Miracle Monocle’s Summer 2026 Reading List

As April ends and May begins, suddenly the leisure reads seem near, a possibility, even a promise.

In the absence of a summer publication due to Miracle Monocle being a student-run journal as well as my own departure from the editorial board, I wanted to say “Goodbye to All That” and, in place of both, issue a different type of line-up, though one that still satisfies our literary audience, especially after having finished scrolling Miracle Monocle’s latest release.

Here it is, then. Listed below is a compilation of my favorite reads from over these last few summers, all of which should be read, preferably, by the pool.

Hot Milk, Deborah Levy

I had the privilege of first acquainting myself with Levy through this book last summer. Read the entirety in basically one sitting, or laying under the sun—similar to the main character, also away from her studies, though for her it’s indefinite. Sofia has paused her doctoral program to accompany her ailing mother to Spain, a last resort for the prospect of treatment.

The story itself is all melancholy, three a.m. ruminations about everything you’d do over again, though delivered through this dreamlike, almost liminal setting. It’s everything that summer is supposed to be and, simultaneously, all the things that summer isn’t, but, of course, happen anyway.

Pizza Girl, Jean Kyoung Frazier

Probably the craziest trip I’ve ever taken, despite having never left the couch and being sober the whole time. But the narrator’s lush inner life compensates for the lack of both as she slowly brings her fantasies to life over the course of the novel. She’s funny, resentful, and none of her choices are quite justifiable, no matter how understandable.

Frazier’s Pizza Girl hands the spotlight over to the coworker of it all: The tragedy you’ve met in passing, though never had the opportunity to have a real conversation with. This book truly is the epitome of a beach read.

Play It As It Lays, Joan Didion

Need I say more? Probably cliché of me to include, but in my defense, I’ve read this book twice and both times had been over the summer because, if not then, when else would be the perfect time to enter Didion’s fictional LA?

Less Than Zero, Bret Easton Ellis

In keeping with the theme of a Nihilist Summer, I’m also adding Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero to the list. Because even though the novel itself takes place over winter break, this hedonistic daydream spanning Clay’s Christmas back in LA still captures perfectly the emptiness and disillusionment felt from returning to your hometown for the summer once finals are over.

The Days of Abandonment, Elena Ferrante

Albeit it’s a slower read compared to the others listed, it’s not any less deserving of a recommendation. It’s perfect for the longer days of summer when the heat feels more oppressive than usual.

As expected, Ferrante’s writing stuns in this first-person meditation on grief and identity when, one day, Italy’s everyday housewife is presented with a cold reality: Her husband of fifteen years has decided to leave both her and their children to be with a younger woman. From then, the narrative follows Olga as she navigates a day-to-day as a single mother and bachelorette in her 30s. But more, her assemblage of an identity as a woman outside of her relationship with men.

And for those looking for more titles, here are some of the books I’ll be reading this summer:

Outline (1-3), Rachel Cusk

With the current mass in Autofiction that contemporary literature is witnessing, it only seems fair to start with the author who popularized the term autofiction in the first place.

Inherent Vice, Thomas Pynchon

Something about this narrative specifically just screams summer to me: L.A. right before the psychedelic craze starts to fade, exes rekindling via noir detective investigation, and, above all, having the time that summer allows to fully invest yourself in Pynchon’s prose.

The Copenhagen Trilogy, Tove Ditlevsen

For those who’ve been waiting for a nonfiction pick—a summer syllabus should always include a memoir.

The Stranger, Albert Camus

This will be a reread for me, and probably everyone who’s already experienced their teens. Nonetheless, I’ve felt a recent urge to open it up again, and postgrad summer feels like the perfect time for it.

Well, that’s all the recommendations for my reading list. Make sure to check these titles out and enjoy your summer the literary way.

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