Summer Reading Recommendations from SYP Oxford

Posted on August 21, 2018 in Oxford

If you’re like us, you’re always looking for a good recommendation! And what better time than summer to get stuck into a great book? (Other than spring, autumn, and winter, of course!).

Christie Anderson, Co-Chair  

Starter for Ten, David Nicholls

I hadn’t read any David Nichols before, but I’m glad I picked up Starter for Ten from a secondhand bookshop before my holiday last week. Nicholls combines Inbetweeners-esque characters with Bridget Jones-style scenarios – an easy, hilarious sunbed read!

Daisy Simonis, Co-Chair

 Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker

My current read is the amazingly informative Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. I’ve learnt everything from squirrels sleeping 15.9 hours a day to how dreams help us process traumatic events. But beware, definitely not a book to be reading if you’re currently struggling to sleep!

Anna Shannon, Treasurer

Why We Sleep, Matthew Walker

This book has changed the way I view sleep and has put a new perspective on what sleep really means. I don’t usually go for non-fiction but genuinely couldn’t recommend this enough. If you are getting less than seven hours, please read this book!

Jess Edwards, Speaker Events Coordinator

 A Golden Age, Tahmima Anam

A Golden Age explores powerful emotions; family bonds, love, fear and longing (often exaggerated or tested as a result of civil war) are depicted with great sensitivity and depth.  The hot, dusty feel of East Pakistan in the 1970s, in the midst of the Bangladesh War of Independence, is wonderfully captured in minor details; jam jars filled with pickles crowding a rooftop, the flies that collect at the meat market, the fingernails of an independence fighter, rimmed with black. Together they weave a rich texture into the fabric of the novel. When thinking back to the books I’ve loved, that rooftop filled with pickle jars always remains vivid. Highly recommended!

Michelle Fisher, Social Events Coordinator

The Rules of Magic, Alice Hoffman

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman is the prequel to my childhood favourite, Practical Magic. This much-anticipated novel doesn’t disappoint and the author bewitches you with unique characters and descriptive story-telling. This is a story about magic, but also love, loss, hope and the bond of family. It Is an enchanting read drawing on the more historical perceptions of witches, served with a 1960s twist and I highly recommend this for your summer reading if you’re looking for some escapism!

 Polina Polyakova, Social Events Coordinator

The Multi-Hyphen Method, Emma Gannon

The Multi-Hyphen Method by Emma Gannon offers a brilliant insight into the world of work, how it is changing and what we can do to make the most of the changes. Having the internet and phones means that we can work from anywhere in the world and design our own fulfilling working lives. If you ever thought about a side-hustle, this is a great book to read!

Kate McNamara, Communications Officer

The Astonishing Colour of After, Emily X.R. Pan

I’ve been looking forward to The Astonishing Colour of After for months, after lots of recommendations from BookRiot, and was so excited when it was published in the UK. It follows Leigh Chen Sanders, who, in the aftermath of her mother’s death by suicide, believes her mother to have taken the form of a large red bird. Desperate to connect, she travels with her father to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. Beautiful, heart-breaking and vivid.

Charlotte Mapp, University of Oxford Student Liaison

The Vegetarian, Han Kang

The Vegetarian is a translated South Korean novel about a woman who decides to turn vegetarian (more like vegan) as a way to rebel against her husband. It’s told from the perspective of both the husband and the wife, and I really enjoy how the contract of the two voices on one page shows the discord in the marriage, even though it seems normal from the outside. The tension builds quite quickly and the story turns much darker than you would think from the blurb. Would definitely recommend!