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Now that summer is here, one of the essential questions I am always thinking about is . . . what books to read on vacation!

Sure, I have a bunch of items that I take with me on pretty much every trip, and they are mostly clothing and accessories. But no airline flight or beach relaxation for me is complete without a good book to keep me company.

Or better yet, a fully loaded e-reader to have a compact way of taking as many summer reading books as I want!

READ MORE: 16 Packing Essentials for Every Kind of Trip

When I travel, I always like to read at least one book that is set in my destination. And since vacation is a time to relax, I also like reading some lighter reads – from romance to thrillers to laugh-out-loud memoirs. Maybe even take the distance from home and a clear mind to devour something interesting that is non-fiction.

The list below has a little bit of something for everyone, and is organized into categories, so you can jump ahead to whatever sections speak to you!

Here are my top picks for summer reading this year:

Books to Read on Vacation: Romance

Red, White & Royal Blue

by Casey McQuiston

This one sounds absolutely adorable. The son of the US president has a confrontation with the Prince of Wales, and then the fake friendship they portray (for damage control in the media) turns into love. If you like politics, or royals, or just enjoy reading about two people falling for each other despite difficult circumstances, this is the book to bring with you to the beach.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

The Bride Test

by Helen Hoang

I had so much fun last summer reading the first book in this series, The Kiss Quotient, that I’m excited to have a follow-up novel to read so quickly. The main character in this book was a side character in the previous book, although the story line seems to be similar with unrequited love and family meddling woven together into a single story.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

by Kelly Harms

The plot is simple enough – a single mom escapes to the big city (without her kids) for the summer and finds a love interest that turns her world upside down and makes her reconsider her life choices. Even though it’s a pretty basic premise, good beach reads are always in order for summer – and this is one of my picks because of how hilarious the writing is supposed to be!

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Books to Read on Vacation: Thriller

Her Daughter’s Mother

by Daniela Petrova

I am drawn to this book partly because its premise is interesting – what happens when an infertile woman accidentally meets (and intentionally befriends!) the woman who is her anonymous egg donor to have a baby. Also, I am admittedly drawn to read something with a title character named Lana – just like me! While the initial details of the book make it sound like a human interest story, the thriller aspect comes into play when the egg donor goes missing and Lana might have been the last person to see her before the mysterious disappearance.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

My Lovely Wife

by Samantha Downing

A typical suburban couple with kids gets bored and then somehow decides the secret to keeping their marriage exciting is getting away with murder. Literally. I admittedly know very little about the book since I don’t want to ruin the suspense and surprise of reading it. But it sounds like a fun page-turner not unlike the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith that will definitely entertain.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

The River

by Peter Heller

Set in the great outdoors of northern Canada, the peace of the natural surroundings are disturbed when two college friends overhear an argument between a man and a woman and then later see . . . only the man, paddling alone on the river. Again, I’ve prevented myself from reading anything that might spoil the story for me, but it sounds like this one gets pretty real, since descriptions talk about desperate wilderness survival. Don’t read this one on a camping trip!

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

The Silent Patient

by Alex Michaelides

When comparisons are made to Agatha Christie, one of my favorite mystery authors, I know this book is for me. A high-powered, seemingly successful marriage ends when the main character shoots and kills her husband one night the moment she sees him. And then goes completely silent. The book details the criminal psychologist who works with this silent patient to try and unravel the mystery of why.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Books to Read on Vacation: Historical Fiction

Death is Hard Work

by Khaled Khalifa

Although Syria is not featured prominently in the news most days, rebel activity and humanitarian issues continue. So picture the scene set by this Syrian author, imagining a man whose final wish is to be buried in the tumultuous Aleppo region in the family plot. Once the surviving children decide to honor their father’s last request, the story unfolds. I don’t know that I’ve read any books set in Syria, and am looking forward to learning a bit about it through this fictional story.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Inland

by Téa Obreht

This book won’t even come out until August 2019, but after devouring the author’s previous novel The Tiger’s Wife, I couldn’t leave this pick off my summer reading list, as I hope to read it while it’s still summer. Obrecht’s novels are part-historical, part-magical in her gorgeous storytelling style, with details unfolding in a way that completely captivates me. I’m also eager to read a historical novel set in Arizona Territory in the late 1800s after my recent Scottsdale trip.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

The Old Drift

by Namwali Serpell

I am drawn to what sounds like a James Michener style fictional tale spanning three families and several generations in Zambia, and based on a historical autobiography of Percy M. Clark called The Autobiography of An Old Drifter. It’s quite an ambitious scope for a debut novel, and I can’t wait to be transported to another place and time following along.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Vintage 1954

by Antoine Laurain

Like Inland above, this novel is part historical fiction and part fantasy. Drinking a bottle of Beaujolais wine from 1954 transports a bunch of modern day apartment dwellers to Paris of the 1950s, where they soak up the culture of that period while trying to find a way back to 2017. While technically historical, this is exactly the kind of wine-fueled exploration and light reading that is ideal for summer getaways.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

In case you missed them, check out my previous Travel Savvy Gal (TSG) Summer Reading Lists for *even more* summer reading inspiration:

TSG Summer Reading List 2017

TSG Summer Reading List 2018

Books to Read on Vacation: (More) Fiction

Daisy Jones & The Six

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This sounds to me like the book version of a cross between the cult classic movie This is Spinal Tap and Almost Famous. Set in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the book is about a journalist seeing the inside workings of a hugely successful band of the era, and I love this idea for what a different type of novel this is. Reid is also the author of the popular The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so if you liked that, this summer reading book may be for you!

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Home Remedies

by Xuan Juliana Wang

This debut short story collection explores issues of Chinese youth, in China and America, touching on other serious and cultural themes as well. I always find summertime to be great for short stories, because you can breeze through an entire single narrative in one afternoon.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Queenie

by Candice Carty-Williams

If British humor – or should I say humour – is your thing, this summer read might be up your alley. Centered around a Jamaican British woman who breaks up with her long-time white boyfriend, there are more complex issues of race at play as you follow her string of bad decisions in the wake of the breakup. It sounds like somewhere between total fluff and a serious read.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

The Editor

by Steven Rowley

This one is vaguely historical fiction, but only because Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis features prominently, and is mostly a regular tale with a famous character inserted. Other than Mrs. Onassis serving as one of the two main characters, this book really sounds like it is about the relationship between her as “The Editor” at publishing house and a budding author who is struggling to finish a manuscript about his dysfunctional family. Of course boundaries are blurred, and the editor and writer relationship becomes the story. I want to read this both for the historical aspect and the focus on books – which I obviously love!

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Books to Read on Vacation: Memoir

From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home

by Tembi Locke

I’ve been back living in the United States almost as long as I lived in Milan, but I am still feeling like a former expat adjusting and continue to miss Italy. So of course I was drawn to this memoir by the mention of Sicily in the title alone, not to mention the story beginning when the author experiences love at first sight encountering a professional chef on a street in Florence. Of course, nothing is ever simple when an Italian family is involved, and I can’t wait to follow along for this story.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love

by Dani Shapiro

I am not one to do any of the genetic tests out there, but plenty of others are. Even just in my circle of friends, I have heard stories of surprise relatives or unexpected paternity. I know just enough to know that this is a not uncommon phenomenon and there are even support groups on the internet for people who are struggling with these unearthed family secrets. What I didn’t realize is that there is a also a book detailing one person’s surprise discovery about her father and how she reconciles it with the person she thought she was.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Books to Read on Vacation: Non-Fiction

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

by Caroline Criado Pérez

I am fascinated by the premise of this one, talking about the inherent design bias of fields as vastly different as medicine and the automotive industry. I’m interested in reading it because it doesn’t sound like just a litany of complaints by women, but instead is a reasoned, intellectual look at the assumptions we take for granted in the everyday world.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War

by Leymah Gbowee and Carol Mithers

Although this account was published in 2011, I only just heard of this book of how women in Liberia of different religious backgrounds banded together to lead a war-torn nation to peace. I love a feel-good story as part of my summer reading, and it’s even better when it’s true.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World

by David Epstein

As a blogger, I keep hearing how important it is to have a focused niche where you are *the expert.* Which is all well and good for many people out there, but I really feel equally enamored about so many aspects of travel – adventure, culture, food, wine, expat life – and so I write about them all! I am hoping this book gives me a bit of validation, and am curious to see the flip side of Malcolm Gladwell’s argument in Outliers that 10,000 of hours of focused practice will lead you to mastery and success.

Check book and e-book availability HERE.

In case you missed them, check out my previous Travel Savvy Gal (TSG) Summer Reading Lists for *even more* summer reading inspiration:

TSG Summer Reading List 2017

TSG Summer Reading List 2018

Phew, that was a lot!

Obviously when I started looking into books to read on vacation this summer, I found quite a lot of amazing options to dive into. I can’t wait for summer travel – and summer reading – and hope you’ve found some great reading inspiration for the coming months as well.

Happy travels! And happy reading!

Lana

Any books on this list that you’re already reading and loving? What other books to read on vacation would you recommend for my summer reading? Let me know your summer reading recommendations below!

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