10 Books and 10 Movies Perfect for Summer

Audio version of “10 Books and 10 Movies Perfect for Summer” is available here.

This is a bit late in coming, perhaps, seeing how the summer is half over…but better late than never, right? Many of these stories are on this list because (naturally enough) they are set during summer and/or because summer feels like an integral part of the book’s atmosphere. There are others on here, however, which are not explicitly set during summer but still evoke summer to me due to something about the story itself, or just because they seem like the perfect light summer entertainment.

Everything from classic literature to children’s stories to old musicals is here, so hopefully there’ll be something intriguing to you no matter your tastes!

Books

1. Angel and Dragon by Meriol Trevor

This is the third book in the Letzenstein Chronicles, which are set in the 19th century and deal with the fictional little country of (you guessed it) Letzenstein. Obviously, you’ll know more about the characters if you read the first two books first, but I don’t think it’s necessary to understand what’s going on. This is by far the most intense book in the series, and it makes for a very quick and engrossing read. (And by-the-by, the angel and dragon in the story are symbolic. This is not a fantasy-type story, in case you were wondering.)

This was one of the first books I thought of for this list. Some books are set in summer, but that fact doesn’t make much of an impact. In this one the whole story feels steeped in summer…warm summer nights laughing with friends outside cafes, days of brutal and relentless heat, intense thunderstorms…

2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Although Anne of Green Gables isn’t specifically set during summer, the book as a whole – and Anne as a character – has a sort of sunniness and brightness to it, which makes it feel like a quintessential summer book to me. And it’s also a light easy read, perfect for a lazy summer day when you don’t want to expend too much energy.

3. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

This is one of the least light reads on the list, in my opinion. It’s heavy, it gets pretty melancholy, it doesn’t at all have the light frothy feel that I seem to associate with summer and that a lot of the books on here have. (THOUGH IT HAS SUCH A GREAT ENDING ASKHJHKJH.) But Brideshead is inextricably linked with summer in my mind…Brideshead to me represents just one idyllic, quiet, sunny English summer morning. And even when the story itself turns to not-so-idyllic, it still feels like that’s what Brideshead represents throughout. Brideshead to me is synonymous with gently sloping fields of grass in the sunlight and birds singing and quiet dewy mornings and all that sort of thing.

4. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott

This is more a book that I objectively think makes for a good summer read than a book that I personally associate with summer, if that makes sense. It’s light and sweet and a quick read and large portions do occur during summer…which all sounds perfect for summer reading.

5. Grandpa’s Mountain by Carolyn Reeder

This is another one that explicitly takes place in summer, and whose atmosphere just feels steeped in summeriness. Also, although this is a kids’ book, I think it actually has some surprisingly deep messages…such as acknowledging that we can’t do everything and some changes will come which we can’t stop, and a subtle exploration of what real strength is. This is another one that’s a quick and engrossing read, too – probably easily knocked off in an afternoon or two.

6. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

I can think of few things more summery than the sun-baked streets and rooftops of Tashbaan, or, to focus on the more pleasant side of summer, the lush green and the sparking streams of Archenland. Not to mention a literal trek across the desert. (By the way, I can tell you for a fact that Shasta is right and that dry sand baking in the sun is extremely painful to walk on with bare feet. Unfortunately I do not take Bree with me to the beach, so I just have to deal with it and inwardly yelp.)

7. Jeeves in the Offing by P.G. Wodehouse

Most of Wodehouse’s books could be classified as light summer reading, but Jeeves in the Offing especially strikes me that way. It has a more relaxed pace than many of the others – in some Wodehouse the shenanigans (or rannygazoo, to use one of my favorite Wodehouse-isms) are so very prominent that you can’t give much attention to anything else. Since this one has a slightly less frantic pace, it’s able to be more atmospheric, which I like. The setting feels like the most idyllic afternoon in the English countryside you could ask for. (Rather like Brideshead Revisited, but quite a bit lighter and without trying to say anything very important. And with a more likable protagonist.)

8. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I feel this one’s fairly self-evident. What says summer like endless prairies waving in the breeze under a cloudless blue summer sky?

9. Secret Agents Four by Donald J. Sobol

Just a fun, goofy teen spy story which takes place over summer vacation. Will this story be life-changing? No. Will it keep you very entertained for a few hours? Most likely.

10. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

I must unfortunately confess that I didn’t like this book as much as I thought I would. I had heard that it was like Victorian proto-Wodehouse, which sounded wonderful. While this description was sort of accurate, the book unfortunately missed a big aspect of what I like about Wodehouse, and that is likable characters. The wordplay was very funny and enjoyable and Wodehouse-ian, but it was all surrounding characters with precious little charm. I may grow to like it better with time…I would like to listen to the Hugh Laurie audiobook version of it, which will probably help me appreciate it more.

That being said, the images this book evokes are certainly very summery, and very pleasant. Rippling water sparkling in the sunlight, sun-bathed greenery moving past on either side, quaint sleepy little English villages…

Movies

1. Emma (1996)

The Gwyneth Paltrow Emma, specifically. This actually isn’t my favorite version of Emma, but its lush greenery and soft lighting do give it a very summery feel. (The same could probably be said of the 2009 Emma, actually – so count this for both those Emmas.)

2. Gettysburg (1993)

I’m not usually a battle-movie sort of person, but Gettysburg is the exception. They do an excellent job of fleshing out the people and really making you care about them (which is a large part of what makes me like it; compelling action means nothing to me if I can’t care about the characters). It’s beautiful and heart-breaking and a great movie.

Obviously the movie’s set during summer, since the battle took place from July 1-3. I also personally associate it with summer, since we have a tradition of watching the movie in segments on the days that the battle actually took place, starting on June 30th by watching the pre-battle part of the movie and finishing on July 3rd. (We don’t manage to do this every year…we don’t always feel in the mood/have the time to watch a very long and heart-breaking movie from June 30th-July 3.)

3. The Incredibles (2004)

This is set during summer, right? It has a very summery feel to it. It looks like summer. And it’s got that light, breezy, fast-paced feel to it (though it’s also actually rather intense in parts, for a kids’ movie) which makes for a good summer movie. (I’ve never seen the sequel…I’m sort of inherently opposed, since I think the original is great as it is and didn’t need a sequel, but I may watch it some day anyway. Have any of you seen it? Can you recommend it?)

4. The Music Man (1962)

This is another one that just seems to reek of summer. The scenery and settings are so sunny and green and summery…the whole movie is just so pretty to look at. (There are certain aspects of the plot it’s probably best not to take too seriously. For instance, generally speaking, a chappie that you know for a fact is an unrepentant swindler and liar probably isn’t the best person to fall in love with. But another day for that discussion.)

5. The Rookie (2002)

I think this is a fairly obscure little film…but as someone who usually has not the slightest interest in sports movies, I think this is a great movie. Like Gettysburg, which is also not my usual type of movie, The Rookie keeps my interest by having a big focus on the characters, and the movie ends up being incredibly touching because of this. (It’s also based on a real person and his real story, which is pretty neat.) And it also feels like summer in pretty much every way – hence why it’s here.

6. Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Like Emma, this is not my top favorite version of Sense and Sensibility, but it feels very summery in a way that other versions don’t. The sunniness, the greenery, the soft golden lighting on the lovely English countryside…it’s such a pretty, bright film. (And it is a good version of S&S, too, even though it’s not my favorite…rather better than the Gwyneth Paltrow Emma, in my opinion.)

7. The Sound of Music (1965)

This one is not as quintessentially a summer-movie as most of the others on this list, in my mind, but a lot of it does take place during summer, including a fair number of its most iconic scenes. And (like Anne and Anne of Green Gables) Maria has as sunny and bright a personality as possible, which makes the whole thing seem even brighter and sunnier.

8. Stuart Little 2 (2002)

This may be the most summer-evoking movie I’ve ever seen. It does, again, take place during summer (although it must be late summer, if you use ✨logic✨), and we get summery things like rooftop cookouts and Mrs. Little wearing pretty floral dresses, but the color palette of the movie as a whole brings the summeriness to a whole new level. Just look at that picture. Look at how bright and clean and happy the colors are. And the whole movie is like that. There’s so much brightness and greenery (you know, considering that it’s set in the middle of New York City) and sunniness and wholesomeness.

9. Tangled (2010)

This movie is just so, so pretty. I’ve heard that the film-makers were inspired by the Jean-Honoré Fragonard painting “The Swing” for the design, and I can really see it. It’s very soft and pastel-y and golden. Truth be told, this might be more of a late spring movie than a true summer movie, but I’ll count it anyway because I Want To and it’s just a lovely movie no matter the season.

10. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

This is another movie which is traditional viewing in the Hexam household. Every 4th of July (nearly) we watch this film, so it’s no wonder it’s very strongly connected with summer in my head. And it just has a fun, summery, 4th-of-July-ish feel to it. (It also has a touching death scene, because what old Hollywood movie would be complete without a scene that makes me cry.) Like The Rookie, it’s based on a real person, songwriter/performer George M. Cohan (and fun fact, all the songs played in the film are in fact real George M. Cohan songs!) If memory serves, I believe George M. Cohan was alive when the movie came out and I believe he liked it, which is super neat if it’s true.

Have you read/seen any of these? What are your favorite summer books and movies?