As the days stretch longer and the sun lingers a little brighter, we’re reaching for the pages that promise to take us somewhere new. The RUSSH editors have assembled their summer reading lists – a blend of literary escapes and thoughtful reflections to pair with warm afternoons and salty air.

From cult classics to contemporary voices, these are the stories we’ll be carrying to the beach, tucking into park bags, or savouring with an iced coffee in hand. Whether you’re craving introspection or pure indulgence, let these titles inspire your next great read.

Phoebe Holden

Designer

My notes app has an ever-growing, never-ending list of books to be read and summer is usually when I make the most headway. Though this will be updated, my list currently looks a little like: Dilettante by Dana Brown, I Love Dick by Chris Kraus, The Vanity Fair Diaries by Tina Brown, Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, No One Asked For This by Cazzie David, Aesthetica by Allie Rowbottom and I’d like to make my way through good chunk of articles by both Sally Singer and Cathy Horyn.

Cassandra Dimitroff

Production Editor

My reading list is always growing faster than I can get through it, but I do feel that the books I pick up to read, for the most part, should match a certain energy or season of your life. Summer this year feels free-spirited, and on my list right now are: Faith, Hope and Carnage by Nick Cave, Bluets by Maggie Nelson, D.V. by Diana Vreeland, Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, Best of A A Gill by A A Gill, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, Sex and Lies by Leïla Slimani, Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz.

Megan Nolan

Marketing Manager

When it comes to reading there’s no in between for me - I either can’t put it down or it likely won’t ever get finished. Summer is the time I can lean into this obsession fully which means I save all my most anticipated reads for the warmer months. 

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors has been on my list for a while, as has Sally Rooney’s new one, Intermezzo. If you follow Shit You Should Care About on Instagram then you will likely be as excited about their new book, Make It Make Sense as I am. It’s marketed as a collage of cultural analysis, anecdotes, personal essays, poems and lists, interplayed like a conversation between friends, and that’s exactly what I need in my life right now.

Last but not least, a bit of escapism in the new Rebecca Yarros novel, Onyx Storm. It’s the third book in the Empyrean series (out January 21st) and will be my audiobook of choice for any cross country road trips.

Lilli Corbett

Partnerships Manager

I think it’s so endearing that we all seem to have a hunter-gatherer mentality when it comes to reading material. My summer reading list is definitely a mixed bag, but as a happy coincidence, exclusively women. Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder, Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann, Garments Against Women by Anne Boyer, Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson, The Fran Lebowitz Reader by Fran Lebowitz.

Emily Algar

Beauty Editor

The summer break is always when the bulk of my annual reading gets done. I have a few books lined up in my kindle just waiting for Dec 21st, actually: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz (this was recommended by someone I admire). Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo like everyone else! The Book of Love by Kelly Link. Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik for obvious reasons. I also recently bought a copy of The Guide to Becoming Alive by Richard Christiansen and it feels like a perfect summer read. 

Finally, I love cookbooks. I walked past Easy Wins by Anna Jones in a department store the other day and bought it for the cover alone, but I love her approach to food. I already feel it’s going to be relied upon in my kitchen. And of course Good Cooking Every Day by Julia Busuttil Nishimura. I admire Julia, she is a lovely person and a terrific chef. I ran into her in the lobby of The Ace Hotel a few months ago and she went up to her room to give me a copy of the book. Her recipes are unfussy, delicious and thoughtful.

Samantha Corry

Assistant to Editor in Chief

I am forever buying books before I have even finished the two I am currently reading. Sally Rooney is dominating my list. Normal People and Intermezzo are two big ones, and Queer. Other than that, I like to go to my local bookstore and see what is new and what is the ‘Book of the Week’. A cute segment they do, I like to be sporadic with what to read next. But the three above are definitely what I am reading this summer.

Mia Steiber

Digital Strategy Director & Associate Publisher

I am a shameless lover of the fantasy genre, as such I plan on blowing through the Crescent City series over the summer break. I've booked a trip to Brunswick Heads and I don't plan on doing much else apart from reading by the pool. I’ve heard good things and it seems like the right follow-up series to the ACOTAR books if you’re a Sarah J. Maas fan. I was tempted to pick up Tim Winton’s new book Juice, but apocalypse books give me anxiety so I’ve opted for one of the older ones instead, Blueback. It was also made into a movie a couple of years ago and it’s on my watch list, so I think it makes sense to read the book first. I plan on finishing Intermezzo too. I started it a month ago and haven’t been able to pick up the motivation to finish, but I will try to push through.

Stacey Gaskin

Consumer Revenue Manager

The Christmas break is when I usually spend days (and nights) reading and removing myself from reality to be within a story. I have a list of books on my TBR that continues to grow. You’ll notice multiple fantasy romance selects and I’m not sorry about it. Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, Quicksilver by Callie Hart, The Forest of Lost Souls by Dean Koontz, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards.

Feature image via Instagram.