32 Books You Should Have In Your Beach Bag This Summer

Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, some may say that summer is officially here. One of the best things to have with you for the hot summer days ahead is definitely a good book. From thrillers to comedy, these 32 books are from every genre and are a perfect addition to your beach bag.

1. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

A lush, raw, thrilling novel of the senses about a year in the life of a uniquely beguiling young woman, set in the wild, seductive world of a famous New York City restaurant.

2. The Girls by Emma Cline

An indelible portrait of girls, the women they become, and that moment in life when everything can go horribly wrong—this stunning first novel is perfect for readers of Jeffrey Eugenides’s The Virgin Suicides and Jennifer Egan’s A Visit from the Goon Squad. (Out June 14)

3. Modern Love by Emma Straub

From the New York Times‒bestselling author of The Vacationers, a smart, highly entertaining novel about a tight-knit group of friends from college— and what it means to finally grow up, well after adulthood has set in.

4. This Is Not My Beautiful Life by Victoria Fedden

A real-life Arrested Development that could only unfold in southern Florida, This Is Not My Beautiful Life is a hilariously funny and unexpectedly moving memoir of a just-functional family you’ll never forget. (Out June 7)

5. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

From the author of Maybe in Another Life—named a People Magazine pick and a “Best Book of the Summer” by Glamour and USA TODAY—comes a breathtaking new love story about a woman unexpectedly forced to choose between the husband she has long thought dead and the fiancé who has finally brought her back to life. (Out June 7)

6. The Children by Ann Leary

From New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary comes the captivating story of a wealthy, but unconventional New England family, told from the perspective of a reclusive 29-year-old who has a secret (and famous) life on the Internet.

7. The Assistants by Camille Perri

The debut novel that J. Courtney Sullivan calls “addictive, hilarious, and smart. It’s “9 to 5 for the student loan generation” and Publishers Weekly describes as “if the characters from HBO’s Girls were capable of larceny and blackmail.”

8. The Rules of Love & Grammar by Mary Simses

A woman finds love and closure, and rediscovers herself, when she returns to her roots in the enchanting new novel from the author of The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Café.

9. Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

The new novel from Liane Moriarty, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Husband’s Secret, Big Little Lies, and What Alice Forgot, about how sometimes we don’t appreciate how extraordinary our ordinary lives are until it’s too late. (Out July 26)

10. The Regulars by Georgia Clark

A fierce, feisty, and “wonderfully entertaining” (Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies) debut with a magical twist about three ordinary, regular girls who suddenly have their fantasies of being beauitful come true…or do they? (Out August 2)

11. Lily And The Octopus by Steven Rowley

Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of Ted and his aging companion, his dog Lily. (Out June 7)

12. Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon

A big, heartrending novel about the entangled lives of two women in 1920s New England, both mothers to the same unforgettable girl. (Out July 26)

13. You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

The audacious new novel about family and ambition from “one of the best living mystery writers” (Grantland) and bestselling, award-winning author of The Fever, Megan Abbott. (Out July 26)

14. The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood

An enthralling novel about love, loss, secrets, friendship, and the healing power of literature, by the bestselling author of The Knitting Circle. (Out August 9)

15. Some Possible Solutions by Helen Phillips

In a spine-tingling new collection, the “unique” (NPR) and “wickedly funny” (New York Times) Helen Phillips offers an idiosyncratic series of “what-ifs” about our fragile human condition.

16. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

A novel of breathtaking sweep and emotional power that traces three hundred years in Ghana and along the way also becomes a truly great American story. Extraordinary for its exquisite language, its implacable sorrow, its soaring beauty, and for its monumental portrait of the forces that shape families and nations, Homegoing heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction. (Out June 7)

17. An Innocent Fashion by R.J. Hernandez

Hernández is a diamond-sharp satirist and a bracingly fresh chronicler of the heartbreak of trying to grow up. Honest and absurd, funny and tragic, wild and lovely, this novel describes modern coming-of-age with poetic precision. (Out July 5)

18. Behold The Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

In the vein of Amy Tan and Khaled Hosseini comes a compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream—the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy.

19. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

This 2014 thriller tells the story of a secret agent (with the code name Pilgrim) who is forced to face the consequences after the murder of a wealthy American takes place.

20. Here Comes The Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

In this radiant, highly anticipated debut, a cast of unforgettable women battle for independence while a maelstrom of change threatens their Jamaican village. (Out July 19)

21. You’ll Grow Out Of It by Jessi Klein

In You’ll Grow Out Of It, Klein offers-through an incisive collection of real-life stories-a relentlessly funny yet poignant take on a variety of topics she has experienced along her strange journey to womanhood and beyond. (Out July 12)

22. I Am No One by Patrick Flanery

A mesmerizing novel about memory, privacy, fear, and what happens when our past catches up with us. (Out July 5)

23. Being A Beast: Adventures Across the Species Divide by Charles Foster

Foster is a passionate naturalist who lives his life like a badger, an otter, a fox, a deer, and a swift to mingle neuroscience and psychology, nature writing and memoir to cross the boundaries separating the species. (Out June 21)

24. The Sport of Kings by C.E. Morgan

Hellsmouth, an indomitable Thoroughbred with the blood of Triple Crown winners in her veins, runs for the glory of the Forge family, one of Kentucky’s oldest and most powerful dynasties.

25. Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer

Unfolding over four tumultuous weeks in present-day Washington, D.C., Here I Am is the story of a fracturing family in a moment of crisis as a catastrophic earthquake sets in motion a quickly escalating conflict in the Middle East. (Out September 6)

25. Girls Who Travel by Nicole Trilvas

A hilarious, deftly written debut novel about a woman whose wanderlust is about to show her that sometimes you don’t have to travel very far to become the person you want to be.

26. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

From the author of the beloved New York Times bestselling book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and the creator and star of The Mindy Project comes a collection of essays that are as hilarious and insightful as they are deeply personal.

27. Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld

Wonderfully tender and hilariously funny, Eligible tackles gender, class, courtship, and family as Curtis Sittenfeld reaffirms herself as one of the most dazzling authors writing today.

28. Save the Date: The Occasional Mortifications of a Serial Wedding Guest by Jen Doll

An “engaging and disarmingly honest” (People) examination of the search for love and the meaning of marriage in a time of anxiety, independence, and indecision.

29. The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war.

30. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that’s bigger than it first appears.

31. The Apartment by Danielle Steel

This vibrant, tender, and moving tale pulses with the excitement of New York City, as Danielle Steel explores twists of fate, and the way that sometimes, in special places, friends can be the family we need most.

32. All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank

This is a story of how plans evolve and lives change in unexpected ways, how even those who have everything are still looking for something more. Even the most successful people can often struggle to keep things together. All Summer Long asks the ultimate question: can money buy happiness?