Judging from the blisters on my heels from wearing in new sandals, and the low level heat-induced exhaustion I am experiencing, summer is definitely here. I am going on holiday on Monday so I am thinking a lot about which books to take with me (first holiday with a Kindle which I am excited about!!), and that inspired me to create this list. And to accompany this post, an assortment of photos from my camera roll that capture my summer so far.
There are different approaches to what constitutes ‘Summer reading’. I know a lot of people like a trashy, ‘beach read’ that they can rip through without too much mental effort. For me, the perfect summer read is something I can be completely absorbed in, and ideally something I can read cover to cover in a single day, as I move from bed to terrace to beach to bar to restaurant and back to bed.
For various scheduling reasons, we will not be hosting an in-person book club for August, though we will be reading a book together, Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed, and discussing on our Substack chat and Instagram.
Hopefully this list of summer reads provides some extra inspiration and acts as a slight apology for missing our meeting this month! Our next book club will be in London in September - I hope to see some of you there.
My Buffy’s right hand woman, Agnes (who many of you who come to the events have met) has compiled a list of books we have read, and also want to read this Summer:
Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt
This was in the vote for a 2025 Buffy’s read, though didn’t win. It’s a short, incredibly moving story about a grandmother and granddaughter, set in London.
Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz
Babitz’ hedonism is the perfect summer inspiration. Set in 1970s LA, Sex and Rage is not-so-loosely based on Babitz’ party-girl life in California, following the character of Jacaranda as she surfs, sleeps with married men, and attempts to begin a career as a writer, which takes her to New York and back.
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
A family saga, Patchett’s book explores the lives of six children over fifty years. It traverses time (in a non-linear way) and space and is a beautiful meditation on relationships and family, a perfect read to get stuck into over long summer days.
The Cellist by Jennifer Atkins
Short enough to be read in a day or two, the book flits through time, told from the perspective of a successful cello player who is reminded of her past relationship when she visits her exes exhibition of sculptures.
The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
First published in the 1950s, this book follows a young American moving to Paris, falling in and out of love and living the perfect mid-century expat life. This is a book that made me laugh out loud several times!
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
A book about a serial killer may seem an odd choice for a summer read, but it is so gripping. I read this last summer on holiday and I was so engrossed it in, it made me an incredibly anti social holiday companion.
Turbulence by David Szalay
A lesser-known book by the 2025 Booker Prize winner, with every chapter ending in an airport, and the next one picking up where that one left off. If you haven’t managed to go on holiday this year, this is usefully transportive, moving from Madrid to Dakar to Toronto to São Paolo, in 12 interlinking stories.
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
One of our most loved Buffy’s reads in 2025, Murdoch’s book was universally adored by everyone who attended the book club. It’s pretty epic, nearly 600 pages, but the protagonist Charles Arrowby, a retired actor who buys a home by the sea, is bizarrely compelling despite being repeatedly awful to all the people (and particularly women) around him.
Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados
A bit of a modern-day Babitz, Granados tells the story of two girls in their early 20s who move to New York for a summer, scrape by with very little money, and say yes to everything, ending up at bizarre parties and meeting bizarre people.
The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard
I am bringing the second book in this series, The Cazalet Chronicles, on holiday with me as I was so enamoured with the first one. A huge cast of characters that Howard perfectly creates, with dialogue that made me laugh out loud, descriptions of England that made me want to move to the countryside, and a masterful control of a book not driven forward by a plot, but rendered entirely readable through the characters and the relationships between them.
Cathedrals by Claudia Pineiro
A thriller, pretty pacy!
Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud
Freud describes her and her sister Bella’s childhood, spent partially in Morocco with their mother in the 1970s. Told beautifully from the perspective of a young, innocent child, it’s a completely transportive book, which I happened to read in Morocco last summer.
Paradises Lost by Ursula K Le Guin
A short one, with all the incredible machinations we expect from Le Guin… a lot of humanity within a speculative plot, no word wasted and precise world building. All packed into a novella.
A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing by Alice Evelyn Yang
A deeply moving novel that deftly navigates an intergenerational saga, moving between folklore, war, family, and what it takes to forgive,
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
A Buffy’s read this year, Smiley’s characters are so well drawn and their story harrowing and compelling, making this such an addictive novel that sticks with you long after it’s finished.
4321 by Paul Auster
This is a big one, so not hand-luggage friendly. But if you want to spend your holiday with one character you can connect and grow with, then this is a great choice.
The South by Colm Toíbín
Toíbín’s first novel, The South follows a Protestant Irish woman in her 30s who leaves her husband and child and travels alone to Barcelona in the 1950s. She meets painters and becomes immersed in a community of artists - a book about escaping one’s quotidian reality which is perfect for summer.
It Lasts Forever And Then It’s Over by Ann de Marken
The Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Our June Buffy’s read, a haunting and strange tale of a butler in a grand home in the English countryside. See our post about the book here.
In The Distance by Hernan Diaz
I MUST re-read this, I read it about seven years ago now and know I loved but also know I can’t really remember it. This is in this list to remind me to read it again, as much as it is to remind you to read it too.
Erasure by Percival Everett
Lonesome Dove by Larry MacMurtry
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo
Originally published in the 1950s, this book by Mexican writer Juan Rulfo follows a character tracking down his father in the Mexican countryside. A surreal, disorienting book interweaving the supernatural with Mexican history and culture, this is a dreamlike read that was inspiring and beautifully written.
The Stand by Stephen King
Butchers Crossing by John Williams
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
The book literally everyone is reading…but for good reason! I have loved Radden Keefe’s writing since reading Empire of Pain, and it was amazing to see my city and its criminal underbelly. He is so good at focusing on a single, compelling story and drawing threads from it to make statements about the wider cultural and political context.
I would LOVE to know what makes the ideal summer read for you, and what’s on your TBR this summer…please let me know if you read any of my suggestions above, and I hope you have an August full of sun/sand/lots of cold beers (my plan…).
Lizzy xxx
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Upcoming Events/News
We are returning to the Edinburgh International Book Festival for the second year in a row. This time with an even bigger event, in collaboration with Penguin Vintage.
Join us on Saturday August 22nd, from 6-8pm, at this special Edinburgh event to sip, socialise, and compare TBR lists with other discerning book lovers in celebration of Vintage Classic’s Brief Encounters collection. Enjoy a drink on us as Vintage’s ‘Bibliotherapists’ pair you with the perfect short novel for your taste – whether that’s an Edith Wharton ghost story or a lesser-known gem by Virginia Woolf – which you’ll take home with you.
Tickets available to buy here.
Thank you to everyone who came to the Buffy’s Summer Fair on Saturday, July 25th. It was a complete labour of love and such a success!
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