Marginalia: Hot Mum Summer Reading List
All the books I'm planning to read this summer.
Welcome to Marginalia — my speedy, from the front-line-of-motherhood round-up of the very best things I have been trying to read whilst looking after my two young sons.
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With the summer holidays on the horizon and the weather finally warming up, I fancied having a little fun with this issue of Marginalia. Below you’ll find some of the books I’m looking forward to diving into over the next few months.
Whether you’re stuck indoors at soft-play drinking terrible coffee because British Summer is living up to its rainy reputation, or actually enjoying a few peaceful moments to yourself on a sunlounger, the books in this issue of Marginalia should give you a decent Vitamin D boost.
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My Hot Mum Summer Reading List
I once (pre-kids) took an eight-hundred-page biography of Mary Wollstonecraft on a beach trip. Now I have children, it is simply unrealistic to be so ambitious about my holiday reading. These days, I opt for writing that slips down as deliciously as a poolside mojito. I want books that are as easy to sink into as a swimming pool on a hot day. I want books that are fuss-free so I know I will make time to read them. I also look for vicarious pleasure and escape — I know, that for every gorgeous day I get with my kids, there will be a rubbish one where nothing goes to plan. And so I love to read about other people having a glamorous, sexy, carefree time.
Here are the books I’ll be diving into over the summer months:
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
I actually finished reading The Wedding People this morning and I adored it. Perfect for fans of Sorrow and Bliss and Really Good, Actually, this sparkling novel is about Phoebe, a recently divorced English Literature professor. Depressed and unsure how to go on, Phoebe spontaneously books a room at the ridiculously pricey Rhode Island hotel she thinks of as her ‘happy place’ (in spite of never having been there). Unfortunately, when she arrives, it turns out that she is the only hotel guest who isn’t part of an extravagant, week-long wedding celebration. The Wedding People is a wickedly funny and life-affirming novel, sprinkled with wry literary references and delicious wedding gossip. The Wedding People is out in hardback on August 1st; you can pre-order it here.
Heatwave by Penelope Lively
I have frequently written about how relaxing I find the experience of returning to old favourites when I’m in the thick of non-stop parenting (as I usually am over the summer months). One book I am hoping to revisit is Penelope Lively’s Heatwave, which I first read in the summer of 2018, when I was pregnant with my eldest child. In this compelling, intimate and deftly-drawn novel, Pauline becomes suspicious of her son-in-law's fidelity as the summer unfolds. Remembering her passion for her own husband and the betrayals she suffered, Pauline gradually becomes more angry and dismayed, watching on, until heightened emotions come to a startling climax. It is, to my mind, one of the very best ‘hot weather’ books of all time. At only 192 pages, this is an achievable read which you will finish in a few days (or perhaps a luxurious afternoon all to yourself?). You can buy the paperback here, though I feel duty bound to tell you that the font is very, very small.
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