5 Best Books To Read Poolside
Your summer holiday is fast approaching. Yet it seems deciding on a good book to take, is a harder decision, than what clothes you’ll leave behind. The best thing on holiday, is lay by the pool and disappear into an edge of your seat thriller or a salacious rom-com, without distraction. These are what I think are the 5 best books to enjoy poolside.
1. Normal People
Published in 2018, Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People has relished in tons of success. Winner of the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year, this book will have you hooked. Normal People follows Connell and Marianne, two Irish youths who seem to have nothing in common. In school, Connell is popular while Marianne is a loner. Yet one day, the two spark a conversation and develop a mutual fascination with one another. Rooney follows her characters from the initial conversation to years ahead. Get ready for a swoon- worthy read, about a couple who can’t resist each other.
2. Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng’s, Little Fires Everywhere – published 2017- is a novel shrouded in mystery. In the suburb of Shaker Heights, everything is planned and organised. From the colours of the houses to the people who live there. This is all threatened when artist Mia Richardson, moves into the suburb with her daughter. Mia has a disregard for societies rules and threatens to disrupt the community. This is a tale of familial domestication, past mistakes and a custody battle that explodes between the Richardson’s and their new friends. If you like mysterious characters, then Mia will have you captivated.
3. How to be single
Are you looking for a novel that focuses on female friendship and finding yourself? Then look no further than, How to Be Single by Liz Tuccillo. Published in 2008, it allows women to believe being single shouldn’t be seen as something negative. Instead, following her four female leads, you find yourself having nostalgia for the exploits they get up to. Tuccillo perfectly defines how it feels when family members ask you why you’re still single or if you found the one yet? If you want to laugh and cringe by the poolside, then this is the novel to pick up.
4. My Lovely Wife
If thrillers are more your speed, then My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing will have you perplexed. This novel follows a seemingly normal married couple. They have two beautiful children, a house and jobs, normal right? Apart from they both share an obsession for murder. Downing’s novel is a story with tons of twists and turns -having been compared to Gillian Flynn – readers can expect a compelling read. If like me, you are a fan of the crime/thriller genre, then Downing’s novel throws away all the preconceptions to create an original narrative. What could be better than sitting by the pool, being constantly shocked at the events that transpire? At the end of this dark read, you will be left wondering if you can really trust the person you share a bed with.
5. City of Girls
This is Elizabeth Gilbert’s newest novel, following her cult success Eat, Pray, Love. This new novel is set in 1940’s New York, following Vivian Morris who has just been ejected from her college. She arrives in New York City to live with her Aunt Peg who owns a run-down theatre. Vivian soon descends into her aunt’s world and becomes completely gripped with the racy lives of the showgirls. If you are a fan of period pieces, Gilbert describes 1940’s New York sensationally. This novel is one for people who love to read a coming of age narrative with a feminist aspect. City of Girls is a story of a sassy woman who is trying to find her place in a new environment.
