If there's one book I should buy as a paperback this summer, it would be...

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If you had to recommend one book to buy as a paperback to read on the beach or by the pool this summer, which would you recommend?

Invisible child by Andrea Elliott. Non fiction.

Loved all these. Would add Notes on an Execution and The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock

All My Mothers

ifs an absolutely beautiful book, Ive recommended it to everyone and yet to meet someone who didn’t love it either

If you've never read life after life by Kate Atkinson I would thoroughly recommend it for a slight variation on historical fiction. Kate Atkinson's best I think.

Don’t think anyone has suggested Once Upon a River yet by Diane Setterfield.

Pillars of the Earth as pp said for historical fiction. Recently read the prequel in a few days despite the length.

Best recently for me was the Appeal by Janice Hallett. Murder mystery revealed through the correspondence of the main players.

I really enjoyed Blood and Sugar and Daughters of Night. Historical detective fiction in georgian times, but more history than detective stories!

@goldfinchonthelawn sorry it's Watch her Fall by Erin Kelly

Can I hijack This thread as i too am looking for holiday reads but I like easy reading books so nothing too fancy 🤣

If you like historical crime fiction try Abir Mukherjee's Wyndham & Banerjee series.

@xalo Ive just searched for The Further you Fall and can't find it anywhere?

Great thread, place marking!

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

Hamnet by Maggie O Farell. I like historical fiction too and I loved it.

i LOVED both of these but hated 'the 7 husbands...' - anyone got any suggestions for me please?

I second these. They were very good.

Also Lydia Kang's books are historical but not too heavy. I started with Opium and Absinthe, but really enjoyed all of them. They're free on Kindle Unlimited

@MissyB1 it's Watch her Fall by Erin Kelly

oh & my suggestions would be anything by Richard Osman, Nora Ephron, David Sedaris & i LOVED Standard Devation by Katherine Heiny.

This.

Or “Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca” by Ferdinand Mount.

Reads like fiction, but it’s all true. Fascinating piece of social history a portrait of a truly bizarre woman.

The Colour by Rose Tremain is great.

Anything by Sarah Waters, especially from the fingersmith era if you haven't read those.

Hamnet is brilliant but be prepared to cry.

I absolutely love Alexandra Fuller's non-fiction: Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight is where I started, it's an account of her childhood moving around Africa in the midst of civil wars. Sounds grim but is very funny and also moving.

For historical fiction, maybe try "The dressmaker's gift" by Fiona Valpy.
it's set in Paris during WW2 and it's a lovely read!

The Midnight Library

If you like historical fiction I’m reading The Crystal Cave at the moment and really enjoying it. It’s the origin story of Merlin and King Arthur.

If you like these then you might also like The Go Between (L P Hartley) and The Greengage Summer (Rumer Godden). Also Monica Dickens' autobiographical One Pair of Hands, One Pair of Feet and My Turn To Make The Tea. Absolute joy!

@CosmopolitanPlease You might remember when the Provincial Lady and her mates talk about a book they've read, High Winds In Jamaica. I was intrigued by their comments and searched online for it. It was actually a really entertaining read too and well worth the effort to find it. (I had thought initially it was probably fictional but it turned out to be real )

The Paper Palace. It’s amazing, read it in 2 days was so hard to put down.