The C&TH Summer Reading List Is Here
By
1 day ago
All the books to read (and be seen reading) this season
Sweltering humidity is making its annual descent. Wouldn’t it all be nicer with a sea breeze, a glass of something icy cold, and a good book? Well, at least we can handle the latter.
As Country & Town House‘s Digital Culture Editor and resident book lover, I like to think I am pretty well versed in the reading world’s trends. Because, let’s face it, we all want to join in on those watercooler conversations when a buzzy summer read takes over the office, or a hot debut dominates the group holiday chats. This year, we have Caro Claire Burke, Virginia Evans, Lyse Doucet and Maggie O’Farrell right at the top of the agenda.
A zeitgeisty book is the ultimate summer accessory – but which will be the next book du jour? I’m here to help. Your summer reading list has landed: here are all of the books we’ll be cracking into this season.
18 Buzzy Books To Read This Summer
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
More than 20 years of hard work earned debut novelist Virginia Evans the Women’s Prize for Fiction with her tender, propulsive epistolary.
Paperback, £9.99
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The Finest Hotel in Kabul by Lyse Doucet
Another debut bagged the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction: BBC broadcaster Lyse Doucet‘s modern history of Afghanistan.
Hardback, £25
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The Typing Lady & Other Fictions by Ruth Ozeki
Read along with C&TH and our May/June Book Club pick: Ruth Ozeki’s collection of short stories that plays with identity and biography.
Hardback, £18.99
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Land by Maggie O'Farrell
Beginning on a windswept peninsula in the 19th century, a father-son duo set out to map the entirety of Ireland when an unsettling encounter nudges them off course.
Hardback, £25
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Whistler by Ann Patchett
A tale about memory and the meaning of family, we open in NY’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Daphne bumps into a man she hasn’t seen in 45 years – her stepfather.
Hardback, £20
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John of John by Douglas Stewart
Shuggie Bain’s author is back. This time we are on the insular Isle of Harris, where a tale of art, landscape and the corrosive effects of leading a double life unfolds.
Hardback, £20
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The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
The Things We Never Say moves away from Strout’s usual community of characters, though it is seamed with the insights that keep us coming back to her.
Hardback, £18.99
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Claws Out! by Bella Mackie
The book clubs will have their paws all over Bella Mackie’s latest murder thriller, which this time strikes London’s liberal elite.
Hardback, £20
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Voyagers by Meg Charlton
There’s a cacophony of buzz around this debut, which is being compared to Station Eleven, The Ministry of Time and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.
Out 2 July 2026
Hardback, £16.99
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London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
The non-fiction book du jour has to be London Falling, which traces the fallout of the death of 19-year-old Zac, who was secretly posing as the son of a Russian oligarch.
Hardback, £22
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Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
As tradwives fall further out of favour, Caro Claire Burke’s searing debut couldn’t be more timely; a pacey, inhalable beach read.
Hardback, £16.99
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Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, trans. by Lin King
This bittersweet story of love between two women whisks us back to 1938 Taiwan and Japan, and bagged the 2026 International Booker Prize.
Paperback, £14.99
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Whatever Happened to Madeline Stone? by Louise O’Neill
Spanning 2002 to 2025, Irish author Louise O’Neill’s comeback novel questions the ethics of childhood stardom.
Hardback, £16.99
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The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley
This slender modern masterpiece can be inhaled in a day – and the evocative London writing will make you forget you are on a sun lounger.
Hardback, £16.99
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I Want You to Be Happy by Jem Calder
A romance for the 2020s and for fans of Evenings and Weekends, I Want You To Be Happy overflows with London texture, from expensive flatshares to emotional avoidance.
Hardback, £16.99
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Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Ahead of the new film adaptation in September, it’s time to get your Austen on in this twin tale of Regency love.
Paperback, £9.99
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Dominion by Addie E. Citchens
A compelling preacher and his golden son preside over a community simmering with repression and violence in this rich, southern gothic.
Paperback, £12.99
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