Esquire’s ultimate summer reading list
From memoirs to fiction and history, the editors of Esquire handpick the books you'll want to chew through this summer
By Amy Campbell
SUMMER IS MY favourite time of year to read. Not that this renders me unique in any way – there’s an entire corner of the publishing industry dedicated to the promotion of ‘beach reads’ – but when gifted with a week or so away from my job, which requires I read a lot of news and non-fiction, I can finally sink my teeth into my swelling to-read list. Get me a beach towel, some SPF and a good book, and I’ll be entertained for ours.
The back half of this year has been full of big new releases, from all realms of the literary spectrum: fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, biographies. In addition to Sally Rooney’s first book in three years (which I enjoyed, but we won’t include on this list because you can find it on every other one), we’ve had a big release from Aussie literary icon Tim Winton, biographies by Michael Caine and Bill Gates, as well as some cracking true crime and murder mysteries, our favourite of which you’ll find recommended below.
If you haven’t yet picked up a book, we hope this round up of our 10 favourite reads from 2024 will give you something to while away those lazy summer afternoons with. First up for me: the Booker prize-winning Orbital. Scroll for more.
What is everyone reading in 2024?
The Invention of Good and Evil: A World History of Morality, by Hanno Sauer
If you’re anything like me, you’ll find the concept of morality fascinating. Even though it’s framed as a binary, what’s ‘good’, versus what’s ‘evil’, by tracing morality over the course of human civilisation, renowned Dutch academic Hanno Sauer shows it to be far murkier. Reading this will remind you of just how complicated (and messed up) humans can be, which makes for a read that’s both educational, historically relevant and juicy. – Amy Campbell
The Bullet Swallower, by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
A breath of fresh air for the Western genre, The Bullet Swallower weaves in and out of two narratives. The first is set in 1895 around the Texas-Mexico border and centres on Antonio Sonoro, the descendant of a deplorable family that was once wealthy but is now nearing destitution. After a train robbery gone wrong, a shootout with Texas Rangers leaves Antonio permanently disfigured after sustaining a bullet to the jaw, earning him the nickname ‘El Tragabalas’ (the bullet swallower). Antonio embarks on a quest for revenge, ultimately leading him to weigh the value of violence against repentance. The second narrative is set in 1964 and follows Antonio’s grandson Jaime, a Mexican movie star who, after discovering a book detailing his family’s history, transforms his grandfather’s story into a film in a bid to redeem the Sonoro name. Linking the two narratives is mystical stranger Remedio, a grim reaper-like figure quested with guiding the Sonoros toward the light. – Cayle Reid
Source Code, by Bill Gates
If you’re the kind of person who’s interested in where successful people came from, and how they got their start, you’ll devour Bill Gates’ biography. Source Code (great title) takes us back to Gates’ childhood in Seattle, where he recounts discovering a love of coding and computing at the dawn of a new era of technology as a teen, before dropping out of Harvard at 20 to pursue Microsoft full time . . . and the rest is history. But the most compelling thing about the way this book is written is you get a sense of the founder’s extraordinary mind and outlook developing in real time. – Amy Campbell
Don’t Look Back, You’ll Trip Over, by Michael Caine
Batman. Interstellar. Now You See Me. The Prestige – and those are just a few of the recent ones. British actor Michael Caine has a filmography so rich and deep, you could never possibly tire from watching his work. Really, what would the Batman franchise be without his wise presence and cockney accent? With his trademark wit, insight and entertaining anecdotes, in this book, Caine answers the questions he gets asked so often, offering an intimate insight into his very unique and positive approach to life. – Amy Campbell
The 7 Deadly Sins of Sport, by Titus O’Reily
Because of the money, fame and success attached to professional sport, it’s little wonder athletes and the people around them get caught up in negligent situations. But just how far some will go to break and bend the rules in their favour is truly mind-boggling, and here, sports broadcaster and presenter Titus O’Reily tells of the sporting scandals so outrageous, you won’t even believe them when you read them. – Amy Campbell
Uses for Obsession, by Ben Shewry
Obsessive personalities get a bad wrap. But some of the world’s most creative people have learned to channel obsession productively, and Ben Shewry, chef-owner of Melbourne’s destination restaurant Attica, is one of them. In this memoir-meets-manifesto, the New Zealand-born restauranteur opens up about his thoughts on contemporary food journalism, why workplace culture in hospitality tends towards toxicity and sexism, farm-to-table dining, the cult of the chef and how, exactly, he kept Attica open during Melbourne’s infamous Covid lockdowns. An insightful and entertaining red. – Amy Campbell
Orbital, by Samantha Harvey
The winner of the 2024 Booker Prize, Orbital by English novelist Samantha Harvey is absolutely deserving of the honour. It follows a team of astronauts as they orbit the International Space Station, observing Earth and its weather patterns from above, feeling simultaneously distant and connected to life on it. The relationships the astronauts develop with each other endears us to them, as we learn about their deepest fears and highest aspirations. If you like books that delve into the interior lives of compelling characters and their dynamics with others, this one’s for you. – Amy Campbell
We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman
He’s been called the biggest new fiction author of the decade, and We Solve Murders, which is the first book in a series, well and truly stands up to that claim. Within its pages, we meet Steve, a retired investigator who’s pulled back into the action when his daughter Amy, a private security officer, stumbles upon the crime of a lifetime. There’s page turners, and then there’s this novel. Take our word for it. – Amy Campbell
Juice, by Tim Winton
If you’re in the mood for an epic, please, let it be Juice by Tim Winton. Full of surprises, with an un-put-downable storyline, the book revolves around father-son fugitives seeking a safe place to hide out, yet end up finding themselves in a deserted landscape that couldn’t be more the opposite. We won’t give too much more away, but this sentence by the publisher of Juice sums it up nicely: ‘How to maintain human decency as everyone around you falls ever further into barbarism?’ Also, it’s Tim Winton. – Amy Campbell
Swimming Sydney, by Chris Baker
Chris Baker’s Swimming Sydney reads like a travel guide through the city’s liquid landscape, but weaves a memoir with wryly observant prose. In 52 bite-size chapters, Baker tasked himself with visiting 52 different bodies of water around the city for a whole calendar year, taking him from postcard beaches, municipal swimming pools, bushland lakes, and tidal rock pools. It’s a generous, lyrical ode to the swimming culture of Australia, where first swims are cherished acts. But at no point is the book sentimental; Baker delves into the histories – exploring identity and community – of each body of water he visits. It’ll make you want to dive head first. – Tyler Dane Wingco
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