This retelling of the myth of witch-nymph Circe and her fateful encounter with Odysseus blends the grandeur of Greek mythology with a sharply modern, feminist voice. The island of Aeaea may be mythical, but Miller’s landscape – buzzing cicadas, olive groves rustling and sunlight caught in the Aegean – is unmistakably Greek. If you’re island-hopping around the Cyclades or simply craving a taste of myth with your mezze, this book casts a potent spell. 

Tom Ripley might not be your typical protagonist, but he certainly knows how to summer. Highsmith’s psychological thriller winds through jazz-filled bars in Rome, glossy palazzi in Venice and the tranquil shores of southern Italy. It’s a chilling portrait of obsession wrapped in la dolce vita charm.  Many will know the film (Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow at their most golden), but – as always – it begs the question: have you read the book? 

This novel draws a vivid and unflinching picture of Nigeria before and during the Biafran War of the 1960s. Through the entwined lives of a professor, a British writer and two estranged sisters, Adichie paints a Nigeria full of heat, emotional depth and political unrest.  It’s an ambitious and absorbing read for travellers curious about the country’s history behind the headlines and for those seeking novels that linger in the memory beyond the final page. 

Step into Macondo, a fictional Colombian town that is at once vividly real and fantastically alien. Márquez’s multigenerational masterpiece is dense with magic: insomnia plagues, ghostly patriarchs and golden butterflies. The novel’s dreamlike atmosphere is as humid and heady as the jungle itself. If you like your summer reading vast, strange and unforgettable, this is your literary long haul. 

Yes, they appear on every summer list – and for good reason. Our honourable mentions go to: André Aciman's Call Me By Your Name, simmering with sun-soaked longing in northern Italy; F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, a famous literary work capturing the sweltering summer, excess and heartbreak in Jazz-Age Long Island; and Alex Garland’s The Beach, the definitive backpacker fever dream.

If reading about these locations inspires insatiable wanderlust, why not browse our selection of hotels, such as Hotel Hassler Roma and Casa Cipriani in New York. You can explore our full hotel offering on ASMALLWORLD Collection.