Many would say that summer vacation is the best time to start a riveting read. Without the pressures of schoolwork, you can finally tackle that reading list accumulating in your notes app and really appreciate what you read. Some of the Dubs are content to spend hours in their favorite bookstore or library to find some quality reads, while others prefer recommendations from friends or apps like Goodreads and TikTok. Whether it was on the beach, on break at work, or just while cooling off inside, these Dubs made time for their favorite activity this summer: reading!

Senior Isabel Pileggi spent a lot of her summer as a camp counselor, but still made time for reading during her campers’ rest hour. Pileggi’s favorite genre is romance novels, and her read of the summer was Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover, which she finished in 3 days. Hoover is best known for her novel It Ends With Us, which was flying off the shelves at bookstores earlier this year. Ugly Love is about a relationship between two characters with extremely troubled pasts and how they struggle with differing ideas for their futures. “Ugly Love was never dull and I never wanted to put it down,” said Pileggi. “It always kept me entertained and wanting to know more. That’s why I was able to focus on it through the distractions of camp.”

Senior Olivia Lytle loves reading because she can learn something new about the world from every book that she reads. Most of Lytle’s favorite books are recommended to her by her grandfather, who she says has great taste. Lytle’s favorite book that she read this summer was The Secret History by Donna Tartt. The Secret History is about a man who enrolls in Hampden College and becomes part of an elite secret society of Grecophiles on campus. The book also has an interesting twist: murder. Lytle enjoyed the strange, smart, and wealthy characters within the society. Of the characters, Lytle said, “They were all very developed and cool. I also really enjoyed reading the discussions that they would have in their Greek class, which were very eye-opening and allowed me to consider new perspectives.”

Senior Nicole Stevens decided to take her love of reading to the next level by getting a job at Barnes & Noble this summer. Many customers stopped by Barnes & Noble this summer for a good beach read. The most popular genre according to Stevens was romance, with titles by authors like Colleen Hoover, Taylor Jenkins Reid, and Emily Henry being top sellers. As for her own reads, Stevens loves novels of any sort. Her favorite read this summer was The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, which Stevens heard about from her book club. This novel, like Lytle’s read, is about a secret society, but the characters in The Atlas Six are trying to protect the secrets of a mysterious library. Stevens’ favorite aspect of the book is the author’s writing style. “The language used by the author fits with the mood of the book and draws the reader in,” said Stevens. “The author also changes perspective between the different characters, so you get to know each character personally.”

Believe it or not, the teachers made time to settle in with a good book over their summer vacations too! 11th grade IB Literature teacher Lee Lundy enjoyed Stephen King’s Billy Summers while on vacation in Savannah, Georgia, one of his favorite destinations to visit. Billy Summers is a suspenseful novel about the last hit of a military sniper-turned-hitman. Lundy found out about this novel on Goodreads and bought it at Virginia Highland Books, which he says is a must-see for book lovers. Lundy’s favorite aspect of Billy Summers is the way that King draws parallels between modern American places and warzones in Syria. “[King] implores the reader to recognize that, if we continue to push for division as a country, we may end up like the places we argue are so far away,” said Lundy. 

Although summer has come to a close and the madness of the school year has resumed, you can likely still find these Dubs with an interesting read on hand to escape the stress that school brings. If you ever need a book recommendation, these are the people to ask!