This post contains suggestions for adult readers, especially librarians and teachers who might have more time to read in the summer than during the school year. It also, provides recommendations of new books, the lists here are full of books two years and older, all of which I have read and enjoyed—some more than once.
Of course, you might already have your own ever-growing TBR stack. Whatever the case, I hope you find many happy hours of restful reading this summer!
NONFICTION TITLES
Behind the Beautiful Forevers : Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo. 9781400067558. 2012. Gr 10-Adult.
Birdology : Adventures with a Pack of Hens, a Peck of Pigeons, Cantankerous Crows, Fierce Falcons, Hip Hop Parrots, Baby Hummingbirds, and One Murderously Big Living Dinosaur by Sy Montgomery. 9781416569855. 2010. Gr 10-Adult.
Born a Crime : Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah. 9780399588174. 2016. Gr 10-Adult.
Complications : A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande. 9780805063196. 2002. Gr 11-Adult.
Dead Wake : The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson. 9780307408860. 2015. Gr 10-Adult.
Packing for Mars : The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach. 9780393068474. 2010. Gr 10-Adult.
Quiet : The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. 9780307352149. 2012. Gr 11-Adult.
Stiff : The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach. 9780393050936. 2003. Gr 10-Adult.
The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons : The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery by Sam Kean. 9780316182348. 2014. Gr 10-Adult.
A Walk in the Woods : Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson. 9780767902526. 1998. Gr 10-Adult.
FICTION – HISTORICAL
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. 9781476746586. 2014. Gr 11-Adult.
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. 9780307700001. 2011. Gr 11-Adult.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. 9781101947135. 2016. Gr 11-Adult.
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. 9780452296725. 2010. Gr 11-Adult.
FICTION – MYSTERY & SUSPENSE
The Bat (Harry Hole Thriller, Book 1) by Jo Nesbo. 9780345807090. 2013. Gr Adult.
The Camel Club (Book 1) by David Baldacci. 9781455533404. 2005. Gr 11-Adult.
The Cuckoo’s Calling (Cormoran Strike, Book 1) by Robert Galbraith. 9780316206846. 2013. Gr 11-Adult.
Dog on It (Chet and Bernie Mystery, Book 1) by Spencer Quinn. 9781416585848. 2009. Gr 10-Adult.
Last Words (Mark Novak Novel, Book 1) by Michael Koryta. 9780316122689. 2015. Gr 11-Adult.
The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens. 9781616149987. 2014. Gr 10-Adult.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Book 1) by Alexander McCall Smith. 9780375423871. 2005. Gr 10-Adult.
Open Season (Joe Pickett, Book 1) by C.J. Box. 9780399576607. 2001. Gr 10-Adult.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce Mystery, Book 1) by Alan Bradley. 9780385343497. 2009. Gr 9-Adult.
Those Who Wish Me Dead by Michael Koryta. 9780316122559. 2014. Gr 10-Adult.
FICTION – REALISTIC
Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher. 9780385538138. 2014. Gr 11-Adult.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. 9781476738017. 2014. Gr 11-Adult.
Me Before You (Book 1) by Jojo Moyes. 9780670026609. 2012. Gr 11-Adult.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. 9781616203214. 2014. Gr 11-Adult.
The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence. 9780316246590. 2013. Gr 10-Adult.
FICTION – SPECULATIVE
The Big Over Easy (Nursery Crime) by Jasper Fforde. 9780143037231. 2006. Gr 10-Adult.
The Green Rider (Book 1) by Kristen Britain. 9780886778248. 1998. Gr 10-Adult.
Guards! Guards! (Discworld : City Watch) by Terry Pratchett. 9780062225757. 1991. Gr 10-Adult.
The Invisible Library (Book 1) by Genevieve Cogman. 9781101988640. 2016. Gr 10-Adult.
The Natural History of Dragons (Book 1) by Marie Brennan. 9780765331960. 2013. Gr 10-Adult.
The Queen of the Tearling (Book 1) by Erika Johansen. 9780062290380. 2014. Gr 10-Adult.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik. 9780804179058. 2016. Gr 10-Adult.
FICTION – HORROR & SUPERNATURAL
Apocalypse Cow (Book 1) by Michael Logan. 9781250032867. 2013. Gr 11-Adult.
A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, Book 1) by Deborah Harkness. 9780143119685. 2011. Gr 11-Adult.
Feed (Newsflesh, Book 1) by Mira Grant. 9780316081054. 2010. Gr 11-Adult.
The Girl With All the Gifts (Hungry Plague, Book 1) by M.R. Carey. 9780316278157. 2014. Gr 10-Adult.
Good Omens : The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. 9780060853969. 1990. Gr 10-Adult.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. 9780380973637. 1997. Gr 10-Adult.
The Ruins by Scott Smith. 9780307390271. 2006. Gr 11-Adult.
Salem’s Lot by Stephen King. 9780345806796. 1975. 11-Adult.
The Strain (Strain Trilogy, Book 1) by Guillermo del Toro & Chuck Hogan. 9780062068255. 2009. Gr 11-Adult.
Sunshine by Robin McKinley. 9780142411100. 2003. Gr 10-Adult.