Beach reads: 12 highly-recommended books to add to your list
image via @daisyhenry_/instagram
WORDS BY Marina Sano and Jing Xuan Teo
Holiday reading.
There’s nothing better than an Australian summer. Hopefully, your out-of-office is switched on, mango is back in season and there’s a long stretch of empty days ahead to fill however you want. If you’re anything like us, this will involve many leisurely mornings and afternoons with a book in hand.
It’s easy to fall out of the habit of reading when you’re deep in the trenches of work, but the holidays make for the perfect opportunity to dive into a page-turning romance, thriller or juicy memoir.
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Marina Sano and Jing Xuan Teo, are two of the best people to help curate a fun, engaging and thought-provoking reading list. They co-founded Amplify bookstore in 2020 to create a space dedicated to platforming books by black, Indigenous and other POC authors.
Initially, Amplify was an online space, with an Instagram page and an online shop, but in November, Marina and Xuan opened the doors to a brick-and-mortar store in North Melbourne. “It was always in the plans this year to move the store out of Marina’s second bedroom, where it’s been for the last few years,” says Xuan. “We stumbled upon the space at 55 Peel Street and it was perfect: the location, the size, and the timing with Christmas.”
Whether you’re boarding a flight or looking forward to slow days by the beach, Marina and Xuan’s recommendations are sure to diversify your reading this summer.
Theory and Practice by Michelle de Kretser
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Recommended by: Marina
Theory and Practice is a short and sweet new addition to the local literary landscape. It’s partly set in a sweltering Melbourne summer and is full of the questionable decisions that one makes in their late teens to early twenties.
Get it here.
An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
Recommended by: Xuan
This was my favourite read of 2024. It’s the perfect mix of dark academia and urban fantasy, with just a dash of romance. If you’re looking for something fast-paced with plot twists and beats that will grip you until the end, reach for An Academy for Liars.
Get it here.
It’s Not Just You by Tori Tsui
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Recommended by: Marina
Nothing brings on my eco-anxiety quite like sweltering, 40-something-degree days. In It’s Not Just You, activist Tori Tsui explores and examines eco-anxiety from more or less every lens (including mental health, race, disability, the environment and class). It’s a fascinating, intersectional look at the state of our planet and what we can do about it.
Get it here.
Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Lueng Yang and LeUyen Pham
Recommended by: Xuan
Get in the Lunar New Year spirit this year with graphic novel superstars Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham joining forces in this heartwarming rom-com about fate, family, forgiveness and lion dancing. This sweet and moving love story will melt the heart of the strictest auntie.
Get it here.
Eyeliner by Zahra Hankir
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Recommended by: Marina
As someone who has been dedicated to my winged liner since I was a teenager, I had to grab this book. From the editor of Our Women on the Ground, Eyeliner is a cultural history of eyeliner in all its forms, across time and across the planet. It investigates the cultural significance of the product and its legacy in the world. It’s a fascinating account of how this one cosmetic product has had a much broader impact than you might initially think.
Get it here.
Grand Slam Romance by Ollie Hicks and Emma Oosterhous
Recommended by: Xuan
This is a queer, full-colour graphic novel that’s equal parts romance, softball, and drama. A guaranteed good time, if you ask us. Perfect for the beach, or an afternoon in the park.
Get it here.
The Pachinko Parlour by Elisa Shua Dusapin
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Recommended by: Marina
This is a true sweaty book. Set across a summer in Tokyo, The Pachinko Parlour is tender and inquisitive, following a young woman visiting her Zainichi grandparents and the child she babysits to make a bit of money. It explores identity, being in diaspora, language, and the way that location can shape our histories.
Get it here.
Black Convicts by Santilla Chingaipe
Recommended by: Marina
Black Convicts is a work of nonfiction that has been a no-brainer to recommend to people. Published in October, it investigates and covers the convicts aboard the First Fleet who were of African descent. It squarely positions Australia in the history of the British Empire and global colonialism from an angle that’s completely unique. It reflects a core tenet of Amplify in highlighting lives that have otherwise been ignored in history, because, as the author said at a recent event, ‘Archives aren’t neutral! They’re a representation of state power and violence.’
Get it here.
Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
Recommended by: Xuan
This follow-up to the runaway bestseller Iron Widow is my most anticipated summer release. My favourite unlikable main character and her boyfriends are learning what it takes to rule and finish the revolution that they started. It’s political commentary wrapped up in very intricate mechanical suits. Need I say more?
Set for release on January 7, 2025.
Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop by Kenji Ueda
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Recommended by: Marina
Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop is another addition to our cozy Japanese collection. Hidden away in a corner of the Ginza neighbourhood is a venerable stationery shop. The shop owner intuits your every need, inviting you to sit at a small wooden table on the top floor, where you’ll find the words flowing, helping you unlock repressed memories, secret longings and your own mysteries. After loving What You Are Looking for is in the Library earlier this year, I can’t wait for this one to arrive.
Set for release on January 7, 2025.
As the Crow Flies by Veronique Tadjo and The Concubine by Elechi Amadi
Recommended by: Xuan
Part of Amplify’s ongoing mission is to show that ‘classics’ don’t just have to be from white authors, which is why we were thrilled when we saw Bloomsbury’s new African Classics collection. Expanding on the first 10 titles published last June, As The Crow Flies Shares tales of love, suffering and healing through allegories and ancestral myths in an exploration of the interconnection between human lives. The Concubine paints a picture of pre-colonial life in rural Eastern Nigeria and explores the boundary between myth and reality.
Set for release on January 7, 2025.
Blob by Maggie Su
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Recommended by: Marina
Blob is an upcoming title set to publish in January and is next up on my TBR. It’s a novel about being a hot mess in your twenties (relatable), following a main character who discovers a blob. A sentient blob, that she can shape to resemble… Ryan Gosling? I’ve never read a premise quite like it and it promises to be a funny and thoughtful [take] on navigating the struggles of being a young woman and the joys of coming into your own.
Set for release on January 28, 2025.
Keep up with Amplify Bookstore here.
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