5 Summer Reads For Every Type of Reader

By Amanda Wood

Whether you have big plans for this summer or are coordinating a staycation, there’s got to be room for a little literature in your life. Still, that doesn’t mean you have to wade your way through The Old Man and The Sea. If you haven’t been keeping up on the literature scene, you’re in luck; it doesn’t matter if your thing is horror, nonfiction, or drama, this list has something for you.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler

If you’re all about light humor, interested in independent and successful women, or perhaps just a fan of Parks and Recreation, Amy Poehler’s new book is a perfect summer read. This autobiographical novel was praised for its humor, insightfulness, and touching nature. The Google Books description gives us some insight into what’s in store for us in Yes Please: “A collection of stories, thoughts, ideas, lists, and haiku from the mind of one of our most beloved entertainers.” Although Poehler wrote this memoir as a reflection of her own life, we may be very tempted to read this as if Poehler’s Parks and Rec character, Leslie Knope, had written it.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

So, let’s say you’re not interested in light humor, and want something a little on the darker side; Doctor Sleep is the horror sequel to King’s 1977 novel, The Shining. As someone who has read these in sequence, I would strongly recommend reading both. Although, if you’re not interested in reading The Shining, Doctor Sleep is still a highly enjoyable read all on its own. Full of supernatural occurrences, this novel addresses a certain type of telepathy dubbed ‘the shine’; the unique writing style of King distinguishes this book from the cliché supernatural teen novel.

Yesterday Erased By Andy Schrock

This coming of age book is reflective, nostalgic, and has something for everyone. If you skate, or have skated at some point in your life, this book will have even more appeal to you. This partially autobiographical book tells about how presently successful author and entrepreneur, Schrock came to find himself and his livelihood in skateboarding. Reminiscent of our high school selves, Yesterday Erased captures a bittersweet moment in life that many of us can relate to.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Hopefully you were made to read To Kill a Mockingbird either in ENC or in high school literature; if not, you should know that it was published in 1960, in conjunction with the ongoing American Civil Rights Movement. This drama deals with serious subjects such as rape, racial injustice, and the death of innocence. Similar to King’s Doctor Sleep, Harper Lee has decided (approximately 55 years later) to publish a sequel to her classic novel. Go Set a Watchman picks up about twenty years after the original events of Mockingbird and it is rumored to be the second book of a trilogy. Currently at the center of much controversy, both novels have climbed to the top of bestsellers relatively quickly.

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She’s “Learned” by Lena Dunham

Eerily relevant is the best phrase I can conjure to describe Lena Dunham’s writing. The Google Books description of this specific piece is that the book functions to “illuminate(s) the experiences that are part of making one’s way in the world”. Anyone and everyone can relate to Not That Kind Of Girl, I swear (just because the word girl is in the title doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it, guys.) This book highlights the daily adversity in trying to achieve whatever it is you aim to get out of life, and that, my friends is universal.

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