Summer Reading

Are you hoping to do some Summer reading? Accessible entertainment, even during covid.

If so, have you discovered the curated lists of books featured by bookshop.org? This site also offers easy ways for you to order from independents, which is always close to our heart at Harland Works. 

They currently have a hot summer favourite’s list to look at which looks, er, long. I recently loved looking at Sheffield’s La Biblioteka’s recommended list ‘A Tour of France’ (having just cancelled a camping trip to France ).

But my reading choices are mostly about trying to keep up with my book group. We’re reading “Little” by Edward Carey. I have no idea what to expect from that book yet, but I loved one we did recently “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens. Beautiful and great escapism. 

Another favourite book group discovery included Wild by Cheryl Strayed about a long walk along the Pacific Crest Trail and I recently got us all to read The Salt Path by Raynor Winn about walking the Cornish Coast path. 

I loved all of those… and other people’s ‘finds’ is such a nice thing about being in a group. A book I always associate with summer holiday reading is Horse Heaven by Jane Smiley. I included a (large) hardback copy of this as essential luggage in a cycle pannier one camping trip (in Brittany). I have not lived it down. But I really enjoyed the book and thought it was worth it!

And it’s an excuse to use this photo of me with two of my cousin’s lovely horses. 

Hope you get some R&R time this summer to enjoy a good book. 

P.S.. and I would be remiss not to mention Helen Mort's most recent book Never Leave the Dog Behind published by Sheffield based Vertebrate Publishing - Helen is one of the poets who'll be speaking at Real Live Poets in the courtyard on 22nd July.

https://www.v-publishing.co.uk/books/narratives/never-leave-the-dog-behind/