Favorite Summer Reads
- Allison Weeks
- Sep 5
- 7 min read
Companion blog post to Season 24, Episode 15 of The Art of Home
Temperatures are on the rise and the official first day of summer is only a month away, bringing to mind the endless summers of childhood past.
What did you enjoy doing in the summer as a child?
In typical only child, introvert fashion, my favorite summer hang out was the public library. Well, I also enjoyed the skating rink, but that’s a subject for another article. The library was an icy cold shelter from the sweltering Florida heat. I would climb the spiral staircase to the children's department to discover new worlds and quench my insatiable thirst for knowledge. Then, in high school I was given required reading over the summer and I died a little inside. No longer could I follow wherever my reading fancy took me, now I was forced to read certain books. Homework in the summer is a real downer.
Having plodded through my high school years of required summer reading, as an adult I managed to rekindle a love of discovering and devouring new books while sinking my toes in the sand or sunning them by the pool. There’s nothing like a good mystery or lighthearted piece of chick lit to while away the summer hours. And I believe there is plenty of room for great children’s stories, too. As CS Lewis said, “No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty.”
If you are looking for some summer reads, I’ve got you today. I want to share some of my favorites in several categories, so there will be something for everyone.
Disclaimer: I do try and find clean books--those written by authors who have a light touch when it comes to sex, language, worldview and politics. I prefer if they merely imply in these areas. With that in mind, as always, take my recommendations with a grain of salt and discern whether or not these books are appropriate for you personally.
Classics
While not necessarily light reading, there are a number of classics that evoke that feeling of summertime and or adventure and therefore, I believe are well suited for the season. For classic adventure that will keep you quickly turning the pages, check out Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. Enjoy it alone or read it aloud as a family.
Alexander Dumas’, The Count of Monte Christo, though quite long, is an unforgettable adventure complete with sword fighting, romance, intrigue and a prison break.
If picnics and gentile country summers are more your style, be sure to read Jane Austen’s, Emma. Witty, Wise and winsome, you can’t help but laugh at Austen’s ridiculous characters and love her heroines.
Cozy Mysteries & Historical Fiction
I adore a cozy British mystery. I’m not sure why so many of these literary English country villages have an inordinate amount of murder, but it certainly makes for great stories. My husband and I love watching historical BBC mysteries and I enjoy reading or listening to them.
One of my favorites is the Lady Hardcastle series by TE Kinsey. Set in the early part of the 20th century, these books follow an eccentric gentile widow and her equally eccentric lady’s maid/companion as they solve all sorts of mysteries in and around the tiny hamlet of Littleton Cotteral. Lady Hardcastle and her maid Flo are not amateur sleuths, though. They have a long history of covert operations in the British Secret Service, which began when Lord Hardcastle was alive and working as an operative.
The two women have a sort of PG Woudhouse Berty and Wooster vibe going on and I often find myself laughing out loud at their banter and antics. I highly recommend the audible versions narrated by the very talented, Elizabeth Knowelden. She truly brings these characters to life. The 12 books in this series will certainly keep you busy and laughing all summer long.
If you enjoy historical fiction without the murder, I recommend books by Julie Klassen, a Christian historical romance author whose books are mostly set in regency era England. The Ivy Hill series is very sweet and inspirational, following the stories of 4 different women whose lives are connected by their daily interaction in the village. Reminiscent of Cranford and Larkrise to Candleford, these stories draw you into the cozy village life and the stories of interesting characters who live there.
A couple of honorable mentions in this category, which are not written by believers, but are excellent historical fiction, in my opinion. Bellgravia by Julian Fellows, the creator of Downton Abbey, and The American Heiress and Fortune Hunter both by Daisy Godwin.
Children's Literature
Between homeschool and bedtime routines, we did a lot of read-aloud time in our family. Some of our favorites that would make great summer reading for all include, Mary Poppins, Mrs Piggle Wiggle, Redwall, Five Little Peppers, EB White’s books, and of course, The Chronicles of Narnia.
The upcoming Netflix/Greta Gerwig adaptation of Narnia has CS Lewis fans quaking in their boots a bit. There’s even a rumor that she is casting a woman for the role of the Christ-figure, Aslan the great lion. I shall suspend my judgement until I actually see the series. However, I must stress to you the value of reading these books, especially as an adult. I didn’t know about them until I had children. When I was pregnant with our 4th we began reading the series aloud as a family before bedtime. We read chapter after chapter, voices and all, that summer after he was born. Babe in arms and 3 little sunburned faces eagerly looking back at me, I relished the long treks we took through Narnia that summer.
We met so many interesting characters and learned deep truths about God through these delightful, fanciful stories. Yes, there are witches and magic in Narnia, so if that is a stumbling block for you, feel free to avoid. But Lewis was very purposeful in the way he wrote these stories to appeal to our innate love of story and to harness the power of fairytales. In Lewis’ words, “Sometimes fairy stories say best what needs to be said.”
And speaking of Lewis, for you sci-fi lovers, you have to check out his Space Trilogy…to be absolutely correct, we should call it the Ransom Trilogy. As it follows the story of a man named Ransom who travels into the heavens, to distant planets and back to earth again. This series demonstrates Lewis’ preference for the Medieval cosmology of seeing that which lies beyond our home planet not as dark, void space but as a vibrant, light-filled dwelling of angelic hosts and spiritual beings. The third book in the series, That Hideous Strength, is an extremely prescient commentary on the dangers of unchecked power paired with technology…I’m looking at you, AI. Oh, and Merlin makes an appearance. If you want to really nerd out and get the most of this series I highly recommend Christiana Hale’s companion book, Deeper Heaven.
Non-Fiction
For Theology and Christian Living I recommend first to begin with The Gospel. Tim Keller’s, Jesus the King, is one favorite books. He walks you through the life of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Mark, with such insight and poignancy you will come away loving Jesus even more.
To get a handle on some basic Biblical theology, that is, how certain recurring themes are developed throughout the whole cannon of scripture, I recommend Even Better than Eden by Nancy Guthrie. She traces 9 themes through the Bible showing how each one teaches us about God’s character and plan and informs us how to live gospel-saturated lives in light of eternity.
You’ve heard me mention before Jen Wilkin’s two volumes on the character of God, None Like Him and In His Image. These short books are perfect for summer Bible study or devotional reading, complete with questions at the end of each chapter.
If you’d like to understand the history of feminism and how it has shaped our modern understanding, or lack-thereof of femininity, you should read Rebekah Merkle’s, Eve in Exile. Eye opening and so encouraging for women devoted to home and homemaking.
And finally, a recent book I have mentioned on the podcast, Tilly Dillehay’s, My Dear Hemlock brings us back to CS Lewis again and while this is a work of fiction, I will include it here under the heading of theology/Christian living. Tilly had the brilliant idea to explore a twist on Lewis’ famous Screwtape Letters. If you are unfamiliar with this classic, it follows the correspondence between a junior demon, Wormwood, and his mentor, a senior demon, Screwtape. The objective of this correspondence is to train young Wormwood in the art of tempting and tormenting humans with the aim of winning their souls away from the enemy, that is The Lord God, to their great lord and master, Satan.
My Dear Hemlock explores the question, what if Screwtape had tempted a woman? This little book is set in modern times and follows the correspondence between two female demons, Hemlock, the junior, and Madame Hoaxrot, the senior. Hemlock has been assigned to a young woman who is, at the beginning of the book, teetering between faith and unbelief. She is tempted throughout her life by Hemlock, acting upon Hoaxrot’s advice, on everything from married life to childbirth, to friendships, to cell phone use, comparison, body image and her own mortality. It is entertaining, convicting and inspiring. I encourage you to read and discuss it with friends.
My non-fiction book list would not be complete without some homemaking book recommendations. If you haven’t already, please read The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer. Some of it is a bit dated, but the principles hold true for homemakers at all times.
Another formative book in my homemaking you may not had heard of because it’s out of print. No Ordinary Home; The Uncommon Art of Christ-Centered Homemaking by Carol Jo Brazo is worth hunting down a used copy. I read it multiple times as a young homemaker.
Anything by Sally Clarkson will be worth your time, particularly The Lifegiving Home and The Life-giving Table. And finally, we must mention the good Reverend Miller’s classic, Homemaking. I have created a study guide for this classic work. You can request your copy here.
That's all of my favorite summer reads. I hope you have found some new ideas to inspire your next library trip. I've included a printable list below. If you chose to purchase a copy of any of these books using the links in this article, The Art of Home will receive a small commission from Amazon at no extra cost to you. These little bits of commission help fund the podcast operating budget and I thank you for your support.
Happy Reading!
