three of our top summer reads

Summer is for a lot of things : the beach, the pool, cooking outside, soaking up the sun (safely), white dresses and sandals – and for “beach reads.”

Let us be clear. You don’t have to actually read these picks – or anything on your list – by the beach. You can do it inside, in the comfort of AC. Or in your own back yard, among the flowers and the smell of whatever’s thrown on your grill.

But we’ve always thought summer is for indulgent, exciting reads, too. Really, any time of the year is. But isn’t everything just a little bit better in the summer?

Here’s our top three picks:

1. Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

Did you read The Vacationers? We did, cover to cover. This is Straub’s newest book, and it promises to deliver : it’s about a group of friends finding their way through life after college, learning how to survive in the post-grad world – and how to maintain their friendships through that. Now that hits close to home.

 

2. The Girls by Emma Cline

Another Emma on our list! And this book seems to be on everyone’s list. It takes place in California at the end of the 1960s, that crucial period of American upheaval. And the protagonist, Evie, finds herself in the middle of it – and the middle of a cult.

 

3. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

If you like food, and secretly wonder about what goes on behind restaurant walls? This is the read for you. It’s about love, power, desire – and it just skyrocketed to the top of our list. Oh, and food. It’s about the food scene, too.