School is out, and while students are enjoying their first week off, it’s a great time to focus on exciting summer activities.
From vacations to summer jobs and internships, I’m sure we’re all looking forward to the start of this summer. It’s a great chance to start working on bettering your mental and physical health as well. One way I will be doing this over the summer is by knocking out my overwhelming to-be-read shelf with my roommates, Max and Liz. If you’re already a reader or looking to pick up a self-fulfilling hobby that makes you feel accomplished, here are my summer reading recommendations.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst – I read this at the end of last summer while camping up in Mackinaw City. I picked it up in a small bookstore up north. The Spellshop follows the story of a young girl who works as a librarian at a famous magical library. With deadly riots against the royals, she is forced to retreat to her home island with her friend, who also happens to be a talking spiderplant. Taking only the most important spellbooks, she leaves the burning city behind and opens an illegal spellshop offering knowledge and assistance to those in need.
Plague Land by Alex Scarrow – If the new season of The Last of Us has you in an apocalyptic mood, my recommendation for you is Plague Land. I will warn you that this book contains a lot of body gore and descriptive graphic scenes. Following a pollen-like outbreak, this book tells the story of two young siblings fighting to survive the end of the world together, where the plague has developed the ability to shapeshift, and nobody can be trusted.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer – Are you a fantasy lover, perhaps? Do you love books based on fairy tales, such as Alice and Wonderland-themed books? Heartless is a creative backstory written about the Queen of Hearts and how she became her cold and wretched self. Unlike in the movies, the story takes a romance-like route, following her love for a mysterious jester. This book was given to me by my best friend Whitney for Christmas, and I remember talking to her about the book over Christmas break and telling her how much I loved it. Then, when she noticed I was getting too happy, she reminded me to take a look at the title of the book again. I am still getting over how this book left me “heartless”.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote – If true crime and non-fiction is more your beat, I would add this story to your reading list. In Cold Blood follows the story of the 1959 Clutter Family murder. The story was compiled based on a series of interviews with the two convicted murderers by Truman Capote while researching the murders for work. If your Spotify is filled with crime podcasts, you may want to consider adding this one to your list.
Secrets for the Mad: Obsessions, Confessions and Life Lessons by Dodie Clark – Want a self-help book that also brings back those 2014 Tumblr vibes? This book had me in a chokehold in middle school. Clark is an artist I’ve looked up to for a long time. Starting off writing songs and vlogging on YouTube, she has come a long way. She talks about her experiences being diagnosed with depersonalization and how it has affected her in her twenties, along with other mental health-related topics. She touches on her queer experiences as well.
Emmy the Robot by Dominic Cellini – Who says you have to go to a bookstore to get a good read this summer? You can read this comic on Webtoon, and you can read chapters as they come out for free. I go through a webtoon phase every few months, and this was one I couldn’t stop reading a few months ago. Webtoons are a great option, especially if you’re not a huge chapter book reader and enjoy more of a graphic novel approach. This story follows a household smart robot named Emmy, who gets separated from her family and ends up in a garbage yard miles away, and has to repair herself with the help of other abandoned robots to get back to her family.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky – Have you, by chance, seen the movie starring Emma Watson? Well, if you haven’t, I recommend at least checking out the movie. The book gives us more of a look into the life of a freshman boy named Charlie and the letters he’s been writing, similar to diary entries, into his amazing freshman year experience with his senior class friends. He learns about growing up and learning how to heal from things in the past.
I hope everyone has a great summer, and I hope others will also find joy in their hobbies. If you need me, I will be in my hammock with either a book or my e-reader.