Coffee Letter #035: My Summer Reading List
But who knows what I'll read, I’m a mood reader.
I know it’s been summer for a while now, but my June was so full of activities that I didn’t even dare to attempt having a TBR. Summer ends when September ends anyway. I tried very hard to limit myself to only 10 books (keep in mind that I am an overachiever) and I failed. Here’s 15 books I hope I’ll finally read this summer.
The overall mood is summertime sadness: think lazy August afternoons, days so hot you can barely move from your crisp white sheets, something eerie in the air, a heaviness you cannot pinpoint, melancholy and nostalgia.
PS: I usually go into books knowing as little as possible, it’s just a personal preference. Also, I limited myself to books that I own physically.
“This strange new feeling of mine, obsessing me by its sweet languor, is such that I I am reluctant to dignify it with the fine, solemn name of ‘sadness’. It is a feeling so self-indulgent and complete in itself that I am almost ashamed of it, [..]. Today it is as if I am enfolded in some silken thing, soft and enervating, that sets me apart from others.”
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. Written when the author was 18. The French Riviera. Teenage boredom. Youth. Desire. I started it yesterday evening and from the first paragraph (quoted above) it perfectly describes that special sadness I experience only in summer.
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. I read a page or two from it last summer while at a spa resort, but then I abandoned the book on the chaise longue and spent my day swimming. It’s a different kind of mystery, it really evokes that summer eeriness when I think about it. An Australian mystery about a group of girls from an all-girls college who go on a picnic and disappear. For some reason it makes me think of Cracks by Sheila Kohler, which I really recommend as a summer vibes dark academia novel — the film is good too, and I know there’s a good film made after Picnic at Hanging Rock too.
The Girls by Emma Cline. Another novel that I started last summer (or two summers ago) and for some reason had to put away. Set in the 60s during summer, in California, featuring a lonely teenager, a charismatic cult leader and the group of girls surrounding him. You do the math, but sounds like a blast to me.
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. This is a reread. This is also a quintessential summer read for me — because I read it in August, in high school, and I was fascinated by the Lisbon sisters. A coming of age story told through the memories of the boys next door who were obsessed with the sisters. It’s a treat. I’m rereading it this year with our book club and I’m truly excited — but I’m even more curious if I’ll be of the same opinion as teenage-me. Oh, the film, directed by Sofia Coppola, her directorial debut, is really really good too.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Another reread. I have a strange relation with this book and I avoided reading it for a long time — until almost ten years ago when I read it in Romanian. I know the prose is beautiful, which is why I’m excited to read it in English this time around.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. I don’t want to reduce this book by describing it as Lolita but through the victim’s POV, but hey, it’s dedicated to “the real-life Dolores Hazes” so I’m sure the author does not mind the comparison. I tried reading it two summers ago, but as always, when I start a book near the sea I might not always finish it. It’s about a woman who is forced to redefine her first love and events from the past. A dark journey that I hope to get to this summer.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. Because I want this to be my summer of rest and relaxation. I just know the protagonist sleeps a lot, which is something I cannot do.
August by Elena Vlădăreanu. A short story collection, set in August (duh). I started this one too, a few Augusts ago. I hope to finally finish it this August.
My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels #1) by Elena Ferrante. Is this the summer I’m finally reading — or at least starting — THE series that made Ferrante who she is today? Bogdana wrote an amazing post for Coffee Letter to convince me to read these books, so I should be a good friend and finally do it!
Chess by Stefan Zweig. I recently got this book. I don’t know much about it other than that I wanted to read it for a while and it’s under 100 pages or so. Plus it’s about chess, thus about obsession and “I am nothing in my soul if not obsessive.”
In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan. My friend Ana gifted me this book a while ago because I’m a little bit (read that as very) obsessed with Harry Styles’s song “Watermelon Sugar” and I listen to it on repeat all summer long and apparently the title comes from this book. In Watermelon Sugar is a short post-apocalyptic novel and that’s all I know about it.
Greek Lessons by Han Kang. Because I love Greece and because Han Kang is my author this year — already read two of her books and both were 5-stars. I love the cover of Greek Lessons, but as I’ve come to discover about Han Kang, it’s best to go into her books knowing as little as possible. I do think this one is about language.
Purge by Sofi Oksanen. I’m going to Finland next month so I wanted to read something by a Finnish author (Oksanen is also Estonian). I don’t know much about Purge other than that it was an international sensation and I got it from a second-hand bookstore. I do think the setting is rather Estonia than Finland, but alas, it won enough Finnish prizes to count as a Finnish book in my eyes. My preparation for Finland is this and the Moomins.
Speaking of Moomins, as a bonus read on my list for Finland I have The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, Moomin’s creator. I’m not sure the book will arrive in time for my trip to Finland, fingers crossed (no, husband, I did not buy yet another book, you are hallucinating this entire paragraph).
Paradise Lost by John Milton. I’m quite excited for my book club with the devil and I even started reading the Bible to easily get references in the novels from the book club. Yet all that Bible reading is only making me excited to read Paradise Lost already. It’s an epic poem retelling the Fall of Man and an epic battle between good and evil.
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood. Because all the books on the list are sad enough and I need to balance them out with a romance from my favourite romance authors. Italy, Sicily, a wedding in Taormina and an age-gap romance, as the title suggests.
The list could be longer. I want to read a book by Margarita Karapanou when I go to Crete in September, and there are some books I want to read but don’t own in any shape or form — Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys and Atonement by Ian McEwan. There are also more summery books I am tempted to reread (including The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan), plus all the books for book clubs (this month we are reading The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, which is another summer reread for me). I also hope to reread the first volume from La Medeleni by Ionel Teodoreanu and go back to my summer vacations spent in the countryside.
~ read
This week I read a mix of books, but what I recommend the most are two books I received for review a while ago (I’m a late reviewer because I don’t like to make reading into a chore — you don’t want to know my NetGalley ratio):
The Lost Sunday by Ileana Surducan. A short graphic novel inspired by a German fairy-tale (Frau Holle) and a Romanian one (The Old Man's Wise Daughter). The story is great for a younger audience, using all the familiar fairy-tale tropes, but it’s also a good story for adults — it’s about burnout and taking breaks. The illustrations are stunning and they flow with the story.
Make Believe: Poems for Hoping Again by Victoria Hutchins. Poetry is very personal, and that is the case with this collection too, but at the same time, these poems are very relatable too. Some poems hit me harder than others - especially since I'm in a weird period thinking a lot about being and not being and death.
I’ve also finished two more volumes from The Ayakashi Hunter's Tainted Bride by Mamenosuke Fujimaru, story created by Midori Yuma and I’m officially up to date with this story, which kinda sucks because volume 7 ends on a pretty huge cliffhanger!
I recently reread Only Dull People Are Brilliant at Breakfast by Oscar Wilde, which is a tiny collection of various quotes from Wilde. It’s a quick read and coincidently I seem to reread it around July 1st every three years or so. Maybe I’m just craving Wilde around this time of the year.
I’m finally done with Interior zero by Lavinia Braniște, which I attempted to read before going to the film last month but couldn’t finish it on time. Unfortunately it didn’t do anything for me. I just did not care about the characters or the story, I couldn’t connect with them. But the writing was very good, very vivid and real.
Currently I’m rereading The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith as I was saying, plus working my way through my summer TBR hopefuls and rereading the manga series Nana by Ai Yazawa because I’m trying to force my friend Bogdana to read it too!
~ the nibling’s bookshelf
You will understand why this section exists next week, but as I promised Doris, I will try to have an area for books for the little ones (since I read and review so many of them) and I know there are more awesome mums who are reading this letter. Hopefully this will be helpful for everyone. This week I read and loved:
Moving by Eugenia Mello. I bought this book for my nibling (Doris, I need to give you a book for Meli!) because it’s a story about moving and making friends in new places. I think it’s perfect not only if you actually move with your little one, but also if they change their kindergarten and none of their old friends are there. The illustrations are really really good and the colour palette follows the emotions of the little girl.
~ watch
Ginny & Georgia (TV series, 2021-). I recently finished all three seasons of Ginny & Georgia and I want more. Also, this is one of the few series that actually seems to be getting better with each season. Self-described as “Gilmore Girls with boobs”, with a pinch of Desperate Housewives and a touch of a Southern accent, the show follows young single-mum Georgia working for a good life for her two kids, Ginny and Austin. It’s fun and juicy and maybe a bit melodramatic, but with serious themes. It has layers. Available on Netflix.
Hacks (TV series, 2021-). A comedy about the work relationship between a famous comedian and a cancelled writer. I watched the four seasons for the past couple of months. It’s well written and mixes in a lot of themes, building especially on the difference between generations. Personally though I think it kinda runs into the same kind of problems at the end of each season which made me lose interest that not even great acting could save. Available on HBO Max.
Currently I’m watching episodes from Moomin (the 90s series), some K-dramas (Our Unwritten Seoul and Tastefully Yours), and another Japanese reality-tv show with my husband (Love Wagon/Ainori).
~ and other things I did last week
Music: I’m in a bit of on repeat phase and my playlist goes from Charlotte Cardin to Arctic Monkey to Lana del Rey. But I also listened to Lorde’s new album Virgin, and it was not bad at all, although I should play it a few more times.
Restaurant: I finally went to Casa Coreea and the food was so good that I’m going again tonight. I had tteokbokki and now I’m not sure how to convince myself to order anything else — I want to try everything from their menu but I also want to have tteokbokki again.
Other things consumed last week:
Are we witnessing the death of international law? (The Guardian). I’m sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but I’ve been feeling for a while that the world is kinda going to shit and I’m not the only one. “I had this scary realisation that there isn’t much one can do today”. Scary words. It’s a long article, but definitely worth a read.
How to Remember Everything You Read (The Culturist - substack). I’m all for writing in books (even in the clothbound Penguin editions). I also like it when I read a second-hand book and I discover someone else’s thoughts on the page.
Showdown: Blast from the Past — best ’90s rom-com films (Letterboxd). Letterboxd has released a list with the best ‘90s rom-coms and I don’t know about you, but I know what I’m doing this summer.
‘AI doesn’t know what an orgasm sounds like’: audiobook actors grapple with the rise of robot narrators (The Guardian). On this week’s worries about AI edition we have AI narrators ruining steamy audiobooks. Which is awful for audiobooks, especially since I’m sure I’m not the only one who might read a book just because it’s narrated by one of their favourite narrators.
Choose comfort, ditch boring and prioritise pleasure – how to find the perfect beach read (The Guardian). I’m not the only one with a summer reading list. Maybe later this summer I’ll have a beach reads list too — I tend to prefer thrillers when I’m at the beach for some reason.
My husband (and amazing proof-reader) was surprised I only have 15 books on my list — and I am surprised too, tbh. I probably won’t be able to read all of these books this summer, but the list could indeed be longer. Here’s some authors that are missing but that I think are great for summer (or year-round): Joan Didion (although I only have her books on kindle), Clarice Lispector, Anaïs Nin, and the list could go on and on and on.
Thank you for reading!