30 books for summer

Hi,

Happy Friday! It’s been a big week my end. I received my final meditation and breathwork teaching qualifications, which is very exciting. The girls finished their school year, which marks the end of their time at this school before we move at the end of the summer. It’s been a brilliant year for us all here and we’ve talked to them a lot about how life is made of chapters. Different people and different places bookmark those chapters and that whilst change can be hard, we’re incredibly lucky to get those experiences and be shaped by them.

Yesterday was also one of my proudest parenting moments. One of the girls won the school ‘kind hearts award’, essentially one child in every year is chosen for having the kindest heart, being the most empathetic and compassionate to those around them. I sobbed, a lot. As a parent you spend so much time wondering if you’re doing things right and those moments are just so validating.

I’m also about to hit 2000 minutes of meditation with The Way, which I’m very proud of. It’s the one thing I do every day. I often layer another practice on top, but I love that consistency. And I’ve got some really exciting meditation teaching partnerships coming up, which I can’t wait to tell you about.

Tomorrow, we’re off on holiday with Matt’s best friend from America and his family (Matt spent about 7 years in the US when he was younger) and I cannot wait to eat ice cream, swim in the sea, have big family dinners and just potter about. We’re then away again for a few days with my family and the girls’ cousins, so our meditation schedule for the next two weeks is a little more ad-hoc than normal.

Once I’m back though I’ll be much more flexible, as it’s the school holidays, so could start doing morning classes too. So, let me know any other timings you’re keen for - mornings, lunchtimes, evenings etc. I’d also love to know which classes you’re enjoying the most, the more breath focused de-stressing or more of the gratitude and loving kindness?

Anyway, today I have my summer reading list for you. All my favourite books from the last few years. Hopefully there’s lots of inspiration here. Some are the big hitters, the ones that topped the bestseller charts, but others are a little more under the radar. Also, don’t forget book club coming in September too! Any suggestions for our first book, let me know…

These are my fave holiday reads. Some are love stories, some are about friendship or life more broadly, but they’re all incredibly readable and the sort of books you lose yourself in over a weekend, on holiday or simply because you can’t stop saying, ‘just one more chapter.’

Daisy Jones & The Six, Taylor Jenkins Reid

I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so this was an easy next read. It takes a little while to get into because it’s written as a series of interviews, but once you’re in, it’s impossible to put down. Such a fun, immersive beach read, and I also loved the show.

Romantic Comedy, Curtis Sittenfeld

I genuinely can’t believe this hasn’t been made into a film yet. It’s funny, clever and surprisingly thoughtful, and I think it’s one of the best rom-com books I’ve ever read. I’m seriously considering re-reading it this summer.

You Are Here, David Nicholls

I’m sure we all loved One Day (one of my favourite books ever), and this has that same warmth, just a little more grown up. It’s about two people who meet while walking across the English countryside, and I found it funny, comforting and quietly hopeful.

The Wedding People, Alison Espach

Don’t let the premise put you off. This has been my favourite read of 2026 so far. It starts with a woman going through one of the hardest moments of her life, but somehow becomes funny, uplifting and full of hope, as well as a witty commentary on the circus that weddings can become. I’ve given it to so many friends.

Consider Yourself Kissed, Jessica Stanley

A really lovely modern love story that follows one relationship through all the ordinary ups and downs of life. Just very human, warm, funny and relatable. I absolutely flew through it a few months ago.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin

I nearly didn’t read this because it’s centred around two friends building a video game company and I just didn’t think it sounded like my thing. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It’s ultimately a story about friendship, love, creativity and growing up, and it’s one of my favourite books I’ve ever read. I think they’re making it into a film now too.

The Midnight Library, Matt Haig

This one isn’t a love story, instead it’s a lovely reflection on life and gratitude. It’s a clever concept that imagines being able to see all the different versions of your life if you’d made different choices, and somehow manages to make you feel more grateful for the life you’re already living. One of those books that really stayed with me. I have his next book, The Life Impossible, on my ‘to read’ stack by my bed.

All great holiday books too, I just thought they were generally a little slower and more thoughtful. Beautifully written, brilliantly character-driven and the sort of books that stay with you long after you’ve finished. Still easy to read though, just maybe a little more depth.

Heart the Lover, Lily King

So many people recommended this to me, I honestly wasn’t sure it could live up to expectations but it absolutely did. It felt like a book in two halves to me, the first quite light-hearted and a little Normal People-esque, then the second half became deeper and more thought-provoking. It had me in floods of tears. My favourite kinds of books are human stories, beautiful depictions of ordinary life, relationships and all the little complexities of being human, and this was such a thoughtful, beautifully done version of that.

Writers & Lovers, Lily King

I actually read this after Heart the Lover. I loved it too, although I think I slightly preferred Heart the Lover. This one took me about 100 pages to get into, but after that I didn’t want it to end. It’s about a writer trying to figure out life, work and love, and somehow feels both comforting and inspiring.

Hello Beautiful, Ann Napolitano

This was my best read of 2025, another one I recommended to everyone. If you love a big family story, you’ll love this. It’s inspired by Little Women and follows four sisters through love, heartbreak and family life. I love books that focus on the ebbs and flows of life, the inevitable trials and tribulations, and this did that perfectly. One of those books that really stayed with me.

Blue Sisters, Coco Mellors

I read this last summer and absolutely loved it. It’s about four sisters coming back together after the death of one of them (not a spoiler, promise, that’s the premise!). It somehow manages to be heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. Beautifully written and one of my favourite books from last year.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein, Coco Mellors

After loving Blue Sisters, I couldn’t wait to read this. I’m still not sure how I feel about it though. I couldn’t stop reading because I was so invested in the central relationship, but I also found parts of it a bit unnecessarily graphic. I’ve never had such mixed feedback from you all either, people seem to either absolutely love it or give up halfway through. If you love slightly less conventional love stories then I think this is for you. Just be warned there are some fairly graphic moments that can feel a bit uncomfortable at points.

This Family, Kate Sawyer

I actually started this on holiday, got distracted re-reading Jilly Cooper after watching Rivals, then came back to it and absolutely raced through it. It’s a beautiful family story that completely drew me in, one of those books where you become so invested in the characters that you don’t want to leave them. I love books like this that unfold like a jigsaw puzzle.

The Most Fun We Ever Had, Claire Lombardo

Another brilliant family saga (you may be spotting a theme in my reading tastes by now 😂). It’s a chunky book that follows one family over decades. I was slightly put off by the cover, if I’m honest, but it really was such a good read that I regretted not starting it sooner. The family seem perfect on the surface, then you slowly disappear into their lives and start seeing the cracks and fault lines. It twists and turns in unexpected ways, which means you really can’t put it down.

Intermezzo, Sally Rooney

I know Sally Rooney can divide opinion, but I absolutely loved this. I was a huge fan of Normal People but didn’t get into Conversations with Friends, so I wasn’t sure about this but wanted to give it a go. It’s quieter than some of her earlier books, centred around two brothers navigating grief and relationships. There are some really interesting emotional insights and I thought it was brilliant. I’d just say the writing style is hard to get into, so I found I needed to sit and focus on it. It wasn’t a good commute book.

Tom Lake, Ann Patchett

This is definitely a slower read than lots of the others on this list, but sometimes that’s exactly what you’re after. Set on a cherry farm over one summer, it’s a beautiful story about family, first love and looking back on the different chapters of your life. One to savour rather than race through. Perfect if you’ve got a quiet afternoon by the pool, in the garden or curled up on the sofa.

Yesteryear, Caro Claire Burke

This is one of the most zeitgeisty books I’ve read in a long time, and I actually wrote a whole Substack about it because it sparked so many thoughts. It’s essentially a Black Mirror-esque take on the tradwife movement, social media and the strange world of performing our lives for an audience. It asks some fascinating questions about womanhood, ambition, identity and whether we’re really living for ourselves or for everyone watching online. Such a clever premise and quite different from anything else I’ve read recently. If you’ve read it, I’d love to know what you thought, and if you want a deeper dive into all the themes, I’ve written much more about it here.

These are definitely the most emotional books on the list. They tackle grief, identity, family, love and what it means to be human, and they’re the books I’ve found myself thinking about long after I finished them. I wouldn’t necessarily pick one up if I wanted something light, but they’re some of the very best books I’ve ever read.

There Are Rivers in the Sky, Elif Shafak

Beautifully written, ambitious and completely immersive. It’s not a conventional storyline; essentially it follows the lifespan of a single raindrop as it’s transformed across continents and centuries. The way she weaves together different characters across different time periods is so unique, and I found myself racing through it to understand how all their stories would connect. There are moments of love, loss, history and beauty throughout. I feel like Elif Shafak has such a unique way of bringing together history, mythology and human stories. I sobbed at the end. It really is very special.

The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak

I read this straight after There Are Rivers in the Sky. I have to admit it took me a little while to get into, mainly because one of the narrators is a talking fig tree... but stick with it! It’s actually a beautiful love story woven through history, family, identity and conflict. Really original, incredibly moving and another reminder of how brilliantly Elif Shafak writes. Her books are perfect when you want something a little deeper and more challenging, while still being utterly beautiful.

The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri

A beautiful story that follows one life from childhood into adulthood, through first loves, family, loss and all the ordinary moments that end up shaping who we become. I can’t tell you how much I loved this. It’s exactly my favourite kind of book, one where you’re so invested in the characters that it doesn’t need huge plot twists. It simply follows one life unfolding, and it’s just beautiful.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies, John Boyne

A sweeping story, which I’ve seen described as an ‘odyssey’, that follows one man’s life from childhood into old age after he’s born to a teenage mother cast out of her rural Irish community. As his life unfolds over seven decades, it explores identity, family, love, belonging and the search for home. It’s devastating, beautifully written and one of the most moving books I’ve ever read.

The Bee Sting, Paul Murray

Another Irish odyssey! This is a massive book and so many people were talking about it that I felt I needed to get in on the action. I found the switching between the different characters a little tricky at first, but once I got into it I was completely hooked. You can’t put it down because you just have to know how it’s all going to pan out for them. I absolutely hated the last ten pages though and spent far too long on Reddit and Google afterwards trying to figure out the ending 😂.

Sorrow and Bliss, Meg Mason

I read this about three years ago now and I still think about it. It’s quite a different sort of book to most on this list, following a woman living with a lifelong mental illness as she navigates love, marriage and family. It’s heartbreaking, funny and somehow strangely uplifting all at once. I really did thoroughly enjoy it.

Nesting, Róisín O’Donnell

To be honest, this is harrowing at moments, but it’s such a poignant read about a mother struggling under the coercive control of her husband, doing everything she can to protect her young children. I raced through it, desperate to know what happened to everyone. It’s one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve finished it.

The Names, Florence Knapp

This came up time and time again, so I finally bought it. Along with Nesting, it feels strange to say I loved it given the subject matter of domestic abuse, but they’re both fantastically well-written, heart-wrenching books with characters you become completely invested in. What makes The Names so clever is that it explores three different versions of one life, all based on a single decision. I’d never read anything quite like it before and really loved the sliding doors idea. It’s not an easy read, and it definitely comes with trigger warnings, but if you’re able, I really think it’s worth it.

A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihara

This is probably the hardest recommendation on the list because it’s incredibly dark and definitely isn’t for everyone. It follows four friends over decades, but at its heart it’s really about friendship, love, trauma and what it means to care for another person. It absolutely broke me, but if you can cope with some very difficult themes, I honestly think it’s one of the most moving books I’ve ever read.

I’ve always loved history, so I find myself drawn to historical novels. I used to binge read Philippa Gregory! So these are part of that genre, generally they are inspired by true stories or real people, blending history with brilliant storytelling in a way that makes the past feel incredibly vivid. If you love getting completely lost in another time and place, these are the ones I’d start with.

The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah
I raced through this a few years ago, staying up until like 3am to finish it. Whilst the two main characters are fictional, it’s all based on the actions and lives of some wildly brave, often forgotten women in occupied France during WWII. It’s both heartbreaking and deeply inspiring, ultimately a story about courage, resilience and the extraordinary things normal people are capable of in impossible circumstances. I think it’s being made into a movie with the Fanning sisters, which I’m very excited about.

The Women, Kristin Hannah
I read this straight after The Nightingale, and I absolutely loved this one too. This is similar in that the characters are fictional but again based on the true stories of brilliant, brave women. This book follows a young American nurse who serves in the Vietnam War and explores not only the horrors of war itself, but what happens when those who come home aren’t recognised for what they’ve been through. Equally, it’s also a beautiful love story and just feels impossible to put down.

All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
This one took me a little longer to get into than some of the others on this list, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. Set during WWII, it follows the lives of a blind French girl and a young German soldier whose paths slowly begin to cross. It’s beautifully written without ever feeling difficult to read, and by the end I was completely invested in both of their stories.

The Postcard, Anne Berest
A remarkable true family story that’s part memoir, part historical investigation and part novel. It begins with a mysterious postcard arriving decades after the Holocaust, prompting the author (who is a journalist) to uncover the story of her own family. It’s another real tear-jerker, but it’s fascinating, deeply moving and really impossible to forget. It was a huge bestseller in France, but I don’t think it ever had quite the same momentum over here.

A Well-Behaved Woman, Therese Anne Fowler
A fun historical novel inspired by the life of Alva Vanderbilt. Set during America’s Gilded Age (if you like the TV show, you’ll love this!), it’s full of glamour, ambition and fascinating social history, while also feeling surprisingly modern in its exploration of female ambition and independence. I found myself googling the family time and time again as I read it, as I knew almost nothing about her before reading it and found the whole story completely absorbing.

My Name Is Emilia del Valle, Isabel Allende
Brilliant, and very different to anything else I’ve read recently. Part love story, part coming-of-age and part historical fiction, it follows one of the first female journalists as she reports from the Chilean Civil War. Emilia is such a compelling character and the story unfolds beautifully, full of unexpected twists and brilliantly imagined historical detail. I absolutely loved it.

So there we have it! Let me know what else I need to add to my list, or what you think everyone else will enjoy. It would be fab to get a mega list going in the comments for everyone.

I have The Midnight Train, Broken Country, Slags, The Correspondent and All In on my bedside table to read next.

As a note, I don’t love everything I read. Reading is obviously wildly subjective, but just for transparency, in case you think I recommend everything, the big hitters of the last couple of years that didn’t quite do it for me were Hamnet (I just found the writing style hard to get into, and then the subject matter felt too tricky for an anxious mum of toddlers), The Paper Palace (such dark subject matter treated in too much of a flippant rom-com way), anything by Colleen Hoover (I’ve read three of them and just felt the subject matter needed a bit more weight, while the writing style wasn’t really my cup of tea), The Forty Rules of Love (too many characters and I found the plot hard to follow), Butter (I didn’t get past the first few chapters), Yellowface (I thought the storyline was so unbelievable that I never really got into it) and The Safekeep (I really enjoyed the ending, but wanted more of that throughout, and just found the main character a little unlikely; the different sides of her personality felt too separate). Of course, this is so subjective, some of these are huge best-sellers, others are prize winners, and so lots of other people have loved them, this is just a very personal opinion.

Anyway, I hope there is some good inspiration on that list and I can’t wait to hear your recommendations

Ella x

Meditation and breathwork links for this week: