Contemporary = Perfect Read for Summer?

I’m not the biggest contemporary reader in the world.

I prefer reading fantasy, having the escape from our ordinary and mundane world to a world where we can fight evil and start revolution.

But during certain time of the year (hint: christmas, valentine’s, and summer), I find myself gravitating towards contemporary. And so most of the bookish community it seems. If you pay attention, during the summer months, most reviews on your dashboard are about summer contemporary and rarely fantasy. I mean, my country is 24/7 summer (tropical country here!!!!) but during the month of Summer for you guys, which is June-August, we have our school break so let’s just say it’s summer to for me.

Why is this happening you ask? Well I don’t know either, but for me, there are few reasons why contemporary is a go-to summer read for me.

The setting: During summer or on a beach town

Most of the contemporaries I read are set during the summer break, where they are free to spend their time on the beach, have summer romance, or have cool/sucky summer jobs. Or maybe that old “coming back to childhood summer place and reconnected with my old summer clique” story? When it doesn’t set on the summer, it set on a beach town, with hidden parties and bonfires going on throughout the school year. Or maybe southern gothic, with plantation and old towns… When you can’t travel to tropical places every day of your summer break, reading story in those summer-y settings can truly make you feel like you’re somewhere else other than your bedroom.

The plot: lighter

While I don’t mind reading about people fighting dragons, running around avoiding assassins and starting a revolution, they can also get too heavy for the slow paced life of summer. Sometimes all I want is reading story about Summer, or cute contemporary without having to imagine the intricate world building. That doesn’t mean the topic of contemporary are easier than fantasy, contemporary can also delves into dark and gritty topic or important issues, but the point is contemporary just easier to digest for me because it doesn’t require extensive imagination. They are also more relateable, talking about family dynamics, friendship problem, and of course, the good ol’ romance. For example, last year, before I went to uni, I found myself reading more “senior-year theme” books, trying to find myself in it and assure myself that everything is going to be alright.

The length

This is pretty much connected to my previous point. Since contemporary do not require to explain about world building, magic system, monster description and how things work overall, they usually can get straight into the story. Therefore, most contemporary are between 200-400 pages, tops. It’s perfect for binge-reading and read different stories in short time.

They are fun to read

Serious topic aside, contemporary, especially those that set during Summer, are fun to read. Maybe because Summer really gives the time for various shenanigans like replacing your sister as tour guide throughout europe, having summer romance, fulfilling your best friend’s bucket list, having sucky yet amazing jobs, or just plain lazing around. Whatever the activity is, they are fun to read and I can’t get enough of them.

Here’s my TBR for this summer, but now, over to you guys: Do you have specific time to read a certain genre? Do you read contemporary? What is your most anticipated reads for summer?