10 books you must read in summer 2022

Which books should you read once in a lifetime?

Choosing books to read in the summer is essential before going on holiday! Wherever you go, whether to the seaside or to the mountains, your suitcase cannot be without at least one good book to read while enjoying a well-deserved rest. Reading books is good for you because it helps you stimulate your mind, improve your knowledge, vocabulary and memory, but above all because a good book is able to take you somewhere else: immersing yourself in a story means travelling, getting to know faraway places and different lives.

What to read on holiday to open your mind? Here is a list of 10 must-read books, from great literary classics to gripping books, and the new releases of the summer selected according to the best-selling books of 2022.

10 books to read this summer, 2022 list

If you are wondering what to read in summer, take a look at this selection of books! We have chosen them according to a precise criterion, mainly selecting stories about travel, whatever physical, spatial or temporal right up to the inner journey in search of oneself. We have chosen them with a specific criterion, by mostly selecting stories about journeys, no matter the kind, from physical journeys, to journeys in space, to time travels and on to inner journeys to search for oneself

This list of must-read books is made up of detective stories and thrillers from those written by Andrea Camilleri to the misadventure in the small town of Mount Pleasant recounted by Joel Dicker and to one of the most widely read books of the moment (Spatriati by Mario Desiati), which recently won the literary award Premio Strega, a book about an introspective journey, belonging and self-acceptance. The list ends with three must-read best-selling novels about love and friendship, summer and falling in love, but also about complex relationships and the desire to start again.

What to read in summer: the best travel books.

We have selected a series of books about travelling: reading travel books is a good alternative for high altitude trips and to experience the feeling of going elsewhere, to travel with your body, and your mind into the past or into outer space.

• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

It is one of the best-selling books of all time, lasting on the New York Times most-read list for at least 187 weeks. The plot of this book inspired the famous 2010 film of the same name starring Julia Roberts, directed by Ryan Murphy.

This book is an autobiography by the American writer Elizabeth Gilbert, showing her life in a beautiful house in New York with her husband and a job that fills her with satisfaction. However, Liz, the protagonist, is not happy: her insecurities cause her relationship with her husband to collapse to the point of divorce. She decides to go on a spiritual journey to Rome, India and Bali in search of a new self. The stages she goes through lead her to find happiness again, through the pleasures of cooking, meditation and friendship.

Eat, Pray, Love - A Woman Seeks Happiness is a book about the inner journey, always balancing between the search for the self and the real journey. (Julia Roberts)

• On the Road by Jack Kerouac.

The second book about travelling to be read in the summer, is about the most famous journey ever: a must-read if you love travelling. On the Road by Jack Kerouac is on the list of the 10 best travel books according to Mondadori publishing house: the author, one of the most important writers in the United States in the 20th century, is the father of the so-called 'beat generation', a non-conformist youth movement that included poets, artists and writers from New York (and elsewhere) in the 1950s, to which Charles Bukowski also belonged and which inspired Bob Dylan. 'On the Road' is a novel based on a journey and is considered a 'manifesto' of the Beat Generation. The protagonist embarks on a long car journey through the United States as a way of rejecting the rules of bourgeois life and living new experiences. According to New York Times journalist John Leland, On the Road is a book that teaches how to live life, work, love, art and religion.

«We must go and not stop until we are there» "Where are we going?" "I don't know, but we have to go"
(Jack Kerouac, On the Road)

• The Garden of Art by Claudio Strinati.

Among the books on art to read in the summer, a story like this one, where the various cities of Italy are traced between the pages, allows the reader to travel with the imagination directly into those places, thus experiencing the journey almost live. David is the protagonist: the route he takes is a kind of revisited Grand Tour that he undertakes to crown his university studies in Canada. It is his grandmother, of Sicilian origin, who gives him the opportunity to live this adventure in Italy in search and discovery of those masterpieces that until then David had only known through books. A partner in his journey is his professor, who organises the most important stages of the trip for him and with whom David keeps in touch through the exchange of e-mails and letters as in the old days. On his way, the protagonist observes, becomes curious about people, places, landscapes and art, while passing through Cremona, Ferrara, Florence, Milan, Naples, Padua, Pordenone, Rome, Palermo, Siena, Udine, Venice and Viterbo. The author, Claudio Strinati, is one of Italy's best-known art experts and scholars, and a leading connoisseur of the Italian 17th century.

• Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.

One after the other, intertwining stories tell of human colonisation on Mars: The Martian Chronicles is undoubtedly one of the must-read books written by one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century and one of the most famous and best-loved science fiction books. It is a collection of twenty-eight science fiction short stories related to the theme of exploring the planet Mars. The protagonists of Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury's masterpiece, are united by a desire to leave Earth: humans and Martians, though opposites, are linked by something similar. They too have their own civilisation, their own way of living. In the initial period of the interaction, humans and Martians recognise this similarity in their differences. Martian Chronicles is a science fiction book to read in the summer because it somehow ties in with a feeling of closeness and reconnection with nature, despite the futuristic setting. With these stories, Bradbury narrates the history of America and outlines a characterising profile of Americans as a people. Therefore, Mars is to Americans what America was to Europeans: land of conquest, dreams and ambition.

One of the silver bracelets for men and women by Braccialetti Aua is dedicated to Mars

Classic crime and thriller books to read in summer.

What are the crime and thriller books to read in summer? The warm season is the ideal time to catch up on some of the must-read crime books for fans of intriguing stories. Get comfortable and get ready to become detectives!

• L'altro capo del filo by Andrea Camilleri

Among Camilleri's timeless must-read crime books is 'L'altro capo del filo' (The Other End of the Line), a gripping novel (Camilleri's number 100) that unfolds in one of the investigations of TV's best-loved commissioner, Montalbano. The events take place in Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian municipality created by Camilleri: the town is overwhelmed by the arrivals of migrants who are welcomed by everyone. On the one hand there is Montalbano who takes to the port with his agents to help the many migrants and investigate the tragedies at sea. At the other end of the line, the story shifts to another tragedy that leads the detective to investigate the murder of Elena, the owner of a tailor ‘shop, who is found murdered with her own work tool, a pair of scissors. Critic Salvatore Silvano Nigro wrote about this detective story that 'one page pulls you into the next'.

• The Alaska Sanders Affair by Joel Dicker.

A famous thriller novel, among the most anticipated crime books of 2022, to read in summer because you won't be able to leave it for a moment; ideal for those looking for a book that guarantees entertainment and involvement. The Alaska Sanders Affair by Joel Dicker, published in Italy in May 2022, is the sequel to The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair. In quiet Mount Pleasant, a small town in New Hampshire, the body of the young woman Alaska Sanders is found on the shore of a lake. Prepare to be thrilled!

• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.

If you love crime books, you have to read Agatha Christie, the 'queen of crime' (she wrote no fewer than 66 crime novels!), a world-famous detective novelist and one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Murder on the Orient Express is one of the most famous mystery books in the world. The protagonist, Hercule Poirot, finds himself dealing with a heinous crime on board a train leaving Istanbul for Calais: the murderer is hiding among the travellers, but none of them seems to have a motive. Will you solve the mystery?

Best-selling novels to read in summer

Best-selling novels are often a guarantee of authenticity, they belong to the category of books to be read at least once in one's life to always be up-to-date and have interesting topics for conversations with friends and acquaintances.

• Three by Valérie Perrin.

Among the most-read books of 2022, Three by Valérie Perrin (author of the equally famous 'Fresh Water for Flowers') is a novel about a generation going through the different stages of growing up, from adolescence to adulthood. The three lead friends, while totally different to each other, are united by an unbreakable bond. The friendship between Nina, Adrien and Étienne is further strengthened by their love of music, the song lyrics they compose and a future project they believe in: going to Paris once they finish high school with the dream of one day ending up on the stage of the Olympia theatre. The novel tells of a succession of life's vicissitudes coming in different ways to mark the existence of the three boys. The novel outlines a synthesis of an era, as is often the case with novels: small stories with great evoking power, the power oft - evoking the emotions of a time gone by.

• Spatriati by Mario Desiati.

'Sometimes you read novels only to know that someone has already been there: Spatriati by Mario Desiati is the winning novel of the Premio Strega Prize 2022, definitely one of the new books to read in summer 2022. It is a novel about belonging and self-acceptance, based on the stories of an 'irregular' generation that looked and travelled far to find their place in the world. In this novel, the two main characters, Claudia and Francesco, grow up to become adults together. With their stories, the Apulian writer Desiati describes the generational journey of those who are now in their forties and have had to leave their homeland to seek a place in the world and become citizens of Europe.

'Spatriati is Desiati's best book, the flower of maturity, the one in which the themes, atmospheres and style achieve an enchanting harmony. There is something at once magical and sinister about the piece of Apulia where Desiati's characters were born, live and suffer, a place for the rural petty bourgeoisie. The characters reveal a restlessness made up of romantic impulses and sexual appetites, a complicated love for their homeland and an equally complex desire to escape to violent and inhospitable metropolises." (Alessandro Piperno)

• 1984 by George Orwell.

A great classic to read, always relevant. 1984 is a dystopian novel and one of the greatest masterpieces of the 20th century, written by George Orwell. The story of a hypothetical future in a world controlled by a totalitarian government (what Orwell calls 'Big Brother') is set in London in 1984 (the book was written in 1948). In a world where all citizens are continuously controlled, the novel's protagonist - Winston Smith - decides to rebel. Orwell's 1984 is one of the must-read books of a lifetime, included in the list of the 100 best books of the 20th century: its success is timeless, if we consider how this novel has strongly influenced world culture in the following years, up to today. Through his novel, Orwell has the merit of having foreseen the media involution of the modern world, in which man's indifference ends up overwhelming humanity, annihilating all freedom. There are countless songs, videos, commercials, films and TV series inspired by 1984, which is why this dystopian novel is also one of our must-read novels!

Aua's proposals: colourful bracelets for men and women inspired by travel and summer destinations.

We, too, are inspired to travel and are influenced by the colours and features of the cities we visit on holiday. Aua's summer collection of colourful beaded bracelets is in fact inspired by Italian places, landscapes and cities: Positano by day, Taranto and Panarea at night are some of the best sellers available in the online shop, while the bracelets of the new SS22 collection are inspired by Riace, Imperia, Mazara, Ischia, Porto Ercole, Forte dei Marmi, Santa Marinella, Ponza, Scalea, Licata. There is also room for more elegant models in silver (Grecale and Mercury).