We’re gonna need a bigger suitcase: this year’s 15 must-read summer books

From the literary thriller everyone’s talking about to an oral history of pop’s golden age, John Self gives his guide to the books that will make you want to double your baggage allowance

Page-turners: there is no shortage of entertaining reads to accompany you on holiday (The Independent)

All families have a secret,” wrote Alan Bennett. “They’re not like other families.” In our round-up of the best fiction and non-fiction summer reads, families feature strongly – good ones, bad ones, and the families we make for ourselves when the real one just isn’t up to scratch. There are novels here on the roles of women throughout life: daughter, mother, elderly widow. There are coming-of-age stories from Asia and Africa, and non-fiction about the clash of East and West, and youth and age. But most of all, every one of these books will entertain you richly, whether on the beach, in the city or delayed at the airport.

(Edward Carey)

The Hero of this Book by Elizabeth McCracken (Jonathan Cape, £14.99)