The idea of a ‘Summer reading list’ or even a ‘Beach read’ apparently can be traced back to the late Victorians. On both sides of the Atlantic, the growing middle class began to travel to the coast or country, during the hot weather of July and August. Yes, even in the UK! Possibly, with an umbrella or two packed along with the newly purchased or borrowed books. The rapidly growing cities undoubtedly were also places where one would, if one’s bank balance allowed, escape. Poor sanitation and horses drawn carriages would have made many neighbourhoods less than pleasant places to dwell during the warmer months of the year.
With the rise of the yearly summer holiday, a new genre of book was born. The ‘summer read’ was vigorously promoted by the publishing industry, which realised that here was an opportunity to cash in on the well-heeled and the well-educated. What type of literature could meet this new demand? The answer was for many, a book that was gripping, but lightweight enough not to detract from the holiday itself. Some publishers would ‘rebrand’ existing titles in new ‘summery’ covers. Others opted for the sensational or stories from new writers that would be happy to be in print and less reluctant to have their image tarnished by this new label. There were detractors though, such as the Reverend T. De Witt Talmage, who wrote in 1876 – “I really believe, that there is more pestiferous trash read among the intelligent classes in July and August than in all the other ten months of the year.”
However, many were unconcerned by the voices of critics, and they just wanted a good book to pack and enjoy somewhere warm, preferably on a beach, in a hotel or under a tree in a garden. Over 135 years later the industry is still going strong, and many books are released with the prime motive of ensnaring the weary traveller at an airport, on board a ferry or online.
We have complied a list of some of our favourite summer reading for our Blackhen 14+ students.
Fiction (YA)*
The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes by Suzanne Collins
This is a prequel to her enormously successful ‘Hunger Games’ series. The tyrant of the later books is seen here as a young man and mentor to an early participant of the annual games. How does this young man rise to such great heights later and what went wrong?
Five Survive by Holly Jackson
A trip to the beach with friends for Spring break. What could go wrong? But then a road accident stops them. The accident soon turns out to be anything but. Someone onboard has a deadly secret! A secret that others are prepared to kill for.
This Summer’s Secrets by Emily Barr
Told over three generations, the mysterious house ‘Cliff End’ is the setting for this thriller set in a windswept and mysterious Cornwall. Serena is drawn to the house by accident and strikes up a friendship with a lonely old woman Martha. Martha is called a witch by locals, but she knows many secrets, particularly about the owners of the house, who are keen that they stay just that.
‘Adventures in Time- The Second World War’ by Dominic Sandbrook
The Second World War seen through the eye of people on the ‘Homefront’. From factory workers to chess players, everyone had their part to play to defeat Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
‘Atlas Obscura’ by Joshua Foer, Dylan Thuras & Ella Morton
A guide to over 700 of the strangest and most curious places in the world. Travel from catacombs in Sicily where you can walk among the dead to a pub within a tree in South Africa to a 40-year-old fire in Turkmenistan, which marks the ‘gates to hell’. A wealth of pictures and maps brings to life some of the more unusual tourist destinations in the world.
‘If the World were 100 People’ by Jackie McCann
Imagine if all the people in the world were reduced to 100. What would they be like? With each person representing 8o million people, Jackie McCann helped by illustrator Aaron Cushley help you to meet the Earth’s inhabitants.
‘A Busy person’s Guide to British History by Jem Duducu
A light-hearted and brief exploration of British history from the Stone Age up until 1945. This book charts its way through the many events, both good and bad, that have befallen this island nation off the coast of north-west Europe.
Classics:
‘The Great Gatsby’ by Scott Fitzgerald
The classic American story set during the roaring 20s about the mysterious Jay Gatsby and his exciting, but ultimately doomed life.
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee
A classic ‘Classroom’ text for many American and British school students which looks at life in the Deep South of the 1930s. Seen through the eyes of Scout, a young girl who learns early on about the harsher side of life and how a few individuals can make a real difference.
‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ by Thomas Hardy
The story which introduces the reader to the fearless and independent Bathsheba Everdene, a thoroughly modern woman in a less than modern Victorian era Wessex. One of the best novels from one of the best English writers of the 19th/20th centuries.
A final thought…
Reading regularly for any student is a sure-fire way to help with their progress in English. It introduces students to different reading styles, help improves their vocabulary and most importantly, shows them that they can escape the world of the ‘screen’ and disappear into a world created by another person simply by reading a page or two.
*YA= Young Adult fiction is a genre that spans the teenage years into early adulthood. Some of its themes and language can at times, be more adult orientated than teenager.