8 Australian Instagram book review accounts on the best beach reads
WORDS BY SHANNON VALENTINE
“To me, a beach read is something that’s light and easy to read but still engaging.”
After a year of saying we’ll get around to all the things we want to do ‘when things calm down’, spending uninterrupted afternoons reading in the sun feels like a real treat. But quality book recommendations can be hard to come by, which is where Instagram book accounts – known collectively as ‘bookstagram’ – come in.
These accounts are dedicated to sharing their unfiltered thoughts and feelings about the books they’ve loved (and the ones they’ve not loved so much). And I don’t know about you, but I’m much more likely to trust a recommendation from a voracious reader.
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With a few sunny beach days in sight, I asked eight Australian bookstagramers to share their favourite beach reads. So get ready to slip, slop, slap and sit down to some summer reading suggestions.
Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn
Recommended by: @paulineisreading
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Beautiful essays on what love means to a bunch of writers that are tied together really nicely by the author. Doesn’t focus on romantic love only as it also looks at friendship, solitude, parenthood, sex, etc. Can be harrowing but still lighthearted, perfect to dip in and out of when you’re at the beach or out and about. Will make you reflect without thinking too hard or sobbing too much!
Get it here.
The Pisces by Melissa Broder
Recommended by: @by.rosieofori
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This is a nonsense story of a woman in the middle of a breakdown who falls in love with a merman. It’s as silly as it sounds while still being dark and insightful on the experience of being lost at sea as a young woman.
Get it here.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Recommended by: @covers_and_cocktails
View this post on Instagram
The most heartwarming series ever. I’m not usually one for graphic novels, but this series has sold me on the genre. There are few things I love more than dogs, beaches, wine and a book that is so inclusive and shows love is love! I couldn’t recommend this series more as a balanced representation of the LQBTQIA+ community. A really great one for all allies to read.
Get it here.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Recommended by: @jordynlightyear
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A sexy, summertime romance with a whole lot of heart, this is a book to be read voraciously while lazing about on the beach on a hot summer’s day. It’s the perfect holiday companion, compulsively readable [and] a delicious book, with moments of light and dark that make it more than just an easy, escapist read. The sexy, romantic storytelling and the tension-fueled relationship between Eva and Shane will have readers addicted and racing to the end!
Get it here.
The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Emma Carey
Recommended by: @harriette.reads
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At 20 years old, Emma fell 15,000 feet from a helicopter in a freak skydiving accident. This incredibly powerful and perspective-shifting memoir documents Emma’s life in the nine years post-accident – from experiences on the spinal ward and heartbreak, to her six-year-long legal battle and learning how to walk again. I laughed, I cried and [I] could not put it down.
Get it here.
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
Recommended by: @readbookstofilth
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A fun and funny and heartbreakingly relatable memoir about love, family and friendship for millennial women. With this book I laughed, I cried but it wasn’t a difficult read. Chef’s kiss.
Get it here.
Seeing Other People by Diana Reid
Recommended by: @readmyblurb
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Diana Reid’s Seeing Other People is a summer drama about two sisters living in Sydney – Charlie is an aspiring actress in love with her housemate, while her older sister Eleanor has just broken up with her boyfriend. In typical Reid fashion, it’s full of deliciously thought-provoking moral dilemmas about being a good person and being self-aware, yet it’s more light-hearted than her debut, Love and Virtue. It expertly balances beach days, film cameras and house parties with sharp, witty dialogue and fascinatingly complex characters. For fans of clever, contemporary fiction, look no further!
Get it here.
Emotional Female by Yumiko Kadota
Recommended by: @the_reading_gal
View this post on Instagram
Good for a beach reach as it’s a reminder to take time for yourself and the harms of burnout, especially for women.
Get it here.
For more books to add to your summer reading pile, head here.
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