Well written summer reads can fill you with awe, wonder and keep you on the edge of your seat.
As I was planning my summer holidays I started to think about the books I'd like to read this summer. Whether you're travelling, lounging by the pool, have sand between your toes or just want something to read before bedtime, getting lost in a good book is definitely one of lives simpler pleasures and a must-do for summer. Many of my own trips have been inspired by reading travel books such as Eat Pray Love and Wild.
Here are my favourite summer reads:
100 Places To Go Before They Disappear by Patrick Drew and Archbishop Desmond Tutu
What would our world look like if the planet's average temperature were to rise by only a few degrees? Cities including Venice, Bangkok, London, Chicago, and New York would experience severe flooding. The tea fields of Sri Lanka and the vineyards of France would suffer under heat and drought. Beijing and Timbuktu would be transformed into deserts, and the Great Barrier Reef's coral colonies would die. This stunning book will inspire travellers and environmentalists to help save the gorgeous places that might soon be only a memory.
In To The Wild by John Krakauer
In To The Wild follows Christopher McCandless after he graduates from college, donates his savings to charity, and sets off across the United States in search of a deeper meaning to life. Throughout his journey he meets people from all walks of life and also finds a deeper insight into his own life and the life he left behind. Unfortunately, he was found dead by hikers in Alaska after eating the wrong type of berries in desperation for food. It is an inspirational story about breaking the mould and following your dreams.
Calm by Michael Acton Smith
Modern life is hectic and relentless: trains delayed, endless emails filling the inbox, kids squabbling before bedtime... There has never been a more important time to rediscover your pause button. Calm is the book that will show you how to take back a little bit of peace, space and all-important calm. This book contains the simple tools, tricks and habits that will change the rest your life. It is a practical and pleasurable guide to twenty-first century mindfulness.
How To Pack by Lonely Planet
Packing is an art, a science or, for some, a necessary evil that needs to be tackled before the journey even begins. No matter where you are heading, or how you are getting there, How to Pack for Any Trip by Lonely Planet contains tips, techniques and advice that will help unleash the packing pro within. Whether you're going on a beach break, jungle trek, weekend jaunt or six-month expedition, take the pain out of packing with Lonely Planet's How to Pack for Any Trip.
Holy Cow by Sarah MacDonald
Holy Cow is authored by Journalist Sarah MacDonald as she writes about her experience moving to India to follow her boyfriend, despite vowing never to return after a visit a few years before. The book features amazing insights into Indian culture and its differences from the West, from family, marriage, and dating to class breakdowns. It provides real insight in to the way many travellers settle in to new lives across the world and the challenges they often face.
Advice from My 80-Year-Old Self by Susan O'Malley
Thats the question social-practice artist Susan OMalley (1976-2015) asked more than a hundred ordinary people of every age, and from every walk of life. OMalley collected their responseswords of encouragement, truth, and generosityand transformed them into the distinctive text-based images gathered in this book. Together, they reveal the wisdom we all hold inside ourselves right now.
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
This is is the book I go back to time and time again. And seeing as the film is coming out in September now is a better time than ever to get up to speed with what happened over 10 years ago. The story follows the mishaps and love life of Londoner Bridget Jones, written in the style of a diary and following several years in Bridget's often wayward shoes, each book showcases her adventures in falling in love, reinforcing friendships, establishing her career and dealing with ageing - making them sometimes embarrassingly truthful reflections of every single woman's 30′s and 40′s.
All books sourced from Abrams and Chronicle, Marco Polo, Lonely Planet and Amazon.