A Summer Reading Guide for the Burnt Out Reader
New books for a new season
**If you’re new to Mourning Pages, welcome! I am Penny Zang, an author and English professor. My debut novel, Doll Parts, will be published in 2025. You can add it on Goodreads.
A quick update: I have been named the winner of the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Fiction Fellowship, via the South Carolina Academy of Authors. What an honor!
Check out the full announcement here.
Thanks for being here.**
Last time on Mourning Pages: What happens at the End (of the semester)
“Technology changes faster than the lifespan of a honeybee, but we are the hive.” —Amanda Montell, The Age of Magical Overthinking
It has been an exhausting spring with the word “burn out” scorching the edges of every single day. It feels like I’ve written about this idea once or twice before. It’s an end-of-the-semester thing, but also a mid-year thing that impacts so many of us.
But thankfully we live in a world where summer reading exists. Summer reading that includes beachy books, murder mysteries, memoirs, and any other genre that brings a level of joy (whatever that joy looks like to you).
Here’s my short summer reading guide. Add these titles to your TBR, stock up at the library, and order a few before you go on vacation (or hide out in the dark on a summer day like me).
Note: I am a Bookshop.org affiliate and may earn a small commission if you purchase books through my links (or so I’m told).
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The Book That Will Make You Laugh
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
I have a personal rule that if two or more people recommend a book to me, I make it a priority to read it. Starter Villain by John Scalzi is one of those books that moved up higher on my list because I kept hearing such great things about it.
First, there’s the cover. To be honest, I’d probably buy this book based on the cover alone. Then, there’s the audiobook with Will Wheaton as the narrator, which is near perfect. A book hasn’t made me laugh this much in a very long time. If your summer forecast includes foul-mouthed dolphins, Starter Villain is for you.
Order Starter Villain by John Scalzi at Bookshop.org.
The Book That Will Make You Weep
Maybe I shouldn’t describe Martyr! as a book that made me cry. It’s more honest to say that the writing in this book, the approach to the content and the structure turned my brain inside out. Which is a good thing, of course.
This summary is what sold it for me: “Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past—toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed.”
The hype is real for Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. Order Martyr! at Bookshop.org.
The Book That Will Change Your Mind About Crime Fiction
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
As a writer of suspense, I devour thrillers and mysteries more than I consume Dr. Pepper and my son’s leftover Easter candy. Jessica Knoll’s Bright Young Women surprised me, though, which is hard to do lately. The focus on friendship and the relationships between women made me pause and wipe away tears more than once.
Knoll turns the genre on its ass as she focuses on the women at the heart of the story and delivers a complex story without sacrificing the quality of the writing. It’s a slow burn where the focus isn’t on “whodunit.” And also: it’s my favorite kind of book.
Order Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll via Bookshop.org.
The Book That Will Make You Crave Short Stories
If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
Little known fact: my graduate thesis was a collection of linked short stories and even though I don’t read as much short fiction as I used to, I have a soft spot for collections like If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Longlisted for the National Book Award, among many others, this linked collection made me crave more and more short stories. I hate the idea of readers who haven’t discovered Escofferey’s work yet. I have a feeling I’ll be recommending this book for a long time.
Order If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery via Bookshop.org.
The Book That Will Quiet Your Brain
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May
I’m a huge fan of reading nonfiction in the summer, when I can slow my brain between semesters, take notes, and highlight every little glimmer. Enchantment by Katherine May is the perfect book for a hopeful and reflective season.
I bought this book on our recent trip to London and made myself wait until the right time to read it. It was so worth the wait. It’s self-help for readers who don’t especially self-help, if that makes sense. I know I’ll end up reading it more than once.
Order Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May via Bookshop.org.
Other Books That I Read (and enjoyed) Last Summer
Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian
Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
I’d like to call this “part one” of my summer reading guide and add to it by the end of the summer with more titles, but we will have to see. I am expecting a second round of edits on Doll Parts in the coming weeks and I couldn’t be more excited to see my debut novel grow during this process.
For a sneak peak, paid subscribers can check out my recent Pinterest scroll of Doll Parts-related inspiration below. Don’t forget to add it on Goodreads:
Sylvia Plath, Hole, dolls, and ghosts. I challenged myself not to say the word “vibes” for this whole post, but I’m whispering it.
Best,
Penny
My summer reading list just got even longer :)