Art & Literature

Rest & Read | Sahara’s Summer Book List

Article By Sahara .

Aug 7, 2020

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
―John Lubbock, The Use Of Life
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The long days of summer can feel like a blank page, full of opportunity and easy optimism. There’s no better time to peel back the cover of a book whose pages already carry the meandering yarn of a great story. Great stories transport and titillate, offering a chance to travel vast distances in the mind of another; either character or author or both. 
As a heatwave descends, we couldn’t imagine more perfect conditions for rest, relaxation, and reading – here are our recommendations for the dog days’ best books…
 
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Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid 
Such a Fun Age tells the story of a young black woman who is wrongly accused of kidnapping while babysitting a child and the events that follow it.
Engaging, nuanced, and charged at times, this novel offers a critical look at the saviour complex that so often infects racial discourse. 
 
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The Love Square – Laura Jane Williams 
Options, options… What is an unlucky singleton to do when her luck changes – really changes. This light, joyful, humorous summer read delves into the question of how to choose The One when, all of a sudden, there are several. 
 
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Summer – Ali Smith 
The final instalment of a beloved seasonal quartet, Summer offers a mirror to the age in which we live, a whirlwind that is the news of the day, and a poignant exploration of passing time. The gripping format surprises as it delights and challenges the notion that we know all the ways a story can be told.  
 
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Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens 
Bringing together a suspected murder, a coming-of-age tale, and an ode to the natural world, Delia Owens masterfully draws readers in and brings the setting of the story to life as an ever-present character. 
 
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Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo  
This book offers a rare chance to truly, deeply get to know its characters. “Mostly women, black, and British”, the twelve characters who populate the interconnected story seem as real as you or me. 
 
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The Only Gaijin in the Village – Iain Maloney 
Having decided to settle in a rural Japanese village, the author and his wife imagine a world of pastoral delights – they meet bird-sized bees and hawk-eyed neighbours, instead. Adventure alongside them in this detailed memoir of cultural immersion and continuous learning. 
 
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Italian Life – Tim Parks 
Italian Life is a thought-provoking, fascinating and often entertaining look at a paradoxical nation behind the scenes: a compelling account of how Italy actually happens. 
 
 

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