I always tell people that if they want to know about the history of a country, do not go to the history books, go to the fiction. Fiction is not fiction. It is the substance and heartbeat of a people’s life, here, now, and in the past.
– Chenjerai Hove (1956-2015)

Another Way To Travel This Summer!

Since the summer of 2005, Nicola has been shortlisting 4 books by both men and women writers from the different continents to read during July and August. It offers our Book Club readers a selection of recently published books from around the world either to take on holidays, or else to allow them an alternative way to travel the world through stories!

At the end of the summer, the readers meet to discuss the selection of books and to vote for Best Summer Read. Nicola also chooses one as her Coup de Cœur! Here are some of the favourite summer books so far:

• Best Summer Read 2005 “Desertion” by Abdulrazak Gurnah (Tanzania)
• Best Summer Read 2006 “Harmony Silk Factory” by Tash Aw (Malaysia)
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2006 “The Hummingbird’s Daughter” by Luis Alberto Urrea (Mexico)
• Best Summer Read 2007 “The Dream Life of Sukhanov” by Olga Grushin (Russia)
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2007 “Dreams of Speaking” by Gail Jones (Australia)
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2008 “De Niro’s Game” by Rawi Hage (Lebanon)
• Best Summer Read 2009 “Broken Glass” by Alain Mabanckou (Republic of Congo)
  
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2009 “Havana Fever” by Leonardo Padura (Cuba)
• Best Summer Read 2010 “I Do Not Come to You by Chance” by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Nigeria)
  
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2010 “The Last Bachelor” by Jay McInerney (U.S.)
• Best Summer Read 2011 & Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2011 “The Rest is Silence” by Carla Guelfenbein (Chile)

• Best Summer Reads 2012 “Open City” by Teju Cole (Nigeria) & “Please Look After Mother” by Kyung-Sook Shin (S. Korea)
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2012 “Irma Voth” by Miriam Toews (Canada)
• Best Summer Read 2013 “The Devil I Know” by Claire Kilroy (Ireland)
• Best Summer Read 2014 “Expo 58” by Jonathan Coe (U.K.) 
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2014 “We Need New Names” by NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe)
• Best Summer Read 2015 “Parade” by Shuichi Yoshida (Japan) 
• Best Summer Read 2016 “Sleeping on Jupiter” by Anuradha Roy (India)
• SRG’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2016 “Tram 83” by Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Best Summer Read 2017 “The Golden Legend” by Nadeem Aslam (Pakistan)
• SRG’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2017 “The Chosen Maiden” by Eva Stachniak (Poland)

• Best Summer Reads 2018 “The Travelling Cat Chronicles” by Hiro Arikawa (Japan) & “Warlight” by Michael Ondaatje (Canada)
• SRG’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2018 “Welcome to Lagos” by Chibundu Onuzo (Nigeria)
• Best Summer Read 2019 “Sadness is a White Bird” by Moriel Rothman-Zecher (Israel)
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2019 “The Old Drift” by Namwali Serpell (Zambia)
• Best Summer Read 2020 “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo (U.K.)
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2020 “She Would be King” by Wayétu Moore (Liberia)
• Best Summer Read 2021 “Afterlife” by Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic)
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2021 “Low” by Jeet Thayil (India)

• Best Summer Read 2022 “The Promise” by Damon Galgut (South Africa)
• Nicola’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2022 “Mrs Death Misses Death” by Salena Godden (U.K.)
• Best Summer Read 2023 “My Father’s House” by Joseph O’Connor (Ireland)
• SRG’s Coup de Cœur Summer 2023 “A Spell of Good Things” by Ayobami Adebayo (Nigeria)

• Best Summer Read 2024 (20^th edition) “Crooked Plow” by Itamar Vieira Junior (Brazil)
• Best Summer Read 2025 (20^th anniversary edition) “Gaslight” by Femi Kayode (Nigeria)