The Guardian's Text on the Beach: 50 Best Summer Reads Ever

Given by The Guardian

50 Works 273,997 Books 6,396 Reviews ½ 3.9
Choosing holiday reading doesn't have to be about stuffing the latest blockbuster into your suitcase. From Renaissance Florence to the shores of Madagascar, we select the timeless novels that will show more turn the most restful holiday into an exotic adventure. show less
Year Awarded:
2009
Work
Le Grand Meaulnes (1959) by Alain-Fournier
The House of the Spirits (1982) by Isabel Allende
I Like It Here (1958) by Kingsley Amis
Talking It Over (1991) by Julian Barnes
The Sheltering Sky (1949) by Paul Bowles
The Lady in the Lake (1943) by Raymond Chandler
Death on the Nile (1937) by Agatha Christie
Amours de Voyage (1858) by Arthur Hugh Clough
Imogen (1978) by Jilly Cooper
The Alexandria Quartet (1957) by Lawrence Durrell
Romola (1862) by George Eliot
Tender is the Night (1934) by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) by E. M. Forster
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969) by John Fowles
Chosen by Grayson Perry, artist
The Magus (1965) by John Fowles
Flashman's Lady (1977) by George MacDonald Fraser
Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Beach (1996) by Alex Garland
The Greengage Summer (1958) by Rumer Godden
Chosen by Sophie Dahl, writer and ex-model
Our Man in Havana (1958) by Graham Greene
Chocolat (1999) by Joanne Harris
The Reconstructionist (2001) by Josephine Hart
The Go-Between (1953) by L. P. Hartley
The Sun Also Rises (1926) by Ernest Hemingway
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955) by Patricia Highsmith
The Line of Beauty (2004) by Alan Hollinghurst
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005) by Stieg Larsson
Chosen by Richard Eyre, director
A Murder of Quality (1962) by John le Carré
Cider with Rosie (1959) by Laurie Lee
The Grandmothers: Four Short Novels (2003) by Doris Lessing
Brown Girl, Brownstones (1959) by Paule Marshall
Chosen by Jackie Kay, poet and novelist
Up at the Villa (1941) by W. Somerset Maugham
Atonement (2001) by Ian McEwan
Summer's Lease (1988) by John Mortimer
The Sea, the Sea (1978) by Iris Murdoch
A House for Mr Biswas (1961) by V. S. Naipaul
The English Patient (1992) by Michael Ondaatje
Jean de Florette & Manon of the Springs (1963) by Marcel Pagnol
In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower (1918) by Marcel Proust
Chosen by Andrew Marr, presenter and journalist
Swann's Way (1913) by Marcel Proust
Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) by Jean Rhys
Bonjour Tristesse (1954) by Françoise Sagan
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1955) by J. D. Salinger
Body Surfing (2007) by Anita Shreve
Mother's Milk (2006) by Edward St. Aubyn
The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) by Leo Tolstoy
Chosen by Alain de Botton, author and philosopher
The Leopard (1958) by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Chosen by Simon Schama, historian and TV presenter
The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold (1957) by Evelyn Waugh
French Leave (1956) by P. G. Wodehouse
Something is Going to Fall Like Rain (2009) by Ros Wynne-Jones
Chosen by Rosie Boycott, chair of Food London

Descriptions

Choosing holiday reading doesn't have to be about stuffing the latest blockbuster into your suitcase. From Renaissance Florence to the shores of Madagascar, we select the timeless novels that will turn the most restful holiday into an exotic adventure.

(English, Award granter)
URL: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jul/05/summer-reading-books-recommendations
A list from The Guardian:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009... (English, Member-written)

Tags

1001(897) 1001 books(959) 20th century(2,732) American(781) American literature(1,380) Booker Prize(513) British(1,275) British literature(906) classic(1,884) classics(2,220) crime(2,021) crime fiction(811) detective(542) ebook(853) England(1,312) English(685) English literature(1,057) family(650) favorites(497) fiction(28,777) France(1,563) French(1,036) French literature(1,172) historical(519) historical fiction(2,266) Italy(1,100) Kindle(762) literary fiction(689) literature(4,051) love(752) magical realism(1,146) murder(661) mystery(4,637) novel(5,772) Novela(589) own(1,029) owned(535) paperback(555) read(2,790) Roman(1,078) romance(1,313) Spain(503) suspense(677) Sweden(1,482) thriller(1,981) to-read(10,868) translation(539) unread(1,272) war(614) wwii(1,572)

Top Members

linlef (38 works), PaulCranswick (38), ericandsue (34), marita_p (32), cctesttc1 (31), Clio12 (31), erohwedd (30), giogabbiano (30), KrisR (30), RoseCityReader (30), Smiler69 (30), Teresa40 (30), Themis-Athena (30), elkiedee (29), emaestra (29), GrettelTBR (29), mffowler (29), sandrikoti (29), steevohenderson (29), uscer (29), Brazgo67 (28), Dorritt (28), mick745 (28), SleepySheep (28), thatguyzero (28), bhowell (27), boookywooky (27), e-zReader (27), Estragon1958 (27), hazzabamboo (27), kamintra (27), mattorsara (27), SigmundFraud (27), alwaysalreadythecase (26), angelrose (26), bookmountain (26), CarltonC (26), Caroline_McElwee (26), cns1000 (26), davidabrams (26), Fergus_Cooper (26), GiovanyGracia (26), llibresantjoan (26), mediterraneobcn (26), rdurie (26), shearrob (26), soffitta1 (26), aabdelrahmanm (25), agmlll (25), alo1224 (25), cabegley (25), eatsnacksreadbooks (25), erinalbion (25), europhile (25), FurfuralAndVanillin (25), harrietlouise (25), JBarringer (25), js31550 (25), Kaethe (25), kiwidoc (25), nicoelston (25), phoebekw (25), Tom.Shubrook (25), tyrosine (25), wendyrey (25), Yells (25), alaskabookworm (24), antimuzak (24), bobcar31 (24), bookishbill (24), CDVicarage (24), dharmalita (24), ELiz_M (24), joedoone (24), maryhollis (24), michaelg16 (24), mimal (24), opuscule (24), patrice1 (24), peterveen (24), smithtm (24), TigerBeast79 (24), vernaye (24), affle (23), Ashley_Hoss_820 (23), caledonbooks (23), dreams99 (23), katiekrug (23), marxones (23), OperaMan_22 (23), parasolofdoom (23), parmaviolet (23), proustitute (23), puckers (23), RLNunezKPL (23), rmckeown (23), SCPeterson (23), tstan (23), vicwong (23), aimg (22), aquaticus (22), BentleyMay (22), DarrylLundy (22), deebee1 (22), denni (22), Dureo (22), egotrippa (22), ellenandjim (22), emleemay (22), goldenbowl (22), graffiti.living (22), harveybiggins (22), Henry.Pole-Carew (22), ICEresources (22), Kristelh (22), leslie.98 (22), Lidbud (22), marisina_soy (22), mont1ms (22), MWise (22), Mz.Balma (22), neilchristie (22), shaunie (22), sibylline (22), stortemelk (22), TheIdleWoman (22), tootstorm (22), toread1 (22), TrickyTrickster (22), wm3395 (22), alalba (21), almigwin (21), Anietzerck (21), AnnavanGelderen (21), booksaplenty1949 (21), caitief (21), carminowe (21), clairefun (21), Crazymamie (21), DGSBiblio (21), EmScape (21), GSLulos (21), homeless (21), JeremyHardie (21), KriRand70 (21), kristensproule (21), lukehoney (21), mrspenny (21), PaperboundPeregrine (21), PaulDalton (21), peterdj (21), prengel90 (21), Schmerguls (21), SeriousGrace (21), srfudji (21), stefphan (21), TheLittlePhrase (21), TheRavenking (21), urania1 (21), WestBranch (21), beckyrenner (20), dovegreyreader (20), ljhliesl (20), lucybrown (20), mlfhlibrarian (20), Natt90 (20), Nickelini (20), SpareOom (20), weetab (20)