I've mentioned in a couple of earlier posts the change in my reading habits, how I struggle these days to read more than a couple of pages at the end of the day and struggle even more to remember what the book was about when I eventually finish it.
Reading in the summer months presents, I think, additional difficulties, particularly in relation to choice of books. When days are warm and sunny and at their languorous best, I prefer novels with a similar setting. I also want a relatively easy read, something that isn't going to be too taxing on the brain cells but then nothing too frivolous. I avoid anything that looks as if it might make me cry (I don't need books to do that, I can turn on the waterworks at the drop of a hat these days) and, whilst thrillers are often a genre of choice, I don't tend to seek these out until the days turn cooler and the nights start drawing in.
My current bedtime book is so far ticking the summer read boxes.
It's set in Italy, the holiday destination of one extended family and various friends making for an interesting mix of Americans and Brits, adults and children, and providing a new take on A Midsummer Night's Dream.
I'd also recommend these, a combination of newer reads and some old (and very old) friends:
Love and Summer by William Trevor
A Summer Birdcage by Margaret Drabble
The Last Guests of the Season by Sue Gee
The Golden Year by Elizabeth Falconer
Summertime by Rafaella Barker
Finally, The Otherwise Girl by Keith Claire, which I wrote about here. I first read this one on a New Year's Eve but it's since become a favourite for summer. Unfortunately, it's been out of print for years but I have an extra copy on the bookshelf. So, if you'd like to have it, just leave a comment about your own favourite warm weather books. I'll pull a name out of the hat on Sunday 1st August.
(P.S. I'll add a few more goodies to the giveaway).