Batsford’s summer reads 2024
10 top picks for a very bookish summer
In need of a holiday read? Or perhaps you’d prefer something for a back garden browse. However you’re relaxing this summer, do it with one of these 10 beautiful books.
We Made A Garden
Margery Fish | £14.99
We Made A Garden is a timeless gardening guide and memoir that makes the perfect page-turner for sitting amongst the flora. Written by one of the 20th-century’s most renowned British gardeners, inspire your green fingers with this fascinating exploration of the beautiful cottage-style gardens at East Lambrook Manor, covering everything from the best time to plant tulips to essential tips on composting, hedging and crafting paths.
100 20th–Century Buildings
Twentieth Century Society | £28.00
Who needs an ocean when the gleam of well crafted architecture exists? 100 20th-Century Buildings has everything from art galleries to office blocks, exploring the rich and visually innovative building designs that make up such vital parts of Britain’s cultural history. With stunning photography and fascinating, insightful essays, bathe in the beauty of these magnificent emblems of British heritage.
Urban Nature Every Day
Jane McMorland Hunter & Sally Hughes | £14.99
Fancy getting out and discovering a bit more wildlife? Urban Nature Every Day brings the natural world to your doorstep, showcasing the wonders that thrive, even in urban landscapes. Make a holiday out of your hometown with 366 daily prompts encouraging you to explore your local landscape. From foxes to sunflowers, to sprouts emerging from pavements, you never quite know what you’ll discover…
Secret Voices
Sarah Gristwood | £19.95
Escape into the thoughts of another this summer. Secret Voices traverses four centuries of women’s diaries in daily extracts that culminate the wise words of literary greats and empowering women. Explore how the experience of womanhood changes throughout location, time and experience, featuring the words of Anne Frank, Lady Anne Clifford and even Oprah Winfrey. Let it’s words inspire you.
Station
Christopher Beanland | £25.00
Trains are essential for getting us to those stay-cation getaways, but not all of us realise how beautiful this transport can be. All aboard this glorious celebration of contemporary railway architecture, exploring everything from spectacular hanging railways to sleek postmodern brutalism. With essays from expert architects and travel writers along with stunning photography throughout, Station appreciates the journey just as much as the destination.
Natural Homemade Beauty
Leoniek Bontje | £14.99
If you’ve got that crafting itch right now, why not use it on that gleaming summer skin? Natural Homemade Beauty invites you to forage and create 90 of your very own cosmetics and skincare from ingredients easily accessible to your home. From edible face masks to coffee bean scrubs, nourish your skin with the all-natural and feel the instant glow.
100 letters That Changed The World
Colin Salter | £20.00
If you want to get lost in history, 100 Letters The Changed The World offers a gripping chronology through the most world altering letters in history. From Vincent van Gogh’s private letters to his brother, to the correspondence that gave Oppenheimer the go-ahead on the hydrogen bomb, this fascinating volume is a gripping gift from cover to cover.
Shakespeare for Every Night of The Year
Colin Salter | £25.00
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? If you wish you be swept up by the dramatics this summer, Shakespeare for Every Night of The Year has enough verse, sonnets and poems from The Bard himself to keep you gripped for an entire year. Whether you love the comedies, the tragedies or even the histories, this daily anthology shall make your summer nights a glorious dream indeed.
A Year of Garden Bees and Bugs
Dominic Couzens | £20.00
Binoculars at the ready! Feel like the new Chris Packham this summer with A Year of Garden Bees and Bugs. This fascinating journey into the inside lives of insects is a summer staple for those who to likes venture into nature. With 52 captivating insect stories and unique QR codes linking to videos of entry, get closer than you can with your own eyes and appreciate these glorious creatures in a whole new way.
100 Happy Poems
Jane McMorland Hunter | £12.99
Pocket sized poems… perfect for your travels! 100 Happy Poems is a wholesome mini-anthology that can spark a little extra joy into any summer’s day. Calm your nerves and lift your spirits on its verses before a long flight, or drift into its pages as you recline into a deckchair. However you choose to use it, this stunning collection is the perfect summer companion.
All titles are available online and from other good booksellers.
