A Trip-Specific Summer Reading List
Our picks for the Hamptons, the Italian Riviera, road trips, and more.
Contrary to the annual flood of propaganda from Big Beach Read, there are, in fact, other delightful summertime locations to lose yourself in a good book. Herewith, a handful of recommendations new and old from the Mack Weldon staff, based on a few places you may be lucky enough to find yourself this season.
The Hamptons
Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
A coming-of-age story of sorts taking place over the summer of ‘85, set in the eponymous Black community in the Hamptons—by a modern master (and one of our finest New Yorkers).
The Catskills
The Big Chill-like pageturner from the creator of Apple TV’s Your Friends and Neighbors, in which a group of college friends stages a disasterous (if funny) intervention up in the Catskills.
A Cabin in the Woods
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
A pseudo-spy novel from one of our great contemporary stylists, involving low-level eco-terrorism, a strange seduction, and prehistoric caves—set in and around a dilapidated cabin in the woods.
On a Solo Trip
Last Summer in the City by Gianfranco Calligarich
A hangout novel about a directionless thirtysomething who drinks his way through a decadent Rome, knocking around with his rich and well-educated compatriots. “Anyway, it’s always like that,” the book begins. “You do your best to keep to yourself and then one fine day, without knowing how, you find you’re caught in something that seeps you along with it to the bitter end.”
The Greek Islands
Outline by Rachel Cusk
Set in and around Athens, Cusk’s novel became famous in literary circles for popularizing a certain strain of autofiction. Less remarked upon is the elegant way in which it captures the receptivity of your brain on vacation.
The South of France
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
Easily one of the most pleasant books ever written, about a nice British guy who moves to a remote farmhouse in the Rhône Valley. Great for fans of the vibe of that Stanley Tucci show where he eats a lot of pasta.
Out West
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
A sprawling novel about former Texas Rangers on a dangerous cattle drive to Montana—and one of the most (b)romantic stories ever told. Wry, rueful, tender, and an absolute pleasure to read…if you pick up one 850-page book to read in your lifetime, let it be this one.
On the Road
Travels With Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck
The best book to bring on your great American road trip book is not On the Road—it’s this humble travelogue from one of our country’s most incisive writers (and his loyal French poodle).
A Week in Los Angeles
The Goodbye People by Gavin Lambert
Perhaps the closest a novel has come to approximating the shaggy, aspirationally adrift spirit of ‘70s New Hollywood. Cool, sexy, and enigmatic, this tale of an amiable author befriending a cast of California characters is the perfect book to read if you’re driving around Los Angeles this summer.
The Surf Trip
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan
A hypnotic memoir by a bona fide surf fanatic, hopscotching from Hawaii, to Australia, to the South Pacific. Finnegan illuminates the minutiae of catching waves the way Hawking explains astrophysics.
By the Pool
The Guest by Emma Cline
A spiritual successor to John Cheever’s pool-hopping fantasia, “The Swimmer,” this Hamptons-set thriller moves so fast, you’ll hardly want to pause to take a dip.
Along the Italian Riviera
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
The book that launched a thousand memes (of Timothée Chalamet weeping in front of a fireplace). A romantic page-turner from one of literature’s most astute sensualists, set at a cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera.
On an Island
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann
A legal thriller coiled in an adventure story wrapped in a life-or-death game of Survivor. Enjoy it while you’re sipping a pina colada on a beach where there’s no danger of getting scurvy.