This week’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is: Book Titles That Include the Word “[insert word of your choice here]” (Pick a word and share ten book titles that include that word!)
Lots of possible choices here, but I’ve chosen the word ‘Summer’. These are all books that I’ve read and reviewed on my blog.
1. The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick – The first in a trilogy of historical novels telling the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I enjoyed all three books.
2. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson – Not my favourite by Ibbotson but I still liked it. It follows the daughter of a suffragette who decides to become a housekeeper at a boarding school in Austria.
3. St Martin’s Summer by Rafael Sabatini – Sabatini’s novels are almost always a lot of fun and this one, set in early 17th century France, is no exception.
4. Arctic Summer by Damon Galgut – This is the only book I’ve read by Galgut and sadly I didn’t like it much at all. It’s a novel based on the life of the author E.M. Forster and focuses on his love affairs during his time in India and Egypt.
5. The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay – The first book in The Fionavar Tapestry, a fantasy trilogy published between 1984 and 1986. It’s very different from his later books, which feel much more like historical fiction.
6. Long Summer Day by RF Delderfield – The first in Delderfield’s A Horseman Riding By trilogy, a wonderful family saga set in a farming community in rural Devon during the first half of the 20th century.
7. Dark Summer in Bordeaux by Allan Massie – One of a quartet of dark, atmospheric crime novels set in Occupied France. I still haven’t read the final two.
8. The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson – The war referred to in the title is the First World War and this moving novel follows the story of a young woman who starts a new job as a school Latin teacher in the summer of 1914.
9. The Last Summer by Judith Kinghorn – Also beginning with that same innocent summer of 1914, the novel shows us the effects the outbreak of war will have on society, class structure and the life of one seventeen-year-old girl.
10. The Year Without Summer by Guinevere Glasfurd – The stories of six people, some real and some fictional, whose lives were affected by the extreme weather that followed the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1816.
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Have you read any of these? Can you think of any other books with Summer in the title?
She Reads Novels 
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson has acquired a good reputation in recent years, though I haven’t read it. First published in 1972 – has anyone else read it?
Re Damon Galgut. I wasn’t too enamoured by the first two books of his that I read, The Good Doctor and In A Strange Room. But I was really impressed by The Promise, which won the Booker Prize a few years ago.
I’m hoping to read The Summer Book soon. I’ve read one of Jansson’s Moomin books but am more interested in trying her adult work. If I decide to give Galgut a second chance, I’ll consider The Promise – thanks!
I did the same one! No overlap in titles although I have read several of yours, the Ibbotson, Delderfield, and the Simonson.
I suspected Summer would be a popular choice this week, for obvious reasons!
Perfect choice for this time of year!
It was the first word that came to mind and luckily I could easily find ten suitable books!
I have The Summer Queen on my TBR and a couple of books by Guy Gavriel Kay on it too although I cant remember exactly which ones off the top of my head. The summer before WWI sounds like an interesting setting to explore and I’m intrigued by The Year Without Summer too. The only book I’ve reviewed with summer in the title is The Drowning Summer which I really wasn’t keen on. I imagine I have others on my TBR too though.
I hope you enjoy The Summer Queen. I thought it was a great trilogy. I love Guy Gavriel Kay’s books too – my favourite is Tigana but they’re all good.
Long Summer Day sounds very appealing at the moment, I haven’t read any Delderfield so it will be a good introduction. Summer in the title is such a lovely theme, Wharton’s Summer I really enjoyed and The Summer Book is fabulous!
I would definitely recommend trying Long Summer Day – I loved that whole trilogy. I’m already planning to read The Summer Book and will think about reading the Wharton book as well – thanks!
Of books I’ve read I can think of Summerland by Lucy Adlington, The Summer House Party by Caro Fraser and one I dredged up from years ago, The Summer Springsteen’s Songs Saved Me by Barbara Quinn.
I haven’t read any of those. There are such a lot of books with summer in the title!
I love all Delderfield’s books.
I still have a lot of them to read but I’ve enjoyed the few I’ve read so far.
So many awesome books…I can feel my TBR list growing. ;D
I enjoyed nearly all of these!
Good choice of word for the season! 😊 I also enjoyed reading The Summer Song by Eva Ibbotson. Not sure I can think of any other book I have read with ‘summer’ in the title. 🤔
Summer was one of the first words I thought of when I started to put this post together. I’m glad you enjoyed the Eva Ibbotson book as well! I really need to read more of her books.
I have also enjoyed Ibbotson’s novels: The Great Ghost Rescue, The Secret of Platform 13, Journey to the River Sea, The Dragonfly Pool, The Secret Countess, A Company of Swans, and The Morning Gift. 😊
I’ve read The Secret Countess and The Morning Gift but not the others you mentioned so I’ll look forward to reading those!