. I found Perrin’s Three to be extremely compelling and I included it in the Paperback Summer Shortlist, and I’ve heard some readers say this one is even better. I can’t wait to be immersed back in Perrin’s evocative language.
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan. My friend Elizabeth has been recommending this to me since it came out, but I think I needed to feel a little more confident in my own mothering before picking up a book so explicitly about the ineffable concept of “good mothers.” I think I’m finally ready to give it a try.
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung. It’s been awhile since I read something really weird, and while I think this collection might be well outside my typical wheelhouse, sometimes I’m in the mood to really shake things up. This came on my radar after a group of FM Patreon members buddy read it.
Boulder by Eva Baltasar. Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and a favorite of many readers in the FictionMatters community, this is one I plan to get to as soon as humanly possible.
Thirst for Salt by Madeleine Lucas. This was on Michelle Reads Books’ summer reading guide and my friend Renee has also raved about it. It sounds like a quintessential work of sad girl lit fic but set at the beach—perfect for a slow summer afternoon.
Above Ground by Clint Smith. Smith’s newest poetry collection has been raved about by critics and readers alike. I’ve loved his poetry that’s been published in The Atlantic, the New York Times, and elsewhere, so I’m looking forward to slowly making my way through this entire collection throughout the summer.
The Postcard by Anne Berest. This is the book on Anne Bogel’s wonderful summer reading guide that most immediately caught my attention. Honestly, if you describe something as not your typical summer read, it’s probably going to be right for my personal summer reading taste. It sounds like The Postcard is primarily a family story, but with a mystery at its heart to help you keep turning the pages, and that sounds absolutely perfect, especially for anyone else trying to read more books in translation this year.
Dances by Nicole Cuffy. I requested this book from Random House because I love the cover and because I will read anything set in the world of ballet. For those same reasons, Chloe Angyl’s Pas de Don’t is also on my TBR.
Mild Vertigo by Mieko Kanai. I received this as part of my book subscription box through Skylight Books and then it got a rave NYT review.
At the Edge of the Woods by Kathryn Bromwich (out June 6th). LitHub is one of my best sources for finding new books I’m excited about. Editor Emily Temple describes this as “an unsettling fever dream” but it’s also a story about well-kept secrets and our relationship with the natural world. I’m always on the lookout for books from small presses, so this one is particularly interesting to me for that reason.
The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman by Molly Lynch (out June 13th). This book showed up on my doorstep recently from Catapult Press, and it sounds perfect for me. Set in a world where mothers are disappearing, this book sounds like a mash-up of Fates and Furies and The Leftovers and promises to explore questions of motherhood and family.
I Am Homeless if This is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore (out June 20th). I love Moore’s short fiction but have never read her novels. This newest sounds strange and has been getting mixed reviews, but I’m eager to give it a try.
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai. Sometimes books come on my radar because they’re sent to me, and such is the case with Banyan Moon. I always love a sweeping family story, but something about them does feel particularly right for summer reading. I particularly can’t resist a story of family members reuniting and secrets being unearthed, and that’s what this book promises.
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (out July 11). My Novel Pairings co-host Chelsey has been raving about this books since December! While we don’t always overlap on the books we love, Chelsey knows my taste extremely well and she thought the themes of language and identity would really pull me in. I’m actually halfway through this speculative slow-burn thriller, and she was right! This suspenseful and fast-paced novel is a perfect summer read for people who love the literary but want something easy to fly through.
Thin Skin by Jenn Shapland. I adored My Autobiography of Carson McCullers. Shapland’s writing is outstanding and her essay structures are so inventive. I’m eager to see what she does with the broader scope of this collection.
Tell me what’s on your summer reading list and how did it get there?
There’s still time to get the complete 2023 Paperback Summer Reading Guide for even more eclectic recommendations for adventurous readers. Find all the details in the post below, or upgrade your Substack subscription before tomorrow to get 20% off the annual price!
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-Sara
Reading in Public No. 11
Thanks for the mention Sara- I'm SO happy you're planning on reading Thirst for Salt. I really think it's a story you'll like and you're exactly right, it's perfect for an afternoon of summer reading. Fresh Water for Flowers has been on my print tbr shelf since 2021 - thanks for the reminder:)
Oh I was also thinking about reading Bolaňo this summer. I read Savage Detectives years ago....not sure whether to reread that or give 2666 a try. 😵💫