Best reads part two: Top writers reveal their favourite 50 summer books

In the second of our two-part series on the best books to read this summer, top authors give the verdict on their favourite 25. See the list.

Relaxing over summer with your nose in a good book is an activity on many agendas.

Today we reveal part two of our Top 50 Summer Reads by expert HarperCollins authors

There’s nothing like a good book – especially one recommended by an expert writer – to really help you switch off and relax over the summer break.

This part completes our full list and includes incredible true stories, memoirs, book-tok sensations, sci-fi and fantasy plus books to read with your kids.

INCREDIBLE TRUE STORIES

Ben McKelvey is a writer and editor who has previously been embedded with the ADF in East Timor and Iraq. He recommends five incredible true stories which help readers understand Australia’s special forces war in Afghanistan. His latest book is Find, Fix, Finish.

Ben McKelvey.

Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations by Ronen Bergman

This book exhaustingly details Israel’s long and complicated history of targeted killing, and explains how assassinations cannot only be morally compromising and strategically counter-productive but also dangerous for the prosecuting polity. I read this book before starting work on Find Fix Finish, and was amazed to find how many of the institutional failures detailed in Rise and Kill First were duplicated by Australia’s politicians and the ADF red tabbers in our Afghan targeted killing program.

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

One of the great pieces of long from American non-fiction, The Right Stuff centres the first Americans chosen to go into space as part of the Mercury Program. When writing Find Fix Finish I thought often about the similarities between Australia’s SASR operators and these Mercury astronauts, from the belief in the titular ‘right stuff,’ which is the intangible (and fictional) quantum of excellence that makes the difference between life and death within a chaotic environment, to the migrating psychology and morality of men when part of a stressful total institution.

The Body Keeps the Score by Besser van der Kolk

It would be difficult to find anyone on the planet who hasn’t had The Body Keeps the Score recommended to them at this point, but even if it’s admission here is hackneyed, it’s also essential. This is the best book I’ve read about the historical understanding and treatment of psychological trauma and it’s informed much of my understanding about the maltreatment of Australian soldiers by Special Operations Command during the war in Afghanistan.

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger

This book was recommended to by an Australian military contact who has been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress (PYS) and I’ve since recommended it to dozens of people for myriad reasons. The book, written by one of the most notable combat correspondents of our time, makes claims about the source of PTS and how it may be exacerbated, but it also has much to say about the making and unmaking of communities and how community strength can relate to personal equanimity.

No Good Men Among the Living by Anand Gopal

Author Anand Gopal is a journalist and sociologist professor and one of the few people who, during the war, embedded with the Taliban and conducted independent research trips to Uruzgan, where Australia’s special forces primarily operated. This excellent book looks at the war from the perspective of the Afghans, and has much to say about the two murderous Uruzgani warlords that the US and Australian special forces chose to partner with during the war.

MEMOIRS

Tom Tilley, bestselling author of Speaking in Tongues and much-loved current affairs journalist, provides his top five memoirs for you to dive into this summer.

Tom Tilley.

Boy & Going Solo by Roald Dahl

These were the first memoirs I ever read. If his fiction transformed my imagination, then in my teenage years I was enthralled to read that his real life adventures were just as colourful. I loved getting to meet the man behind the stories, the truth behind the fantasy. They set a high bar for memoirs. 

Educated by Tara Westover

A gruelling story, beautifully told. Westover details her childhood in a survivalist Mormon family and how education becomes her lifeline to reality. Her poetic celebration of the Idaho mountain landscapes sets a serene stage for the gritty blow by blow of the real time chaos created by her deranged father. Westover’s story telling style, not so much the content (thankfully!), had a big influence on the way I wrote Speaking in Tongues.

Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roper

This was another book I read to prepare for writing my own, although I must point out, this story is way more extreme. Phelps-Roper grew up in the infamous Westboro Baptist Church famous for picketing the funerals of returned US soldiers and for being interrogated by Louis Theroux. Being inside Megan’s head as she slowly deconstructs her hardwiring is truly fascinating. 

A Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This memoir has it all – it’s part horror story, psychological manual and philosophical guide. On one hand, Frankl’s story puts our modern-day struggles into perspective, then on the other hand, it gives a guide to living in the current age of anxiety. I think its meaning is so profound it will be relevant at any point in history.

Kingdom of Fear by Hunter S Thompson

I read this sitting in a jungle hut on my own in far east Java, it was a weird few days! The rawness, adventure and mayhem in these tales is more intoxicating than any substance this maniac consumed. I wonder if society will let us have another Hunter S Thompson? Thankfully we can revisit his life any time just by picking up one of his outrageous books.

BOOK-TOK SENSATIONS

Ann Liang, bestselling author and avid Booktooker, shares her five favourite books that are currently taking Booktok by storm.

Ann Liang.

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Chloe Gong, so unsurprisingly, Foul Lady Fortune was one of my absolute favourite reads this year. There’s everything you could want in a speculative historical thriller: spies, fake marriage, murder, all woven together with Chloe’s signature lush, gorgeous prose and vivid Republican Era setting. I am obsessed.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

There’s something so heart-wrenchingly beautiful and nostalgic about Zoulfa Katouh’s writing that’s reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli movie and transports you to Syria from the very first page. Every scene, every sentence has weight, and Zoulfa captures both hope and horror with equal precision. A warning, though: this book will make you sob.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

A classic, of course, and completely deserving of all the hype. There’s a feeling I’m always looking for when I pick up a book — a kind of ache, like when you’re saying goodbye to a friend or revisiting your childhood home — and that’s the feeling The Song of Achilles gave me. This book has been recommended so many times that there’s little point in me recommending it again, but I simply love this book too much not to mention it.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

She Who Became the Sun takes all my favourite parts of C-dramas — the quiet yearning, the subtle glances, the backstabbing and scheming — and turns them into a truly memorable historical fantasy that’s both epic and poetic. Parker-Chan has this talent for putting the most specific emotions and images into words, and I absolutely can’t wait for the next book.

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

This book — and the entire trilogy, really — will always have a special place in my heart. Epic, breathtaking, and incredibly compelling, R. F. Kuang doesn’t shy away at all from the horrors of war, but there are also many moments of dark humour and tenderness that made me fall even more in love with the characters. In short, I’ll read anything R. F. Kuang writes.

SCI-FI AND FANTASY

Award-winning fantasy writer Dan O’Malley shares his five top reads for the summer.

Daniel O'Malley

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

I first heard about this a few years back, when I was speaking to an American book club. They recommended it unanimously but as best I can tell, it was released in Australia only this year. It’s a striking urban fantasy, in which a group of orphans have been adopted and instructed by … a god(?) who has suddenly gone missing, and left a power vacuum. Ten thousand startling, clever, weird ideas, with characters and plot you can’t let go of.

Her Fierce Creatures by Maria Lewis

The final in a series, which means that you needn’t wait in agony for the next one to be released, as I had to. The Supernatural Sisters sequence is suffused with action, pop culture, and iconic monsters. We have heroines who are werewolves, witches, banshees, and fairies. All the books are brimming over with thrilling adventure and devastating smart-assitude. Her Fierce Creatures is a satisfying culmination with strong language, strong women, and strong story.

Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky

I’m cheating a bit here since, at the time of writing, I haven’t finished reading it. But the first two books in this series are such gems that I don’t hesitate. Things on earth have gone very, very badly. On other planets, humans (and other species) build new futures. It’s big-idea science fiction, with characters so sympathetic and story so consuming and readable that you’ll find yourself desperate to find out how it all ends. I certainly am.

The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan

An excellent murder mystery set in a fractious fantasy empire. We follow Vonvalt, an itinerant judge with extraordinary powers (both legal and mystical) who is investigating the murder of a noblewoman in a merchant town. Meanwhile, various factions are undermining the tenuous order of the empire. The story is told through the eyes of his clerk, a young woman who is doubtful that she wants this life of dreadful authority. I devoured this, and can’t wait for the next one.

Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts

In a year with so many excellent new books, I shall highlight an excellent older one. Last week, I saw a woman on a bench, reading this book I love. I was so delighted that I introduced myself, we enthused about it, and I went home and re-read it. It is, quite simply, a classic. Written by two of the greats of fantasy, it follows a young unprepared noblewoman suddenly thrust into the murderous politics of a fierce empire.

BOOKS TO READ WITH YOUR KIDS

Sarah Ayoub is a journalist, bestselling author and academic. Her latest picture book Nice and Slow is out now.

Sarah Ayoub.

Peas and Quiet by Gabrielle Tozer and Sue De Gennaro

With a perfectly-punny title (the main characters are peas) and super-cute illustrations, this book is a delight for its adorable story of compromise and making space for one another. Two peas learn that its harder to live alone than it is to bear one another’s quirks, and it’s a great read for children aged 4-8.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler

The sweetest story about sharing and caring, by an author who needs no introduction. This book is perfect for kids aged four and up, and makes for a great family read because of the opportunity to put on multiple voices and act out the sounds of the story. It’s a favourite in my extended family and one we all bond over!

Flocked by Chren Byng and Andy Joyner

This is my five year old son’s current favourite, and I think it’s a beautiful ode to new experiences, standing out and forging your own path no matter how difficult it might be, or despite the fact that things have always been done a certain way. The message is subtle and sweet, and the illustrations are lovely too.

All the ways to be smart by Davina Bell and Allison Colpoys

This book is perfect for kids as young as two and the fact that I adore it despite being in my mid-thirties demonstrates that it’s both timeless and ageless in its appeal. The rhymes and illustrations in this are creative, clever and cute; and it’s a beautiful reminder that smarts come in so many shapes and forms, and we ought to let children embrace and pursue their own interests.

11 words for Love by Randa Abdel-Fattah and Maxine Beneba Clarke

This book is ideal for anyone from 4-10 and older really, because it’s a lesson in language and expression. Readers are taken through the 11 different words for love in the Arabic language, while seeing that love can manifest in a myriad of ways. I grew up at a time when Arabic-speaking was always associated with something negative – in the news and in popular culture – so to see it celebrated for its beauty is a real plus.

PART ONE OF THE TOP 50

THRILLERS

Dinuka McKenzie, bestselling author of The Torrent and one of Australia’s favourite new crime writers, gives us her top five thrillers.

Dinuka McKenzie.

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple

The Broken Shore and its follow up Truth by the late great Peter Temple were my gateway drugs into discovering homegrown crime fiction. Crime that revelled in the humour, vernacular and gritty underbelly of Australian life. To me, Temple was the master at rendering morally compromised characters and policing culture onto the page, in his signature sparse, staccato style that managed to elicit emotion and place with the leanest of sentences.

The Silent Listener by Lyn Yeowart

A brooding, atmospheric thriller told in three timelines that unravels the secrets of a family living in fear for its safety, amidst grinding rural poverty. Brought to life through Yeowart’s vivid imagery and evocative prose, The Silent Listener is not only an utterly absorbing mystery, but a searing examination of domestic abuse and coercive control, and what happens when a community chooses to look away.

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Written by Sicangu Lakota Nation author David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Winter Counts is the story of Virgil Wounded Horse, a vigilante for hire at the Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota. A First Nations crime thriller that weaves culture and identity, and the reverberations of history into a propulsive, page-turning novel on family, drugs and survival, revealing modern-day life within Native American reservations and the structural inequalities baked into the system.

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz

A novel which reframes the traditional crime narrative away from the offender and firmly onto the victim, to the person she was before a man chose to impose his will on her life. Equal parts a meditation on death and dying, a love letter to New York, and an unflinching examination of what men choose to take from women, Before You Knew My Name is moving, fierce and unforgettable.

In the Clearing by J.P. Pomare

A chilling psychological thriller that entwines the seemingly unconnected lives of two women – Freya, a yoga teacher and single mum living in a secluded bushland property, and Amy, a young woman who has only known life within a secretive cult. Pomare is the master of dark, twisty thrillers, and In the Clearing absolutely delivers on the promise of a twist that you will not see coming.

BEACH READS

Rachael Johns, bestselling author of The Work Wives and ‘undisputed queen of Australian Women’s fiction’ gives us her top 5 beach reads for this summer.

Rachael Johns.

The Wrong Sister by Fiona Palmer

I can’t wait to read this book because it’s set in Karijini National Park (Western Australia), a beautiful place I visited not so long ago with stunning gorges and inviting swimming holes. I’d love to return but for now, I’ll just have to take a trip on the page. It also sounds full of family drama, which is my reading jam.

The One and Only Dolly Jameson by Lisa Ireland

This book had me at Broadway. As a musical theatre fan, I know I’ll love this aspect but I’m also keen to read about the friendship between Dolly and the younger Jane as I love reading about friendships across generations. Touching on homelessness amongst the elderly, I think this one will be one for the beach and the book club!

The Hemsworth Effect by James Weir

Okay, I’ll admit, the ‘Hemsworth’ in the title grabbed my attention first but then I saw it was written by one of my fave journalists AND is set in Byron Bay. If that wasn’t enough to draw me in, the cover is to-die-for and the reference in the blurb to cashed-up celebrities and cranky Karens already has me laughing. I pre-ordered it immediately and plan on reading this by the pool with an ice-cold beverage!

The Summer Party by Rebecca Heath

This book not only has summer and party in the title, which to me makes it already the perfect beach read but it is set in a South Aussie seaside location and promises family drama and shocking secrets. There’s also a mystery element and I quite enjoy a little bit of suspense with my poolside cocktails, alongside my fun, escapist reads.

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand

I read this book over our winter but during the American summer and it (along with all of Elin’s books) are the perfect summer reads. There’s a reason she’s known as ‘The Queen of the Beach Read’. All her books are set on the idyllic island of Nantucket and full of juicy drama, colourful fun characters. This one takes place in a renovated old hotel over its first summer open again, and even has a ghost, which I was totally there for.

YOUNG ADULT

Samera Kamaleddine, a journalist who spent the early part of her career writing about boys, annoying parents and friendship dramas in teen magazines including Dolly and Girlfriend, gives us her top 5 young adult reads. Half My Luck is her first YA novel.

Samera Kamaleddine.

The Museum of Broken Things – Lauren Draper

It feels like a mystery, it feels like a love story … it also feels like you’re actually in the room with characters Reece and Gideon, which is an absolute credit to Lauren’s lovely writing. Pick this up for an exploration of grief – and the challenges of moving forward – executed in a wonderfully witty way.

Girls In Boys Cars – Felicity Castagna

This book (that I read in just one sitting because it was that can’t-put-down) deserves all the cheer it’s been getting. It grips you tight right from the start as Rosa and Asheeka set off in a stolen car to escape their rage and the toxicity of their lives in Western Sydney. A thought-provoking deep dive into the complexities of identity, friendship and peer pressures.

The Comedienne’s Guide To Pride – Hayli Thomson

Although written by an Australian debut YA author, this one is set in Salem, Massachusetts, to add something a little different and interesting (hello, fun witchy facts). The bang-on pacing of this book keeps you turning the pages of smart and sassy words as wannabe comedian Taylor Parker faces a deadline to come out … in more ways than one.

Sugar – Carly Nugent

16-year-old Persephone is trying to make sense of the “why” when it comes to all the frustrating/sad/confusing things happening in life around her – from her diabetes diagnosis to stumbling upon a dead stranger to unworthy relationships. It’s a story full of ‘tude, and plenty of layers to peel back and get you thinking.

As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow – Zoulfa Katouh

There’s a line from within these pages that just about sums it up: “Finding love and happiness behind the misery”. It’s also very much about the desperate search for hope among the horrors of the Syrian conflict, as 18-year-old Salama reconciles with leaving her beloved country for a safer life. With every bomb that falls, you are drawn into her harrowing world through beautiful prose.

PRIZE-WINNERS AND LITERARY STARS

Paul Dalgarno, author of A Country of Eternal Light (February 2023) and master of writing (and reading) extraordinarily smart, witty and moving novels, shares his top five prize winning reads.

Paul Dalgarno

Too Much Lip, by Melissa Lucashenko

The 2018 winner of the Miles Franklin Award is never less than engrossing. With a plot that’s smooth enough to skate on, until it gives way to hidden depths, it manages – somehow – to be both laugh-out-loud funny and cry-out-loud sad. Our sassy protagonist Kerry Salter roars into her hometown on a stolen Harley for a flying/ dying visit only to discover that leaving again is harder than expected. It’s fantastic.

The Nancys, by R. W. R McDonald

Winner of the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel. An 11-year-old schoolgirl in the throes of grief for her recently deceased father has a fortnight with her uncle and his partner to solve a gruesome murder-by-decapitation in small-town New Zealand … It doesn’t scream ‘cheery’ but I’d challenge anyone to read this soaring novel and not come away besotted with Tippy, Uncle Pike and Devon, and feeling just that little bit more optimistic about the world at large.

The Animals in That Country, by Laura Jean McKay

The winner of the 2021 Victorian Premier’s Prize for Fiction, among many other accolades, sees a pandemic (coincidentally) raging through Australia, in which those infected with ‘zooflu’ can understand the various languages of animals. The big question, and the one McKay handles beautifully, is what, exactly, those animals are saying and what effect that has on the people who can’t help but listen.

Grimmish, by Michael Winkler

OK, I’m cheating – this hasn’t won a prize (yet) but it was shortlisted for last year’s Miles Franklin (a first for a self-published book) and is every bit the prize fighter. Ostensibly based on the true story of the 1908–09 Australian tour by American boxer and ‘Human Punching Bag’ Joe Grim, it considers the limits of pain and masculinity and is, quite simply, unforgettable … and funny too.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, by Holly Ringland

I bought this 2019 ABIA General Fiction Book of The Year for two different people at Christmas and (because I knew I wanted to borrow it) decided it would do no harm to have a sneaky read of the opening page, but then I read two, then five, then 15 and … It’s bursting with heart and foreboding from the get-go, and now I just need to buy my own copy. You should get in quick before the Amazon adaptation screens globally this year.

INSPIRING READS

Michelle Johnston, who juggles both careers of bestselling author of Tiny Uncertain Miracles and emergency physician, gives us her top five inspiring reads for this summer.

Michelle Johnston

A Country of Eternal Light, Paul Dalgarno

For the sheer inventiveness of prose, the playful language and glorious detail, this story – narrated by a time and space-slipping mother of twins, with a seasoning of Frankenstein and the exuberance of existence – is life affirming. It is boisterous and audacious and I loved it.

The Believer, Sarah Krasnostein

Here is humanity in all its messy, wild and weedy depths. This book is a sensitive and respectful journey into the belief systems of astonishingly disparate people, and the reasons they have taken paths that have veered off the mainstream. Never once straying into the judgmental, it’s a book more likely to draw people together, rather than divide (of which our angry world can sometimes be accused).

Big Love, Brooke Blurton

I’m not a big The Bachelorette watcher. Most television puzzles me. But this memoir, written by a young Noongar-Yamatji woman grabbed me by the heart. The title sums it up beautifully. A courageous story about family, hardships, resilience, community, understanding and yes, that greatest of all things, love, is joyous.

World Of Wonders, Aimee Nezhukumatathil

This one was tricky – there have been so many divine, buoyant books about the natural world recently (Fathoms, Phosphorescence, Signs and Wonders) it was difficult to choose. But this book, subtitled ‘In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments’, took out the honours. It is a set of powerful, poetically wandering essays through nature, peacocks and newts. Just gorgeous.

Why Fish Don’t Exist, Lulu Miller

Miller is one of Radiolab’s co-hosts, and her intense curiosity and wit shine through in this extraordinary short book about chaos, fish, big dreams and little moments of life. A transformative tale weaving biography and memoir, it celebrates the folly and wonder of we strange humans. The New York Times was quoted as saying, ‘I was smitten.’ Me too, New York Times, me too.

Originally published as Best reads part two: Top writers reveal their favourite 50 summer books