Whether you’re lying out by the pool, on a blanket by the beach or just lounging around the house, summer is the best time to catch up on all the books you’ve been meaning to read. So here are a few Her Campus-approved suggestions, for every type of reader!
Best Sexy Comedy
“Kept: A Comedy of Sex and Manners” by Y. Euny Hong
I reviewed this book for The Towerlight, but it’s so good that I just had to share it here, too. “Kept” is about a young woman from a distinguished Korean family whose snobbish upbringing has left her completely unprepared for real life in New York City. Drowning in debt, she finds an answer with a job in a high-class escort service. She finds herself caught between her wealthy and worldly client and her awkward but loving new friend, and, as you might have guessed, has to choose. If the plot sounds easy to predict though, you have another thing coming. It’s a smart, sexual, hilarious book about a woman who thinks herself an aristocrat but is actually easy to relate to.
Best Drama
“White Oleander” by Janet Fitch
Twelve-year-old Astrid’s mother Ingrid, a poet, poisons her lover in a jealous revenge scheme, and Astrid begins a journey from foster home to foster home all across California. Some of her homes treat her well, others abuse and demean her. In all of them, Astrid gains the skills she will need to survive, but what she really wants is the love and apology of her distant, ice-queen mother. As Ingrid manipulates the system, plotting her escape from prison, Astrid is left mostly on her own, growing into a young woman without the guidance she desires.
Best Historical Fiction
“Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden
You’ve probably already seen the movie, but it doesn’t do the story the justice it deserves (Gong Li was a killer Hatsumomo, though). A little Japanese girl named Chiyo is brought to a geisha house far from her home and at first has no interest in staying. She is assigned to work as a maid, the mother of the house is uninterested in her, and the beautiful geisha that lives with her, Hatsumomo, is a truly evil figure, finding every way possible to humiliate and blame Chiyo. After attempting to run away, however, Chiyo meets a kindly man, and decides to master the arts of a geisha in order to impress him. Mentored by the wise Mameha, Chiyo becomes the renowned geisha Sayuri, though her talents cannot stop the horrors of World War II from threatening her world.
Best Memoir
“When You Are Engulfed in Flames” by David Sedaris
I’ll tell anyone that will listen that my best friend and I met David Sedaris and we got to sing Christmas carols with him and it was among my favorite things I’ve ever done ever. But really, if you’ve never read any essays by David Sedaris, now is the time to start. This is one of my favorite books, and the stories within cover everything from ugly art to arguments with his boyfriend at the zoo. It’s hilarious and witty, and Sedaris is incredibly lovable.
Best Mystery
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson
The trilogy has become an international bestseller, but this is the book that started it all. When a journalist, Blomkvist, is found guilty of libel, he must help an elderly businessman solve a decades-old mystery in exchange for proof that his sentence was unfair. Helping Blomkvist is the titular tattooed hacker Lisbeth Salander, whose skills in computer (and revenge!) are unmatched. This is the most twisted girl-power novel you will ever read, and you’ll love every gritty second of her. The very beginning of the book is muddied with a lot of boring legal jargon, but I cannot make this clear enough–keep going. The mystery will take off soon enough, and you won’t be able to put the story down.
Hopefully these reads will keep you distracted until school starts back up at the end of August. Have you read these books? Tweet me your thoughts! @mevia_ergo