Summer reading. Are there two more beautiful words in the English language? The porch, the beach, the pool; the smell of sunscreen and hot sand; the taste of ripe blueberries and a big glass of rosé—it all adds up to the perfect time to curl up or stretch out with a book. And just so you don’t have to trouble yourself with any difficult decisions, here are 17 worth reading this season.
Books are pretty standard Mother’s Day presents. I’ve certainly given them to my mom before, but here’s the thing: I’m, like, 98 percent sure she hasn’t read any of them. I don’t know if it’s because I picked bad books or she just wasn’t in the mood to read, but facts are facts. The presents were worthless—and are now collecting dust.
I’m not ready to give up on books as a gift, though. The trick to giving your mom one for Mother’s Day is to stop thinking, “What books do parents like?” and just ask, “What’s a new, damn good book that I’d also read?” These 10 new-ish titles are exactly that. Not only will your mom love and read them, you’ll want to snag her copy the second she’s finished.
If 2017 was the year of learning how bad things are, let’s make 2018 the year we started to fix them—armed with a syllabus of inspiring, empowering, funny, and transporting new works from our favorite female writers. The nonfiction will feed your mind; the novels will feed your heart and soul. Read on for 20 books we can’t wait to read in 2018.
There’s no better time to curl up with a good book than during the holidays, preferably after several servings of pie and with a mug of tea (or a glass of Cabernet) by your side. It’s also the best time to give this gift to others in the form of a thoughtfully-chosen title you know they’ll appreciate—maybe even one that’ll encourage them to put down their phone for long enough to distract from whatever alarming push-alerts are popping up on their screen that day. Here, we’ve put together a list of 15 gift-worthy new books for 2017, from striking coffee-table tomes to engrossing international fiction, all of which we’d be thrilled to receive this year.