No summer packing list is complete without sunscreen, a towel, sunglasses and a very good book (or two). Whether you're lounging on the patio, by the pool or heading to beach this summer, keep your eyes off your phone and on the page (or your Kindle) with these enthralling summertime reads. They're light, immersive and escapist — perfect for a little mental getaway.
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Carrie Soto Is Back
If you already crushed Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising like me, you're eager for the next Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. This book centers on Carrie Soto (who you might remember played a part in Malibu Rising) as she attempts a careeer comeback on the tennis court.
On Gin Lane
Brooke Lea Foster delivers a historical fiction story about a socialite is gifted a Hamptons hotel as a wedding gift. When tragedy strikes on opening weekend, she's forced to confront if this life she's marrying into is what she really wants.
The Summer Friend
If non-fiction is more your summer speed, consider Charles McGrath's memoir about the rosy haze that surrounds friendships made in the summer and face a certain inevitability of ending with the season.
Flying Solo
The latest from Linda Holmes, host of NPR's "Pop Culture Happy Hour," is a cozy mystery about the weight of responsibility we have to our loved ones after they die, and the unanswered questions they leave behind.
Counterfeit
Y'all know we love a scam story here at Digg. This thriller by Kirstin Chen is a stylish caper about two Chinese American women who get in too deep in an international luxury handbag scheme.
Anna: The Biography
Critics call this the "definitive" biography of Anna Wintour, the engimatic editor-in-chief of Vogue. Biographer Anna Odell explores her career, relationships and the public image that has that has captured our collective imagination for years.
By The Book
Jasmine Guillory has rewritten the romance genre, moving away from bodice-rippers to more modern, nuanced love stories that anyone can identify with. In this Meant To Be novel, Isabelle, an editor's assistant at a book publishing company, is determined to prove her worth at the company by convincing a high-profile celebrity to deliver his memoir.
Rainbow Rainbow
Lydia Conklin gives use a series of short stories covering queer characters on the verge of transformation in one way or another. Tuck this one in your bag for a quick, fulfilling read while on your commute.
So Happy For You
Celia Laskey presents a deranged alternative reality of society where the wedding-industrial complex is even more absurd than it is now. Electric Lit describes it as "Bridesmaids meets Black Mirror" and you bet I'll be devouring it while on the long plane rides to my 8th wedding of the year.