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Original poster

Books to read on stifling, lazy summer days

90 replies

IceIceBabyBump · 21/07/2026 11:44

I'm after some recommendations for literary fiction books for hot, lazy summer days. I don't mean fluffy holiday reads at all.
I mean books that ooze thick, humid, oppressive heat and, in doing so, create an unsettling atmosphere.

I'm after recreating the seasonal pairing of dark, atmospheric, spooky books for autumn nights but for hot summer days.

I've got Claire Fuller's "Bitter Orange" on my list already.

What else?

OP posts:
Lemonapplepear · 22/07/2026 14:37

@IceIceBabyBump I also didn't get the Ferrante hype - I don't know if it was the translation but the books felt flat to me.

Great thread btw!

AllotmentTime · 22/07/2026 14:14

Alltheprettyseahorses · 22/07/2026 10:00

The Cement Garden was the first that came to my mind.

Zennor in Darkness, it has the most beautiful and immersive depiction of a heatwave I have ever read.

Helen Dunmore definitely writes a good heatwave.

The Siege being the winter counterpart!

RoseBlueuet · 22/07/2026 14:04

paulinespecial · 22/07/2026 07:40

The Beach by Alex Garland. Much better than the film
The Little stranger by Sarah Waters it’s just brilliant and unsettling

I read the beach in less than 2 days, on a greek beach, about 22 years ago.

Brilliant book and as you say, much better than the film. It had everything I loved in a book - back then - and have read it again since. I would love to read something similar, though more in the present time.

Just finished Beneath the Orange Blossom by Emma Cowell, and just started a 99p kindle special called One Perfect Couple, set on a remote Island in the Indian Ocean.

hairstreak · 22/07/2026 14:02

The Stand by Stephen King. Not necessarily summer, but frequently hot (quite a bit is in desert landscape) and definitely unsettling. One of his best.

CountessBinface · 22/07/2026 13:41

The Battle of the Villa Fiorita by Rumer Godden

Chiangmymy · 22/07/2026 13:27

Great thread I also love a book with a steamy sultry vibe. I can recommend Tigers In Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

efeslight · 22/07/2026 13:26

Love the recommendations thank you

Original poster
IceIceBabyBump · 22/07/2026 12:58

Citygirlrurallife · 22/07/2026 11:46

The Great Gatsby
The Swimming Pool Library
Call Me by Your Name
Hideous Kinky
Demon Copperhead
Educated
The Girls Who Grew Big
The Island of Missing Trees

i actually always think the section in the desert of The Goldfinchis one of the most oppressively hot pieces of literature. And agree with anything written but Elena Ferrante

love this thread!

Definitely. I loved those scenes!

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NotAnotherFeckingMuftiDay · 22/07/2026 12:50

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon is set during the hot summer of 1976

Citygirlrurallife · 22/07/2026 11:47

Oh also The Four Winds

Citygirlrurallife · 22/07/2026 11:46

HedgehogShoes · 22/07/2026 10:12

North Woods by Daniel Mason. Lyrical and atmospheric set in haunted apple orchard in New England

Great thread by the way. I'm making myself a reading list from all these recommendations

Gosh I think the opposite - def a book to read in the depths of winter for me

Citygirlrurallife · 22/07/2026 11:46

The Great Gatsby
The Swimming Pool Library
Call Me by Your Name
Hideous Kinky
Demon Copperhead
Educated
The Girls Who Grew Big
The Island of Missing Trees

i actually always think the section in the desert of The Goldfinchis one of the most oppressively hot pieces of literature. And agree with anything written but Elena Ferrante

love this thread!

HedgehogShoes · 22/07/2026 10:12

North Woods by Daniel Mason. Lyrical and atmospheric set in haunted apple orchard in New England

Great thread by the way. I'm making myself a reading list from all these recommendations

Alltheprettyseahorses · 22/07/2026 10:00

The Cement Garden was the first that came to my mind.

Zennor in Darkness, it has the most beautiful and immersive depiction of a heatwave I have ever read.

HatStickBoots · 22/07/2026 09:34

For a retro read try Jaws by Peter Benchley and Savages by Shirley Conran which is about a bunch of rich women stranded on a tropical island.
Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier, is a gorgeous book and set in the summer.

SparklingBettie · 22/07/2026 09:25

Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee but if u want a more modern contemporary book then Tangerine by Christine Mangen.

Original poster
IceIceBabyBump · 22/07/2026 09:21

CraftySeal · 22/07/2026 07:37

Elena Ferrante's "My Brilliant Friend" series. The stifling heat of Naples where the series is set, is often used to build the tension and sense of unease. It's a fantastic quartet of four books about a complicated, sometimes disturbing, female friendship.

Edited

I read the first of these books but I didn't get into it at all.

You're right that the dry heat of summer absolutely pulsated from the pages.

But I didn't enjoy the book at all. I then tried her "The Days of Abandonment" to see whether it was just the "Brilliant Friend" series I couldn't get on with. But that one also wasn't very good IMHO.

OP posts:
Original poster
IceIceBabyBump · 22/07/2026 09:19

LEWWSH · 21/07/2026 21:21

Anything by Sarah Waters. Or have you read the Secret History by Donna Tartt? It’s the most unsettling book I’ve ever read and is just superb!

Yes, I've read everything by Donna Tartt. Love her!

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Original poster
IceIceBabyBump · 22/07/2026 09:17

Some incredible suggestions here, thank you so much! I'll be on WOB most of today.

OP posts:
Original poster
IceIceBabyBump · 22/07/2026 09:17

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 21/07/2026 16:34

Google says books like Bitter Orange are:-

The Little Stranger Sarah Walters
We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson
My Absolute Darling Gabriel Tallent
The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield

there are more…

Most of these actually fit me "atmospheric books for cosy autumn evenings as the nights draw in" 😂

OP posts:
FrostyMorn · 22/07/2026 07:42

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 21/07/2026 16:34

Google says books like Bitter Orange are:-

The Little Stranger Sarah Walters
We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson
My Absolute Darling Gabriel Tallent
The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield

there are more…

LOVED The Thirteenth Tale!

ClovisWrites · 22/07/2026 07:41

NeartoNewquay · 21/07/2026 11:46

I just read the Go-Between, which may or may not be your cup of tea but it certainly added to the atmosphere as it is set during a heatwave. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

One of the greatest novels of all time.

paulinespecial · 22/07/2026 07:40

The Beach by Alex Garland. Much better than the film
The Little stranger by Sarah Waters it’s just brilliant and unsettling

Nighttimeistherightime · 22/07/2026 07:39

‘Amy and Isabelle’ by Elizabeth Strout

CraftySeal · 22/07/2026 07:37

Elena Ferrante's "My Brilliant Friend" series. The stifling heat of Naples where the series is set, is often used to build the tension and sense of unease. It's a fantastic quartet of four books about a complicated, sometimes disturbing, female friendship.