Leading authors including Sarah Waters, William Dalrymple, Bernardine Evaristo and Anne Enright have revealed their perfect holiday reading, presumably because they know better than you do.
Zadie Smith recommends Margaret Busby's Part of the Story: Writings from Half a Century, calling it “a beautiful collection” that chronicles one woman's lifelong passion for the literature and life of Africa and its diaspora. For those seeking levity, she also suggests Black Bag by Luke Kennard, which she describes as “the funniest and smartest novel I’ve read in a while.”
Mark Haddon, meanwhile, is pushing metaphorical summer travel. Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated by Lin King, won the International Booker prize, so apparently you're “legally obliged” to read it. But Haddon also urges readers to grab three other shortlisted titles: The Director by Daniel Kehlmann (translated by Ross Benjamin), which fictionalises the story of film director WG Pabst who fled Germany before WWII, felt ignored in Hollywood, and made the foolish decision to return home; On Earth As It Is Beneath by Ana Paula Maia (translated by Padma Viswanathan), described as a “short, sharp cleaver-blow of political horror” set in a Brazilian prison camp; and She Who Remains by Rene Karabash (translated by Izidora Angel), the tale of Bekija/Matija who escapes an arranged marriage in Albania's Accursed Mountains by becoming a “sworn virgin” under ancient laws.
Also available: a full list of 70 brilliant books for the summer, because you clearly need more options.