Top Books to Read This Summer

With school having ended for most, and a bit more free time, some of you may be looking for a new novel to get your hands on. Below are some of my own personal favorites, curated especially for you.

A quick disclaimer: I don't consider myself a purveyor of modern literature, and very rarely do I venture into the depths of young adult fiction, so all of the novels I have listed were published at least 75 years ago. If you are a fellow reader of classic literature, these books are for you. If you aren't, I would highly recommend that you try your hand at reading some of these, as I thoroughly enjoyed everything featured below and think that you might too.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith

"Francie, about a year ago he gave me that card all written out and two dollars. He said, 'when Francie graduates, send her some flowers for me - in case I forget.'"

In last year's English class, I was required to pick and read a coming of age novel from a provided list, and subsequently write a couple essays on it. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the book I chose, and ever since, I have been so grateful that I did.

It is a bit slow to start, but was a heartbreaking novel following the childhood and adolescent years of a Brooklyn girl living in poverty with her mother, brother, and father. Sort of like a 20th century Little Women - but with less sisters and no fashionable pickled limes - the reader is able to form a connection with the characters and watch them grow up.




The Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

"When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."

A novel that was on my TBR list for seemingly eternity, my copy sat on the shelf collecting dust on its pretty cover for months before I finally cleaned it off with the intention of reading it. I found the way it was written to be somewhat odd; definitely not what I was used to, since the first sentence of the novel begins with what might already have been considered as the climax of a novel.

However, since first reading the novel almost a year ago, I have reviewed it again several times, rereading some of my favorite chapters and quotes. Personally, I think it to be an absurd (in a good way, of course) and brilliant book on isolation and existentialism, and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic literature and modernist fiction. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

"Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the cave-man had learned to laugh, History would have been different."

I picked this book up on a whim, partly because I had some leftover money on a gift card to Barnes and Noble, and partly because the elegant designs on the cover attracted me. I had heard from a friend that Oscar Wilde was an incredible writer, and after reading his only novel and a few of his poems, I think I can safely say that that is a marvelous understatement.

I've always been one for psychological novels that leave you a tad bit mind blown, but The Picture of Dorian Gray goes above and beyond with its artistic (if you get the pun let me know) cruelty and narcissism. The book follows the life of a vain young man who makes a wish to stay young forever, and the ultimate consequences of his actions. The novel is a profound message to all that it is our actions that define us, not our beauty.

Cards on the Table - Agatha Christie

"He played the part of the devil too successfully. But he was not the devil. Au fond, he was a stupid man. And so - he died."

A little fun to lighten the load. I don't know about you, but I've been an avid reader of Agatha Christie and her iconic literary detectives for a few years now, and am always eager to pick up another Poirot novel in order to use my "little grey cells." Cards on the Table was originally just another detective novel to help pass the time, but it is now one of my all time favorites (along with The Murder on the Orient Express and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd; both worth a read).

If you've never encountered Hercule Poirot, he is essentially a slightly more Belgian version of Sherlock Holmes, but with more moustache and less deducing (to sum it up). It begins with a man who was quietly murdered in a room with only four other people, and it is up to four detectives to solve the crime; though of course, it is Poirot who is the hero in the end. Filled with suspicious characters and surprise clues that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat until the very end, this thriller is one of the best that Christie has written.

The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck

"Hunger makes thief of any man."

The last novel on this list is coincidentally the one I read first. Recommended to me by my mother - someone who never seems to have read the books she suggests and yet is always right about the quality of them - for an Autumn read.

The Good Earth is a peaceful story, and takes you through the life of a poor farmer and his family living in China after the fall of the Qing dynasty. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932, and the whole book in itself represents the land; specifically, respect and piety for the land. It also deals with the corruption that wealth often brings, as well as the oppression of women during that time period. Since I read it, The Good Earth has been one of my favorite novels, mainly because of the author's ability to convey the emotions and thoughts of nearly every character.

Well, there you have it folks. I know this post was a bit longer than what I normally write (ahem, nothing at all), but I wanted to - and hope I did - convey not only the plots of these novels, but the themes, characters, and everything in between.

Have any of you read the books above? If not, will you? What are some novels that are on your Summer TBR list?