It’s been officially announced that we’re in a heatwave. You probably don’t need a news outlet to tell you this to know it’s happening, but when you see figures like “We’ve been experiencing temperatures of over 25 degrees since Friday”, you can’t help but turn your head.
Experiencing heat like this always reminds me of iconic books. Being blasted with this heat reminds me of riding my bike to the shop with my mates, sipping on an ice cold drink and dancing across hot sand so I can extinguish my feet in the sea.
If you’re a student who wants to absolutely revel in these sensations then may I suggest these books. They’re widely accessible and they’re from many different genres.
- IT by Stephen King (Horror)
Any horror junkie will have seen the 2017 film adaption of this horror classic, but the film doesn’t do it justice. You have to read the book if you’re looking for that nostalgic summer feeling.
The story follows a group of adults who are called back to Derry, Maine by one of their old friends because their childhood nightmare has returned.
The Summer feeling that it produces is nostalgia. Nostalgia for just wanting to be a kid again. So much of the book is just about a bunch of friends rushing around town on their bikes. Then when they’re adults they’re reunited and the old feelings return.
It’s an absolute unit of a book but it’s mostly justified. The film adaption only scratches the surface of the Summer feeling that the book produces.
- The Great Gatsby (Romance)
Nick Carraway is an up-and-coming bonds salesman in New York during the roaring 1920s. Nick’s life is turned upside down when his mysterious neighbour, Gatsby (who lives in a gaff that makes the ones in Killiney look like matchboxes), sends him an invitation to one of his famous house parties.
It’s set during a blistering hot Summer where everyone is partying their ass off because the ban on alcohol at the time backfired. Sound familiar? Why not fully immerse yourself in the experience by reading it on South William Street this weekend?
- Dune by Frank Herbert (Sci-Fi)
It’s kind of like Game of Thrones in space. A bunch of planets ruled by royal families fight for control of the planet, Arrakis or Dune as it’s sometimes called. Dune is the only place that produces this universe’s most precious resource, magic gold that looks like cinnamon that you can eat that will give you superpowers and can also be used for space travel. I MEAN SPICE. IT’S CALLED SPICE.
Why is this mystical space adventure a Summer read? It takes place on a desert planet and it just captures that feeling of having sand between your toes… and it just so happens to have a fantasy element where if you run too fast on the sand a giant space worm will eat you.
- Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughan (Mystery / Sci-Fi Graphic Novel)
Paper Girls is another thing that came spinning out of 2015 with the rest of the hoards 80s nostalgia media. We’re talking things like Stranger Things, IT, Thor Ragnarok and all those Bruno Mars hits.
It’s a graphic novel (OK not exactly a book but you still read it) set in the 80s that follows a group of girls in a small town who deliver the paper on their bikes. On Halloween night the girls stumble across a strange machine that has been teleporting these time travellers. They turn on the machine and it sends them on a Twin Peaks/Stephen King inspired mystery.
This is another book like IT that just captures that nostalgic feeling of hanging out with your friends and having a good time. It’s a good read to have if you’re taking a break from the heat.
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (Odd Ball Drama)
Another book where the film adaption option is available, but once again it doesn’t live up to the original text.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas follows the drug-fuelled adventures of a journalist in Las Vegas that is heavily implied to be about Thompson himself.
This is a good Summer read because it’s just a fun book that’s set in the heat and it has something smart to say about Richard Nixon, the War of Drugs and the hippie dream of the 1960s.
This list of books is perfect for anybody looking to pick up a new book that they can vibe with in this heat. This list has got scares, love, magic, mystery with HEAT as the backdrop. Pop open a cold one, hop in the shade and enjoy one of these bad boys this heatwave.