By the time you read this blog, it will be July and summer will have officially arrived and be present (hoping no rain when you see this!). I thought as it is the time of year when summer school holidays are starting and most people are preparing for their annual holidays across the next two months, it would be good as a young writer to give you a list of 20 top books to read over summer. They are all ones I have read, enjoyed and would tell friends to have a read of. It is an eclectic mix, because you might like a range of genres and some people might have more free time than others to read more than one. I hope your holiday is filled with time to read what you want to when it arrives.

• Jane Eyre- Charlotte Brontë- One of my favourite books, certainly favourite classic.
• Great Expectations- Charles Dickens
• Dracula- Bram Stoker
• Agnes Grey- Anne- Brontë
• Nineteen Minutes- Jodi Picoult- A gripping story based on real life events- powerful.
• The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments- Margaret Atwood
• The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series- Great fun for all ages- 20 books in the collection and an easier read/ fast if you just want to switch off from heavier topics.
• Chris Hoy’s memoir ‘All That Matters’- Incredibly moving story of Hoy’s journey with cancer.
• Melanie Reid’s Memoir- ‘The World I Fell Out Of’.
• The Wedding Dress- Danielle Steel
• Ocean- Sir David Attenborough and Colin Butfield
• The Lieutenant- Kate Grenville
• Tales from the City- Maupin Armistead
• Gone Girl- Gillian Flynn
• Carol- Patricia Highsmith
• To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee
• Animal Farm- George Orwell
• The Thursday Murder Club Series- x5 books- Richard Osman
• 107 Days- Kamala Harris
• The Golden Compass- Philip Pullman

I hope there will be something for everyone, although appreciate I do enjoy the classics and series of the same book. There are also a few contemporary authors on the list and I would argue that we are very fortunate to still have Margaret Atwood with us, who can be seen as a literary great for her classics and a contemporary author at the same time.

I have chosen not to disclose much about each book, as it is not so much a review of the titles and more for you to see if a title or author you have heard of but not read before, takes your fancy to have a read. All the books hold a memory for me, and that is the joy as a young writer in reading widely, you remember where you were in your life when you read certain books. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, for example, is one that I have followed each year and still collect them. It reminds me of the excitement of waiting for the new release each year in the approach to Christmas. Of course, some authors are more prolific than others, but as I might refer to more in a future blog, I encourage you to look through the collection of an author’s work. You might be surprised what you find. Even though one book might be THE defining book for that author, they often have many others that are equally great but lesser known.

I hope you enjoy trying a new book for your holiday and this list gives you some inspiration. In the August blog, I will suggest some of the best bookshops to visit around the UK while you have time off. Some will be ones I have been to and others ones that I would like to go to. Again, we all have a favourite bookshop that holds happy memories.

Work cited– Photo taken by Cameron Stewart