12 Books You Should Read This Summer 2023
Thoughts | Esther Choi
Graphic by Alex Eun
A good summer book is any book that can transport you to other worlds, immerses you into them, or is so thought-provoking that you feel enticed to keep flipping the pages. Here are some that can help your mind take a vacation (and also makes you look hot and mysterious when you read at a park) as well as the most anticipated new titles!
Happy Place by Emily Henry
Emily Henry strikes again with a perfect romance to cure your summer boredom. When Harriet and Wyn’s friend group goes on vacation at their Maine house for the last time ever, Harriet and Wyn are stuck sharing a room as they haven’t broken the news to their friends that they’re no longer engaged. Featuring the classic ‘stuck together’ trope, find out if Harriet and Wyn’s relationship is just for show or if there is a second chance on the horizon.
Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
Mickey, a young Black writer, returns to her hometown after being fired from her New York City media job. She publicly calls out the racism and sexism that she experienced at her workplace only to be met with overwhelming silence. However, when her letter starts to receive public attention, suddenly everyone wants to hear what Mickey has to say. What will she do?
Ducks by Kate Beaton
Ducks is a deeply personal, observant, and compelling coming-of-age graphic memoir that tells an untold story of Canada—the commodification and exploitation of workers and land in the oil industry. Beaton explores big complicated issues such as misogyny, labour, and environmental destruction but also highlights personal tribulations related to complicity, isolation, trauma, and the yearning for home. Ducks has won the 2023 Canada Reads competition and is the first graphic novel to do so.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
The perfect escapist summer romance featuring two authors whose different genres repel yet fascinate each other. Emily Henry combines the sorta-enemies-to-lovers and grumpy x sunshine topes and makes it WORK. This book will have you kicking your feet and twirling your hair, reminding you that romance is alive and well. If you can’t get enough, Henry continues nailing perfect summer novels in People We Meet On Vacation.
Girlhood by Melissa Febos
I lied. Some of the books I want y’all to read definitely don’t help your mind take a vacation, but I believe they are must-reads. A good summer book doesn’t have to be fiction If you haven’t gotten into the genre of creative nonfiction and memoirs, this is a sign you should start this summer. Girlhood is a collection of seven essays that focus on the transition between adolescence and womanhood—exploring the patriarchy, the complexity of “desire”, beauty standards, victimhood and more.
The Endless Vessel by Charles Soule
Here’s a new one for sci-fi lovers. The Endless Vessel is a dystopian novel about young Hong Kong-based scientist Lily Barnes, who struggles to keep afloat in an increasingly dark world infected by a plague. Somehow, Charles Soule transforms these stakes into a story about hope, possibility, and love.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
This one’s for you Kafka fans. Milan Kundera traces the lives of two couples during the Soviet occupation of Prague in the late 1960s, depicting their struggles against communism, their pasts, their lovers, and themselves. The chapters are short but succinct and portray the fragility of love in a refreshing way. This novel has been known to inspire readers to go travelling—maybe a sign for your hot Europe summer.
The Idiot and Either/Or by Elif Batuman
Both novels follow the beloved protagonist Selin’s quest for self-knowledge as she experiences university life and her transition into adulthood. The Idiot chronicles Selin, daughter of Turkish immigrants, and her summer in Europe—a journey drastically different from American college life and the exploration of first love. Either/Or follows up with what happened over that summer, diving deeper into the new experiences of adulthood.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
An underrated Austen classic; dare I say I prefer it to Pride & Prejudice. If you want to look hot and mysterious reading on the TTC, Persuasion will do the trick. Austen just simply understands and writes for the romantics whose love language is words of affirmation. It’s full of heartbreak, sorrow, loss, remembrance, uncertainty, regret, fear, and everything about love. Persuasion is about the aftermath—what happens when love has been found and lost, when the carelessness of youth has faded away and one can longer afford what-ifs anymore.
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
Rio appeals to the dark academia lovers, writing about a drama set at a Shakespeare theatre, in which a group of theatre actors accidentally kill a man and have to deal with the consequences. Yay! Super fun stuff! Kidding, this book is quite the opposite—it will destroy you. As you can imagine how a Shakespearean tragedy would end, Rio will have you rooting for the characters and their happy endings until the very end.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
This is probably one of the most talked about books of the year and for good reason. If you haven’t gotten around to it, this is your sign this summer. If you’re a video game lover and haven’t felt empty after reading a book in a long time, you’re in for a fun time. Zevin explores the complexities and boundaries of friendship, love, and strife. I won’t say much more.
After Tonight, Everything Will Be Different by Adam Gnade
Food is love and Adam Gnade wants you to know you are loved. In this fictional food memoir-style prose, Gnade reminds readers that through the pains and joys of everyday life, food is there with us every step of the way.