Summer is a great time to kick back, relax, and read something fun. Seriously. If you’re reading a large book that’s about very serious things, put it aside until September. Because summer is the season for fun books.

1. “Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America”

John Waters is such a fun writer to read. And this book is full of his cheery yet subversive voice. This fun book contains short stories, some fiction, and some fact about his hitchhiking trip across America. This book proves that Waters is still quite capable of writing witty, real and fake stories that will entertain.

2. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”

If you are a child of the 1980s or ’90s, you probably first read this book under the covers by flashlight. I recommend re-reading this killer book this summer so you can spook out your campmates during your weekend getaway.

3. “Jaws”

If you’re a fan of the film and have yet to read the Peter Benchley’s book, please do so. It’s incredibly enjoyable and fun. And really: Is there a better beachside read?

4. “Futureland”

Walter Mosley is a great story teller. “Futureland” is filled with nine sci-fi stories about near-future America… many of them aren’t pretty. So, while this isn’t one of those classically summer, feel-good fun books, it’s noir-good.

5. “Zodiac: An Eco-Thriller“

We love anything “eco” here, so I naturally had to include Neal Stephenson’s “Zodiac: An Eco-Thriller.” I had to read this book as part of a sci-fi political science class (yes, such a thing did exist), and I have to say, I still enjoy it to this day.

Honorable mention: I admittedly know nothing about romance novels, so I was unable to pick a book from this genre. But I totally trust the taste of the ladies who were part of this recent Pop Culture Happy Hour special. In the hour long cast, the women (Linda Holmes, Barrie Hardymon, Petra Mayer, and Sarah Wendell, founder of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books) discuss all the romance that’s fit to read. For a long list of reads that include women of all backgrounds and ethnicities, click this link.

Connect with Abbie on Twitter and Instagram.

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This summer, sit down with a book that inspires you to keep things light — both in mind and body. These 7 summer reads inspire a healthier and happier lifestyle.

There is a collection of books relatively fresh on the market that are bound to change your relationship with food, inspire you in the kitchen and around the house, as well as keep you stimulated and excited for the best season of the year. Happy reading!

1. May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness – Gabrielle Bernstein

The summer is all about letting go and taking it easy. Gabrielle Bernstein’s May Cause Miracles embodies that sentiment to a tee. Author of Spirit Junkie and Add More –Ing to Your Life, Bernstein’s latest inspirational installment reveals simple steps to improving our daily lives, from our bodies and self-image to our relationships and finances.

2. VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health – Mark Bittman

Mark Bittman is a critically-acclaimed Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times and author of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and Food Matters. In VB6, Bittman demonstrates how eating vegan all day and then whatever we like for dinner (in moderation) can improve our health and help us lose weight. With this so-called “flexitarian” approach, we can shed the strict mindset and enjoy what we like while our bodies reap incredible benefits.

3. Nice is Just a Place in France: How to Win at Basically Everything – The Betches 

For those who like a no-shit, more stripped approach to self-motivation, Nice is Just a Place in France is a fitting read. The crude language is humorous and to the point, which may just be the tough love we need to conquer ourselves and the world.

4. The Honest Life: Living Naturally and True to You – Jessica Alba

Take it from Jessica Alba when it comes to living cleaner and more environmentally-friendly. A new mom, Alba realized the chemicals laden in many household products and toiletries geared towards babies. From this, The Honest Company was born, offering parents clean, fashionable and naturally safe products for both parents and babies. The Honest Life provides the research behind common mainstream products used by parents and babies and shows us how to get rid of the chemicals in our lives while embracing a truer diet and mindset.

5. The Headspace Diet: 10 Days to Finding Your Ideal Weight – Andy Puddicombe

Maybe it’s not what we’re doing that’s keeping those last five pounds attached to the hips, but rather our mindset concerning them. Approach dieting from an alternate route – one that depends more on the mind than self-discipline. The Headspace Diet helps to bring us to a place that reduces our emotionally-driven attachment to food and improves our mind-body relationship. Mindfulness-based meditation is outlined as a daily, 10-minute practice that can offer us powerful results and help us shed those pounds.

6. Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal – Mary Roach

Gulp gives us a taste of quirky science, following food from its initial encounter with human senses, through the body, and down to the toilet. Roach touches upon cultural taboos as well as asks questions many are afraid, or often don’t think of, to ask. Find out why the stomach doesn’t digest itself or if it was constipation that killed Elvis, with this fun, anything-but-ordinary read.

7. Unmastered: A Book on Desire, Most Difficult to Tell – Katherine Angel

Pair those hot summer nights with a sensual escape. Katherine Angel’s Unmastered explores sensuality and desire in a fresh way by recounting her own stories and reflecting on the relationship between the sexes and the intricate connection, characterized by both pleasure and pain, we have with sex. The book unhinges the door we place between ourselves and our inner, sometimes dark sensuality.

 Photo Credit: Aafromaa

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