The Terror of Knowing

I’m staying in for the summer…

No, I know, that’s not quite how the song goes. (If you don’t know the song in question, educate yourself.) The point stands, however, that I will be staying in for most of the following three months. Why? Because summer is possibly my most hated season. Why? Because I live in England. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the joy of experiencing an English summer but it doesn’t stay with one weather condition for 3 months. If we’re lucky, we can have a day of blazing sunshine one day (enough to make the masses remember vest tops and beer gardens exist) and then thick fog the next (I wish I were joking). So… it’s not consistent and I’m not much a fan of it given that I am pale, I despise summer clothing, I’m not into laying about “sunbathing”, hayfever-afflicted, and all in all just grumpier when I’m too hot. I much prefer being too cold and having to layer up than being too hot and having to shed layers (for reason see: I am pale).

However, summer is a thing that can’t be avoided and now, as I sit inside typing this whilst my parents (the sun-loving type) are outside in the garden soaking up the sun^, this seems to be a reflection of what the rest of my summer could well turn out like. I think books will remedy this situation, don’t you? So, without much more ado, I’ve decided to put together a loose summer TBR for the months of June, July, and August, since allegedly that’s what summer is in the Northern Hemisphere. As a Brit, I’m suspicious, but hey ho, on with the books…

Fantasy – Adult

A Game of Thrones* – George R.R. Martin [READ]
A Clash of Kings* – George R.R. Martin [READ]
A Storm of Swords, Parts 1 and 2 – George R.R. Martin [READ]
A Natural History of Dragons – Marie Brennan
Sorcerer to the Crown – Zen Cho
Rivers of London – Ben Aaronovitch [READING]

Fantasy – YA and Childrens

A Darker Shade of Magic* – V.E. Schwab [READ]
A Gathering of Shadows – V.E. Schwab [READ]
This Savage Song – V.E. Schwab [READ]
The Sin Eater’s Daughter – Melinda Salisbury
The Girl of Ink & Stars – Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo [READING]
Blue Lily, Lily Blue* – Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven King – Maggie Stiefvater

Non-fiction and memoir

Girl Up – Laura Bates [READ]
Not That Kind of Girl – Lena Dunham [READ]
When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi [READ]
The Establishment: and how they get away with it – Owen Jones
SPQR: a history of ancient Rome – Mary Beard

As you can see, I seem to be on something of a fantasy kick. No one could possibly be surprised by this turn of events. Maybe one day I’ll remember that other genres exist… I’m starting to realise just how long I’ve neglected my classics shelf for and I’m kind of ashamed. Still, maybe after summer I’ll be in the mood to dedicate more time/care/attention to some meatier classics. Especially with winter rolling around, I’m always more in the mood for books that will take me a while to read. But hey “we’ll see” as the typical phrasing goes…

So, what books are you reading this summer?
Do your reading plans reflect the season – i.e. do you read fun summery contemporary in summer and harsher bleaker fiction in winter?
Please do comment below – I’m very curious!

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* indicates a re-read
[NB: This post has been sitting in drafts for a week or so. It was decidedly not sunny today, thereby illustrating my point about England having literally one day of summer a year.]