Our feelgood SUMMER READS

WE ASKED SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS TO SHARE THE UPLIFTING, FUNNY BOOKS THAT ARE GUARANTEED TO PUT A SMILE ON THEIR FACES

‘I laughed and cringed with recognition’ Thriller writer Erin Kelly picks a funny family drama. Her latest book is We Know You Know. ‘The Wangs Vs The World by Jade Chang is a funny, clever novel about a Chinese-american family (two broke parents and three teenage children) taking a road trip across America… but they end up in China. Anyone who’s ever spent extended time in a car with their parents at any age will laugh and cringe with recognition. Ultimately, I love it because it’s about family, home and belonging.’

‘It manages to be funny and profound, too’ Queen of escapist fiction Victoria Hislop chooses a book that lets her travel vicariously. Her latest novel is Those Who Are Loved. ‘My absolute comfort book and one I have re-read recently is The Art Of Travel by Alain de Botton. He takes a funny and ironic look at travel and why we all love it so much, and points out its huge pitfalls and dangers, so it seemed a good book to read while marooned! He is incredibly honest about how many things go wrong and how it often doesn’t live up to our expectations – and yet we travel in hope. As ever, he manages to be extremely funny and also deeply profound.’

‘It has depths beyond the happy ever after’ A classic is Philippa Gregory’s fictional pick-me-up. Her latest historical fiction novel, Tidelands, is out now. ‘I can’t think of a more cheering novel than A Room With A View by E.M. Forster. It looks superficially like a light romance, but it has depths and thoughts in it which will remain beyond happy ever after. It’s the closest to Italy that most of us will get this summer, and both the Italian and the English countrysides are described as lovingly as the endearing characters.’

‘It has everything you need to satisfy your spirit’ Thriller writer Dorothy Koomson, whose latest book is All My Lies Are True, chooses a Booker Prize-winner. ‘The book I’d love to recommend is Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. It has everything you need to satisfy your spirit and soothe any troubles you may have. The stories of the different womxn are simply sublime and I could devour it over and over again. If you read one uplifting book this summer, let it be this one.’

It seemed a good book to read while marooned! Victoria Hislop on The Art Of Travel by Alain de Botton

It’s the closest to Italy that most of us will get this summer Philippa Gregory on A Room With A View by E.M. Forster

‘A read that lifts the heart and spirits’ Bestseller Adele Parks selects a heartwarming read set on the beach. Her newest thriller, Just My Luck, is out now. ‘A Wedding At The Beach Hut by Veronica Henry is a lush, inviting read that lifts the heart and spirits! Robyn and Jake are planning their dream wedding at the family beach hut, but Robyn can’t stop thinking about her birth mother. As the big day approaches, the past seeps into their future. Transportive, heartwarming escapism.’

‘Marian Keyes has an unparalleled talent for making you howl with laughter’ Author and former magazine editor Sam Baker names a multi-generational story. Her memoir, The Shift: How I (Lost And) Found Myself After 40 – And You Can Too, is out in September. ‘It has to be Grown Ups by Marian Keyes. She has an unparalleled talent for making you howl with laughter, nod in recognition and think at the same time. This is the multi-generational story of the messy, not-as-glamorous-as-they-look Caseys and what happens when one of them suddenly starts telling the truth. What more do you want on your sunlounger (in your back garden)?’

‘This series of books is funny and sharply observed’ Journalist and author Hannah Beckerman plumps for a very British quintet of books. Her novel, If Only I Could Tell You, is out now in paperback. ‘I’m always envious of people who’ve yet to read the Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The quintet of novels spans the trials and tribulations of an upper-middle-class English family from 1937 to 1956. There’s a rich panoply of characters, not least the women endeavouring to find agency in a patriarchal world. The books are funny and incisive; I’d happily re-read them every summer.’