Your Summer Reading Guide

#2 ‘Chasing forever down’ by Nikki Godwin

A feel good, summer themed novel about a seventeen-year-old girl who finds an attractive, mysterious stranger at a party who plays by his own rules. Following a scavenger hunt, main character ‘Haley’ tries to find this young man again and discovers he is a famous surfer in a small town in California. She submerges herself in this surfer boy’s world and discovers more than she bargains for. Wild nights, beach sunsets and falling in love will keep you turning the pages of this book. ‘Chasing Forever Down’ is the first book in a series but it can be read as a stand alone novel too. It’s gripping and will make you want to move to Crescent Cove in California to see what all the fuss is about.

#3 ’Milk and Honey’ by Rupi Kaur

Written so elegantly, Poet Rupi Kaur will heal your pain and heartache. It’s a heartwarming read, a collection of beautifully written poems about survival through emotional pain. She describes her experiences of love, violence, loss, and femininity in four chapters of the book. Each chapter has a different purpose and deals with different types of heartache. It will help you in your own life if you’ve ever been through similar experiences. It is a manual for all the girls who have lost love and shows you how to see the sweetness in other aspects of life if you can take a moment to stop and admire what’s around you. 

#4 ’Scar Tissue” by Anthony Kiedis

This one is an autobiography that follows the life of lead singer Anthony Kids from ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’. It begins when Anthony is a child with some great detail of his earliest memories and follows his journey growing up in the 70’s and 80’s of Hollywood. His exposure as a young boy to celebrities, music, and narcotics and the questionable guidance of his father, this book is very hard to put down. The way Anthony describes his experiences and relationships is very unique. He narrates his early experiences touring with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam to being a homeless drug addict sleeping under bridges. There's even a couple of mentions of New Zealand in there. His transformation into a sober artist is really rewarding to read and will leave you feeling intrigued about the lives of rock stars and the ups and downs of the high life.

#5 ‘Barbarian Days’ by William Finnegan

This is a memoir about the author's infection with surfing and everyone that surrounds it. Surfer or not, this captivating read is amazing and will teach you to appreciate the beauty of the ocean through the way the writer describes the raw beauty of dead clear ocean waves and the untouched beaches in many parts of the world. The book follows his first encounter with waves, his teenage years in Hawaii, becoming a teacher to black children during the apartheid in South Africa, marriage and more. He talks a lot about his obsession with surfing and it being a way of life and his first love.

#6 ’Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone’ by J.K. Rowling