19 Comments
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Tess C's avatar

Great list and I love the approach. Who doesn’t love a perfectly sized book at the beach or while traveling? The ideal summer read book fits in a slightly oversized bag.

Clara's avatar

exactly exactly you get it, Tess!

Tess C's avatar

Picked up Ada Limón’s Startelement. It’s slight larger than the ideal but I do adore her so in the bag it goes. Perhaps I’ll forgo sunscreen

n.b.smith@frontier.com's avatar

Impressive list, and I've read some of them; however, I was going to suggest an e-reader (I have both Nooks and a Kindle) especially if you are traveling, and trying to travel light. I never thought I would use one, but going to Kenya in 2012 for twelve days plus the flight over (I can not sleep on planes), I knew I could not carry enough physical books to get through it. I downloaded 20+ books, mostly from the local library, and read all but one of them during the time away. Now, I carry one of my Nooks in my purse when I know I am going to be a situation where I am I will be waiting. While I still prefer books, those e-readers sure come in handy. Plenty of sites for low-cost or free books, and if you find the book is not to your liking, delete it. ~Nan

n.b.smith@frontier.com's avatar

PS. Loved the footnotes!

Katy K.'s avatar

Cannery Row + sunscreen = perfection.(Wildly underrated book + deservedly overhyped product = perfect balance achieved?)

Lucy S.'s avatar

Have literally been asking for beach reads! Dying at the chart - thank you for your service

Clara's avatar

literally thank you so much it is my new favorite chart

Jessica @ Post-Wealth Project's avatar

Love a summer book guide.

No One Is Talking About This is one of my favorite books ever. I was so excited about her follow-up and it missed the mark for me. I just needed it to be 10% more readable and I feel like I could have stuck with it.

Clara's avatar

i haven’t read it yet because i heard similar things from other people! but No One Is Talking About This is just like a small miracle of a book, it’s so wonderful

Jenovia 🕸️'s avatar

Love seeing Turgenev's First Love included 😍

Clara's avatar

i love it so much he was such a little freak

Lauren K's avatar

I have read zero (!!) Ernaux so consider this the push needed to dive real hard into that reading gap.

Clara's avatar

yesss I’m so excited for you!

steph halchin's avatar

also i'm about to make this chart for every book i've ever read. it has unlocked something in my brain. also also, have you read dogs of summer? i feel like it would slot nicely into this list (plus footnotes...)

Clara's avatar

i think i’m gonna make this chart for every reading recap from now on tbh istg it scratched an itch i didn’t even know i had. also adding dogs of summer to my list asap tysm

steph halchin's avatar

this is the exact formula for my vacation reading so hell ya love you for this

Gabby Llewellyn's avatar

One thing I always love about your book recs is that they aren’t exclusively new releases. I love a buzzy release as much as the next gal but sometimes it’s good to be reminded what banger The Old Man and the Sea is!

Aurora's avatar

As always, thanks for the recs Clara! I enjoyed The Short Reign of Pippin IV more than anything I've read in a long time, and I think it has replaced Travels with Charley as my favorite Steinbeck!As