Books Not to Read on the Subway

Summertime is in full swing and there's aught like heading to the beach — or the park — sitting by the water, contemplating the view, grabbing a skillful book and just immersing ourselves in it. That's why we're throwing out some ideas for the perfect summer novels.

Nosotros are adhering to "beach reads" rules though: most of the titles hither are either full page-turners or grant some instant gratification — or both. And all of them will transport you lot to faraway places or the kind of setting you'd enjoy spending a vacation at, either because of when they were written or where they are fix.

"The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith (1955)

The oldest book on this list is the first 1 in a series of five psychological thrillers that Patricia Highsmith wrote about her infamous Tom Ripley grapheme. Even if he's a sociopath with more murderous tendencies, the reader tin't avoid being on Ripley'due south side while reading Highsmith'south engrossing novels.

The whole series is gear up in Europe with the showtime book taking its protagonist and the reader to San Remo, Rome, Palermo and Venice. Plus, in that location's a constant longing for a trip to Greece.

This Australian classic is set in 1900 and features a group of boarders from an all-girls school in Victoria equally they accept a day trip to the nearby geological formation Hanging Rock. At that place are plenty of descriptions of proper picnic attire, the beauty of the landscape and the relationships that bond this group of teenagers and their teachers.

And while Joan Lindsay's writing style and the setting for this novel may accept you drawing some parallels with other classic coming-of-age novels written by and starring women, the ending of Picnic at Hanging Stone could just take been written in the 1960s.

"Los mares del Sur" (Southern Seas) past Manuel Vázquez Montalbán (1979)

Allow me the hometown reference with this Spanish novel ready in Barcelona in 1979. Written by the Galician-Catalan author Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Southern Seasis the virtually famous of his novels starring the private detective Pepe Carvalho. He'southward a gourmet who's equally obsessed with nutrient, literature and the city of Barcelona.

As well a methodical description of the metropolis in the belatedly 1970s, the book also includes references to a trip to the Southern Seas that never was.

"Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami (1987)

Written by Japanese author Haruki Murakami, this coming-of-age novel follows the story of Toru Watanabe, a college student who is obsessed with American literature. He'due south trying to figure out his life in Tokyo in the 1960s and ends up in relationships with two women who couldn't exist more different: in that location's Naoko, the former girlfriend of his best friend, and Midori, 1 of his classmates.

The story takes the reader from the bustling streets of Tokyo to the peaceful quietness of a rehab center lost in the mountains nearby Kyoto.

"Get Shorty" by Elmore Leonard (1990)

Small-time Miami loan shark Chili Palmer travels to Las Vegas, hoping to become a debt paid, and ends up in Los Angeles, where he learns nearly the movie-making business and how to get a producer. Set in Hollywood in 1990, this California classic masterfully blends suspense, thrills, humour and even the slightest hint of a Western.

This story is so quintessentially Hollywood that there's a 1995 picture accommodation starring John Travolta and a 2017 Tv show with Chris O'Dowd, but you should definitely get-go with the Elmore Leonard novel.

"Decease at La Fenice" by Donna Leon (1992)

American novelist Donna Leon has been calling Venice home for years. Her first volume in the mystery serial that stars the Venetian police detective Guido Brunetti follows the investigation of a music conductor'south death after he's poisoned during the interruption of a Verdi opera at La Felice.

Leon has been steadily publishing ane new Commissario Guido Brunetti installment a twelvemonth for decades. Then if you lot dear the Venitian setting, crime stories and the abiding descriptions of all the delicious foods (and drinks) that Brunetti ingests on a daily basis, this could definitely exist the serial for you.

"Call Me by Your Proper name" past André Aciman (2007)

Chances are we'll never get to see Luca Guadagnino'due south sequel to his Call Me by Your Name movie adaptation. And while André Aciman's follow-up novel, Find Me, may leave hardcore fans of Elio and Oliver a trivial bit underwhelmed, there'south nothing like going back to the original material.

Set up against the backdrop of the Italian Riviera, this coming-of-age story follows the precocious Elio as he falls in love with Oliver, a graduate student and Elio'due south parents' guest for the summer. This iconic summer read perfectly captures the feeling of longing for someone and information technology features plentiful, engaging conversations, early on morning time swims, leisurely bike rides, a furtive relationship and a passionate trip to Rome.

"Americanah" past Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2013)

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie sets this story — that deals with immigration, race and the feeling of belonging — in Lagos, London and New Bailiwick of jersey. Her protagonist is Ifemelu, a young Nigerian woman who moves to the Usa to farther her studies.

Americanahmakes for a slap-up read not just as an engaging and entertaining novel but also every bit a study near race in America from the perspective of a non-American Black person. The novel besides packs a circuitous dear story betwixt Ifemelu and Obinze, who moves to London and has to live there as an undocumented immigrant.

"Big Petty Lies" by Liane Moriarty (2014)

I don't intendance if you've already seen the star-packed HBO miniseries and know not only who the killer of this story is but too the identity of the person who dies and whose investigation propels the whole plot, Liane Moriarty's soapy thriller yet very much deserves a read.

On the ane hand, instead of the rugged coast of Northern California, the novel Big Petty Lies is set in the suburban Northern Beaches of Sydney. On the other manus, the volume jams enough humor and abrupt banter — especially when it comes to the inclusion of dialogue from the constabulary interrogations amongst the many parents who take their kids to the same school every bit our protagonists — that you'll observe enough nuggets of new material to more than than justify the read.

"The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid (2017)

Taylor Jenkins Reid'due south historical fiction bestseller is prepare between the publishing world of present-day New York and the classic Hollywood of the 1950s, 1960s and onward. When the relatively unknown journalist Monique Grant is tasked with writing a profile on the legendary actress Evelyn Hugo, she can't believe her career-changing luck.

The novel guides the reader through a series of interviews between Monique and Evelyn in which the former star tells her origin story and the reasons behind her many marriages throughout the years.

"Less" by Andrew Sean Greer (2017)

Andrew Sean Greer's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel stars Arthur Less equally a novelist with a dwindling career and a broken middle. As if all of that wasn't enough already, Less is on the brink of turning 50. When his former long-time boyfriend invites Less to his wedding, our hapless protagonist decides to commence on a serial of dorsum-to-back international trips with a "ramshackle itinerary" to avoid the much-dreaded event.

Greer'south fun and never-serenity novel takes the reader and its protagonist from the foggy shores of San Francisco to New York City, Mexico Urban center, Turin, Paris, Berlin, Morocco, India and Nippon.

"Agent Running in the Field" by John le Carré (2019)

The final published novel of belatedly spymaster John le Carré is a return to some of his career-defining themes in the world of international espionage, which he describes with precision — and without a glimpse of glamour or spectacle.

The novel stars Nat, a reluctanthoped-for-out-of-the-field amanuensis in his late forties, who has had a long career developing sources in Russia. Nat's back in London and somehow can't avert getting himself involved in yet another surveillance plot. The book is set up in 2018 and there's abiding chatter amidst its characters regarding Brexit and the Trump administration. Le Carré favors none of those.

Even if you don't similar international thrillers featuring double agents that much — who doesn't though? — Agent Running in the Field is still worth a read if merely to capeesh Le Carré's succinct yet masterfully rich and descriptive prose.

"Embankment Read" by Emily Henry (2020)

Permit'due south add Beach Readto this list of embankment reads because Emily Henry's romance novel truly does its title justice. Set in a small Michigan town, the novel tells the story of bestselling romance author January and acclaimed fiction writer Gus. They stop upward existence neighbors and living side-by-side in lakefront cottages.

I matter leads to another and they end upwards making a deal: by the end of the summertime he'll be the ane to pen a romance book and she'll write a nighttime and bleak one. They both demand to teach the other everything they need to know to be able to produce something in a genre they're not used to working in. Of course, besides all the procrastinating and writing, there's as well fourth dimension for honey.

"The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett (2020)

Last year's revelatory novel The Vanishing Half tackles the subject of passing when it comes to racial identity. The Brit Bennett-penned historical novel, which is already being developed into a limited serial past HBO, tells the story of 2 identical twin sisters from a small town in rural Louisiana where the majority Black population is so lite-skinned that ane of the sisters passes as a white woman for nigh of her life after fleeing town.

The action encompasses several decades starting in the 1950s and weaves together the life of the assimilated sister — who's leading a double life in New Orleans first and so Los Angeles — with that of the other one, who is forced to return dwelling.

"Velvet Was the Night" past Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2021)

Let's shut this listing with an August release from one of 2020's bestselling authors. Afterwards her Mexican Gothicwas chosen as All-time Horror novel last yr by the Goodreads users, writer Silvia Moreno-Garcia returns with Velvet Was the Night.

The Mexican Canadian writer sets the action in 1970s Mexico City and writes about Maite, a secretarial assistant obsessed with romance stories and her cute neighbor Leonora. When the object of her fixation disappears, Maite starts looking for her — but she isn't the simply one.

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