Batsford’s Summer Reading List 2023
Explore our recommended summer reads, featuring everything from inspiring city architecture to calming poolside poetry. Whether you’re lounging in a sun bed or picnicking in a park – our list has something for you.
Not managed to get away this summer? While away your weekend with Why We Garden and get inspired to plant your plot with summer blooms. Or, rather than sweltering under the sun, kick-back and check-out the beautiful swim spots featured in Chris Romer-Lee’s Sea Pools. Jet-setting off to a holiday retreat? Give some mindful colouring a go with Millie Marotta’s Woodland Wild or Secrets of the Sea pocket book – the perfect size to squeeze into your hand luggage! Or send home a ‘Wish You Were Here’ note using Maggie Magoo’s Amazing Alphabet. For beginner and professional crafters, full-time holidayers and summer worker bees – this list has something everyone can enjoy.
Happy holidaying from Batsford Books!
Maggie Magoo’s Amazing Alphabet
Maggie Magoo Designs | £9.99
Maggie Magoo’s Amazing Alphabet is the debut colouring book from the Maggie Magoo Design House, providing beautiful letters for colouring and hours of mindful entertainment. With unique and delicate illustrations of flora and fauna that are just itching for a splash of colour, grab your pencils and pens and choose a letter that means something to you.
City Parks
Christopher Beanland | £22.95
From the author of Lido that made a splash in 2020, City Parks celebrates urban park life around the world. It’s perfect for the globetrotters out there looking to take a city break or are travelling further away this summer – Australia, Asia, America, Africa. Illustrated with stunning pictures throughout, City Parks will whisk you away to the most historic and the most architecturally interesting parks, as well as the most cutting edge and modern landscape architecture that the world has to showcase.
Mid-Century Woodworking
A.W.P. Kettless | £25.00
Get creative on your summer break with over 80 timeless and classic mid-century patterns to craft by hand. From the simple to the advanced, this is the perfect book to progress your woodworking skills and create beautiful and useful pieces for your home, from shelves and bookends to trays, chest of drawers, chairs and desks – all with clear patterns and diagrams to help you become a fully-fledged woodworker!
Sea Pools
Chris Romer-Lee | £25.00
Summer is the season for swimming – whether out in the ocean or splashing in the pool – and Sea Pools is Chris Romer-Lee’s brand-new celebration of sea swimming, looking at the locations, the architecture, history and social significance of some of the world’s most impressive and beautiful tidal pools. Stick your swimwear on and get down to the coast to marvel at the examples showcased in this book – and take a dip if you dare!
Outlander’s Scotland Seasons 4-6
Phoebe Taplin | £6.00
Head up to Scotland this summer holiday to discover the evocative and breathtaking locations that featured in the latest seasons of Outlander’s adventures for Claire and Jamie Fraser. Explore the glories of Scotland on a vast road trip from coast to coast in Outlander country. A gorgeous travel guide, this is a must-have for the legions of passionate Outlander fans, as well as everyone who loves Scotland.
Woodland Wild and Secrets of the Sea Pocket Colouring
Millie Marotta | £5.99
Perfect for your hand luggage or colouring in the backseat of the car, these wonderful portable editions of Millie Marotta’s Woodland Wild and Secrets of the Sea will provide hours of relaxation and colouring fun, from the bestselling author and artist Millie Marotta. Lose yourself in the calming world of woodland wildlife, from peaceful pine groves to a steamy tropical forest and discover the wondrous wildlife that dwells underwater from the Arctic waters to the balmy Australian coast. Swim with dolphins, narwhals and manatees, bringing them all to life with splashes of colour on your summer holiday.
Why We Garden
Claire Masset | £14.99
Explore the mystery of what makes us love gardening with this charming little book by garden writer Claire Masset. Grab your gardening gloves while the weather is glorious and be inspired to find paradise amongst your patio plants and enjoy the simple solace of your hands in the soil. Discover your green fingers in the outdoor season this year, drawing your inspiration from the words of the gardening-greats included in these pages; from Monty Don to Voltaire, and Margery Fish to Gertrude Jekyll, this beautifully illustrated compilation is a thoughtful book for any gardener.
A Year of Birdsong
Dominic Couzens, Madeleine Floyd | £20.00
Learn to identify birdsong over your summer holiday! Step outdoors with a copy of this wonderful and chirpy little book, full of fascinating stories about birdsong for every week of the year, with a QR to bring their song to life. Featuring glorious birds from around the world, leading bird expert and writer, Dominic Couzens, takes you on a global journey so that no matter where you are in the world this summer, you can recognise the sounds of the birds that surround you.
Anglo-Saxon Myths
Brice Stratford | £16.99
Snuggle up round a campfire on those long summer evenings with this atmospheric collection of folk tales, exploring stories of cosmology, monsters, conflicts and courtship from the Seven Kingdoms to Middle Earth. An entertaining portal into a world overflowing with mythology, magic and all manner of beguiling creatures that have inspired everything from the Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones, and perfect for reading aloud while enjoying toasted marshmallows under a starry night sky with friends and family.
All books are available to buy from good booksellers and online, including on Bookshop.org.
Banner image: Tunnels Beach Tidal Pools, Ilfracombe, Devon, from Sea Pools by Chris Romer-Lee. Photograph by Aga Tomaszek Photography
