One of the best perks of working at PAN Communications is Summer Fridays – where we have the opportunity to sign off at 1 p.m. on Fridays to enjoy the summer weather. What better way to spend a Summer Friday than at the beach, lake or poolside with a good book? Another PAN tradition is the PAN Summer Reading List, now in its eighth year, is a crowdsourced list of book recommendations from PAN employees. From fun beach reads to business books, here’s what we’re reading this summer.

Source: Pexels.com under CC license.

We have a lot of novels and classic beach reads downloaded to our kindles and ready for weekends on The Cape, Maine, Jersey Shore, Yosemite or wherever our Summer Fridays take us. Big Little Lies Fans are planning to read Liane Moriarty’s newest book, Nine Perfect Strangers. We’re also reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, both a murder mystery and coming of age story set on the North Carolina coast; White Teeth by Zadie Smith, which was nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read; The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, one of Newsweek’s “50 Coolest Books to Read this Summer” about four siblings, destiny and choice; and The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion’s portrait of a marriage.

For lighter reads, we’re looking forward to The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid about a reclusive Hollywood starlet, and Bunny by Mona Awad, a dark “Heathers-esque” comedy. I’m currently enjoying Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, the funny, heartwarming debut novel by Gail Honeyman. And, I just got around to reading a classic novel— Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind.

Psychological thrillers also ranked high on our lists, including the “addictive” The Last Mrs. Parish by Liv Constantine and the suspenseful family drama The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton.

During downtime this summer, we’ll also be brushing up on the newest business titles, including Weekend Language: Presenting with More Stories and Less PowerPoint by Andy Craig and Dave Yewman, Storynomics: Story-Driven Marketing in the Post-Advertising World by Robert McKee, and Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou, about the rise and collapse of Theranos, which was named the McKinsey Business Book of the Year.

We’re also reading books about leadership and inspirational leaders including Leaders: Myth and Reality by Stanley McChrystal, Jeff Eggers and Jay Mangone; Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy, famous for her “Power Pose” concept; Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future by Pete Buttigieg; and Becoming by Michelle Obama.

Other non-fiction titles include Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, the New York Times Bestseller by renowned historian Yuval Noah Harari; The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz, which offers advice based on ancient Toltec wisdom; Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy by Angela Garbes; and, Mercies in Disguise: A Story of Hope, a Family’s Genetic Destiny, and the Science That Rescued Them by New York Times science reporter Gina Kolata.

Fantasy fans are setting aside time to read the Game of Thrones series by George R. R. Martin now that the TV series has wrapped. And, for those who are still in GoT withdrawal, we recommend Black Leopard Red Wolf, part of the Dark Star fantasy trilogy by Marlon James.

Need more inspiration? Check out our previous lists here:

• Fourth Annual PAN Summer Reading List
• Fifth Annual PAN Summer Reading List
• Sixth Annual PAN Summer Reading List
• Seventh Annual PAN Summer Reading List