Summer isn't just about going to the pool or the beach with your friends and getting tan, it's also about relaxing and taking some me-time for yourself.
Reading is one of the best things for your mind and a great way to lose yourself in a story. Do you like fiction? Non-fiction? Do you only choose books based on recommendations from The New York Times' Best Sellers List or Oprah's Book Club?
If you want to read something sad, a love story, a story about incarceration, etc. these books are perfect for you.
Here are 10 books you should be reading during your summer vacation:
1. "The Pisces" by Melissa Broder
This book is on the list of Elle's Top 40 Books to read this summer. It's a story about a woman who recently broke up with her boyfriend and she has to pet sit her sister's dog at her beautiful home in Venice Beach. She meets this attractive swimmer when she's sitting on the beach alone one night and that's when everything changes.
2. "The Mars Room" by Rachel Kushner
Also on Elle's Top 40 Books to read this summer, this book is about a mother who is sentenced to two life sentences and leaves behind a son. She struggles with the new reality of being in this prison with other women and enduring violence.
3. "The Outsider" by Stephen King
On New York Times' Best Sellers List, Stephen King is back with a story about a detective investigates a member of the community when the town they're in is suffering from the loss of an 11-year-old boy who was murdered.
4. "Calypso" by David Sedaris
This has been on The New York Times' Best Sellers list for five weeks. It's "a collection of comedic stones on mortality, middle age, and a beach house dubbed the sea section". It is said that this is the author's darkest and warmest book yet.
5. "How To Change Your Mind" by Michael Pollan
Seven weeks on The New York Times' Best Seller's List, this book is about "a personal account of how psychedelics might help the mentally ill and people dealing with everyday challenges." Could LSD and other drugs improve the lives of people?
6. "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain
Also on The New York Times' Best Seller List for five weeks in a row, Anthony Bourdain's book actually was first published in 2000. It is a "memoir-expose of the restaurant world."
7. "The Sun Does Shine" by Anthony Ray Hinton
Number one on Oprah's Book Club summer 2018 edition. This is a true story about how to find life and get your freedom back after being on death row. The author was wrongfully accused at 29 years old and had to try to prove his innocence.
8. "Daughter of Fortune" by Isabel Allende
Number 22 on Oprah's Book Club List. This is a story about an orphan who tries to figure out who her true love really is amongst dealing with moving to another country, following her lover, and entering prostitution.
9. "Ellen Foster" by Kaye Gibbons
Number 25 on Oprah's Book Club List. This is a story about an 11-year-old girl who is thinking of different ways to kill her father, but Ellen is seen as the heroine in this novel. It has been classified as a powerful and heartwrenching novel.
10. "The Dating Chronicles: Confessions of A Heartbreak Girl" by I. Frances
This is a non-fiction novel about a woman's various date stories throughout her life, in which she decided to chronicle. It is humorous, yet truthful. Throughout the book, she reflects back on what she learned during each encounter and how it has helped her grow.