As we figure out how to stay ‘socially distant’ while planning beach trips, — or chill out on the couch in front of your fan — we have to admit there's no better Summer companion than a great book. Instead of giving in to the torpor of long, hot days, and watching that series for the eighth time, why not use this Summer to expand your mind?

We asked four book club members for some of their favourite reads for the year (so far) and why they’re recommending you read it before the end of Summer.

Candiese’s favourite: Here Comes The Sun by Nicole Dennis Benn

I love a good story and “Here Comes The Sun” is a great one. As a dark-skinned Jamaican woman, I saw myself and people I relate to in every single character. I especially loved the way Dennis-Benn was able to address issues we face daily in an authentic way without missing a beat and without dragging on. This story is authentic, entertaining and engrossing, but it will make you think.

The way the writer juxtaposed the white sand, tourist-attracting elements of this country and the struggles faced by those serving those tourists and working to keep the facade going was excellent. The way she brought to the forefront the various acts carried out behind the scenes while using one character to justify those acts while another condemns them... wow. This book is full of twists and turns, heartbreak and triumph. Characters struggle with identity issues, self-esteem issues, financial woes, trauma, sexual and emotional abuse, sexuality and coming of age concerns... just so much but in such a way that you’ll never want to put this down. This is a must-read.

It’s the one book I shove at all my friends and I’m shameless about it. Would I make the leap and say this is my favourite book of all time? I might. There’s just so much to say. I think my favourite thing about this book is how realistic it is. There is no dressing up - and I appreciate that more than anything else. Reading it was an experience.

Go read it and thank me later.
Follow Candiese on Twitter: @CandieseReads and Instagram MsLeveridge

Tyesha’s Favourite: Born A Crime By Trevor Noah

There had been much buzz about this book. However, my affinity for most things South African nurtured by a good South African friend drew me to this book.

In a big nutshell, Born a Crime is Noah's memoir focused on his childhood journey from illegitimate son (by society's standards) born out of an immoral and criminal act (by virtue of South Africa's 1927 Immorality Act with which he opens the book) to young adult. The story flows from Apartheid to democratic South Africa with his mother (she was the star character) as central theme throughout.

I enthusiastically recommend this book, especially to boys, as I enjoyed his easy, authentic and humorous way of dropping some blinding gems about life - racism and discrimination, relationships and friendships, love, sacrifice, charting one's path, acceptance, spirituality and priorities.

As I read the recounting of life under Apartheid in the late 1980s to early 90s and what that meant for black people living in their own country, I could not help but connect that to recent highlighted events of discrimination unfolding in the US and sadly, other parts of the world (Jamaica included) that may not be so widely televised.

In Chapter 15 "Go Hitler!", Noah writes "Every country thinks their history is the most important, and that’s especially true in the West. But if black South Africans could go back in time and kill one person, Cecil Rhodes would come up before Hitler. If people in the Congo could go back in time and kill one person, Belgium’s King Leopold would come way before Hitler. If Native Americans could go back in time and kill one person, it would probably be Christopher Columbus or Andrew Jackson." All key figures that struck a chord in these 2020 riots and sentiments! Are we not progressing? I felt sad and hopeless but never failed to crack a smile at some show of wit or comedy that Noah weaves consistently from start to end.

Shantay’s Favourite: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

Girl, Woman, Other was my first book of 2020, and I could not have started my literary year any better. This book was a JOURNEY! Bernardine Evaristo's writing style pulled me in from the very first page - in the first two lines! She threw the usual rules of punctuation out the window in favor of a more poetic but unconventional structure for prose - what is a full stop? Once I started, I could not put this book down. And as soon as I finished, I began losing my mind trying to find someone - anyone - to discuss this book with. I NEEDED someone to share all this greatness with because greatness like this deserves to be shared. The characters felt like people I've known all my life. Each individual's story was short, but Evaristo created such fully formed characters with each chapter. These are women you've mentioned on Twitter and women whose plays you want to watch. These women are your teachers and your friends.

Then there's the DRAMA! WHEW! It gets spicy. This is the sort of book that makes you want to sit down over tea and gossip about the things the characters are getting up to lately. I began to feel like the nosy neighbour keeping tabs on who is visiting who at what hours of the night and asking questions like "When last you visit your grandma?" The book also has it's more sensitive moments and deals so well with issues of abandonment and abuse. This book has so many POVs with characters of different ages with different upbringings, including immigrants and first and second-generation British women. It truly shows the diversity that is the experience of being a Black woman in Britain and the connections to Africa and the Caribbean. I don't know what else to say besides why haven't you bought this book yet? It is sheer brilliance, and I'm not going to shut up about it for a long time.

Follow Shantay’s mind and reading journey on Instagram & Twitter

Gabrielle’s Favourite: Children of Virtue and Vengence by Tomi Adeyemi

One of my best reads and this speaks volumes as this was a great year for literature. Children of Virtue and Vengence is the second book in the Legacy of Orisha series by Tomi Adeyemi.I’m obsessed with fantasy especially if it’s based on Afro-spirituality so I really love the retelling of Yoruban mythology in this book.

It was so exceptional but on the other hand, it made me so mad; I wanted to reach within the book and curse the characters for the drama they curated. But again, it is so good at the same time which is amazing for not many persons can write fantasy so enjoyable.

As such, I have all the reason to be frustrated because the release date of the third book is yet to be announced and I am itching to read it. How will I survive the wait? I still haven’t determined that.

Follow Gabrielle on Instagram: @gen_zea where she posts about books and tea

What’s your favourite book so far this year and what are you planning on getting to this Summer?

Come let’s get our Goodreads counter up!