From screen time to page turns.
Between travel tabs, festival maps, and endless scrolls, we’re making the case for recharging with a good book (or seven). Take this as your cue to romanticize your flight delay, your Amman rooftop, or that café corner in Beirut with a paperback in hand.
Whether you’re into chaotic romance, post-colonial dreams, or existential thoughts between swims, these reads span nostalgia, rebellion, and reinvention. Giving you voices that stick, characters that haunt, and gentle moments of self reflection.
Here’s what we’re reading this summer. You might want to join.
Aya’s, our co-founder & editor-in-chief:
١. The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Shafak
Set in 16th-century Ottoman Istanbul, this sweeping historical novel is narrated by Jahan, a boy who becomes apprentice to Sinan, the empire’s legendary architect. Intricate and poetic, it blends architecture, politics, and tender human ambition.
Buy yours here!
٢. The Death of King Tsongor by Laurent Gaudé
An epic-in-miniature, this short novel centers on Tsongor, a desert king facing legacy and family tragedy. With mythical resonance and mythic weight—delivered in sharply wrought, lyrical language—it’s a haunting page-turner.
Buy yours here!
Drishti’s, our content director:
٣. Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz
A sun-drenched memoir-meets-mosaic of Los Angeles in the ’60s–’70s, Babitz offers dazzling vignettes of art, lovers, cigarettes, and beach days. Her voice is playful, candid, and knowing—perfect for slow afternoons with a cool drink.
Buy yours here!
٤. Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
Part memoir, part love letter to female friendship and flawed adulthood, Alderton traces her twenties in raw, eloquent prose. Honest, hilarious, and deeply comforting—this is the summer-of-your-twenties in book form.
Buy yours here!
Jude’s, our editorial intern:
٥. Agua Viva by Clarice Lispector
A sensual, philosophical stream-of-consciousness reflection on art, love, and time. Lispector’s mystical prose erases boundaries between author and reader—you won’t just read it; you’ll feel yourself absorbed into it.
Buy yours here!
٦. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
Set in Prague during the Soviet-invasion era, this intellectual novel explores love, freedom, and fate through tearful but rigorous storytelling. A deeply philosophical yet deeply human meditation, perfect for long summer nights.
Buy yours here!
٧. Normal People by Sally Rooney
A quietly devastating portrayal of Marianne and Connell’s relationship from high school through university. With emotionally precise writing and psychological acuity, this story of intimacy and miscommunication feels both grounded and unforgettable.
Buy yours here!
Sakina’s, our digital editor:
٨. The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
Stuck between life and death, Nora explores a library where every book represents a different version of her life. A moving novel about regret, possibility, and choosing to live. Uplifting without being cheesy.
Buy yours here!
٩. The Stationery Shop of Tehran – Marjan Kamali
A tender tale set against the 1953 Iranian coup, where a love story is interrupted by politics, secrets, and memory. Kamali captures the quiet resilience of longing and the echoes of what could’ve been.
Buy yours here!
١٠. Meet Me at the Crossroads – Megan Giddings
A speculative novel where the U.S. government offers people the chance to die in exchange for payment to their families. Dark, eerie, and deeply political—Giddings examines grief, autonomy, and systemic failure in chilling prose.
Buy yours here!
Lojain’s, our production intern
١١. Before the Coffee Gets Cold – Toshikazu Kawaguchi
In a quiet Tokyo café, customers can travel back in time—but only until their coffee gets cold. This whimsical novel explores longing, grief, and second chances with subtle charm and gentle magic.
Buy yours here!
Yara’s, our editorial coordinator:
١٢. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage – Haruki Murakami
Murakami does what he does best: mix mystery, melancholy, and existential questions. Tsukuru searches for why his friends cut him off, and what that says about identity, memory, and connection. Haunting in the softest way.
Buy yours here!
١٣. Someone Like You – Roald Dahl
Known for his children’s books, Dahl’s short stories for adults are another beast entirely—dark, twisted, and full of moral surprises. This collection proves why he was a master of the unexpected.
Buy yours here!
١٤. The Miracle Morning – Hal Elrod
Elrod’s life-changing morning routine—”SAVERS” (Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, Scribing)—became a global phenomenon. Not just a productivity book, but a reminder that how you start your day shapes everything else.
Buy yours here!
