Lazy days in the sun just aren’t the same without a good book. We’ve picked our favourite page-turners to help you soak up the summer rays this season:
1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
ELLE Belle Jessica Baxter (Senior Copy Editor): ‘In preparation for the big-screen adaption, I will be reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn’
On the morning of her fifth wedding anniversary, Amy Dunne disappears under mysterious circumstances. Everyone wonders who is to blame until the spotlight settles on Nick Dunne – Amy’s husband. It seems the ‘perfect’ couple isn’t as perfect as everyone thought. As cracks in their relationship start to emerge, revelations from Amy’s diary further complicates the case. Pressure mounts from the police and media, and although Nick proclaims his innocence, nobody is sure. Is Nick to blame? And if he didn’t do it – who did?
2 Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Our Fashion Assistant, Nicole Newman will be reading Lean In this summer!
Sheryl Sandberg is the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and has been named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. Her book, Lean In, succeeds in making feminism relevant in our day and age. Sandberg examines why women’s voices continue to be ignored in our society, despite them having ‘equal rights’. With interesting research and hard data, Sandberg cuts through the ‘layers of ambiguity’ that still surround women.
3. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This award-winning novel centres around love and race. In Lagos, Nigeria, two teenagers, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. After high school, Ifemelu moves to America to study. Although Obinze hoped to join her, he is unable to do so because of the travel restrictions that came into place after 9/11. Instead, he embarks on a dangerous life in London. Years later, they meet again in Democratic Nigeria.
4. Bridget Jones: Mad about the boy by Helen Fielding
After 14 years of silence, Bridget Jones is back and better than ever. In her new novel, Bridget contemplates loss, single motherhood, tweeting and texting as well as her sexuality. This touching novel will have you roaring with laughter.
5. Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah
Editorial Assistant, Maybe Corpaci will be reading this novel, and thinks that you should read it too.
This is a story about love, loss and the magic of friendship. In the summer of 1974, Kate Milarkey is the social outcast of her 8th grade class. This changed when ‘the coolest girl in the world’, Tully Hart, moves to her street and wants to be her best friend. Tully seems to have it all, but she keeps a secret that is destroying her.
The book spans more than three decades and is a story about betrayal, secrets and the power of friendship.
6. The Last Winter of Dani Lancing by P.D. Viner
For a chill up your spine, delve into this psychological thriller by P.D. Viner. Twenty years ago, college student Dani Lancing was kidnapped and murdered – but her killer has never been found. Her devastating death broke up her parents’ marriage her mom, Patty, gave up her career to try and solve the case. She works with Tom, Dani’s childhood sweetheart, who is now a detective – and together they discover a clue that could change everything…
7. Winners by Danielle Steel
The #1 New York Times bestselling romance author returns with a novel about the healing power of love and hope. The story follows 17-year-old competitive skier, Lily Thomas, who becomes permanently paralysed after a chairlift accident. While fighting with despair and coming to terms with all she’s lost, Lily meets Teddy, a young man even more badly injured than she, but who’s determined to live a full and exciting life.
8. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Best-selling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini returns with a novel that explores how we love, take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. With a story that spans Kabul to Paris to San Francisco and the Greek Island of Tinos, this novel explores the way in which families wound, betray, honour and love one another and how we are often surprised by the ones we know best.
9. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Celebrate and honour our great, late leader by reading the story of his life before/ after watching the screen adaptation.
…10. And don’t forget your Fashion glossies!
Ziyaad Bassier, our Junior Designer, will be reading ‘Lots and lots of glossy fashion magazines this summer.’
What will you be reading this summer? Tweet us @ELLEMagazine #BeachReads or leave a comment below.