Adult Summer Reading List July 2024
![A man holding a weighted pole while balancing on a bookmark as a tightrope, on a stack of books in the sky](https://files.nc.gov/statelibrary/styles/inline_large/public/images/2024-06/CSLP_2024_Adult_Highwire.png?VersionId=Krzan338bTat4PhABdi.zLDY4021MJB2&itok=2iHyuH0R)
SLNC Accessible Books and Library Services is happy to announce the first series of our Summer 2024 reading list! This list is curated for the month of July and explores Fantasy with rich plots and colorful characters that help tell stories that will enhance your sunny summer days. Below is the list of books for each grade level. Dive into the titles, authors and annotations of this year’s summer reading list!
*Please check annotations for any warnings or sensitivities mentioned in the books to ensure satisfaction with the books!
Adults
- The Lastborn of Elvinwood
by Linda Haldeman
DB016152
Whimsical adult fantasy set in the National Trust forest behind a housing estate in Surrey. Three respectable local citizens are discovered by their neighbor Ian James participating in the Midwinter celebration of the resident fairies and their overlord Oberon. - Jog Rummage
by Grahame Wright
DB011462
An English fantasy and allegory of the rivalry between the dark lands of the Jogs and the Rats and also of a crippled girl. When the wisdom of Rummage, the kindly Jog philosopher, is ignored, piracy and mob rule result. - Momo
by Michael Ende
DB022829
An allegorical fantasy illustrates the modern struggle between the forces of good and evil. A waiflike girl named Momo possesses a unique talent--her listening abilities make it possible for those around her to think great thoughts. - The Prince of Morning Bells
by Nancy Kress
DB018901
A restless young princess who has led a humdrum life sets out on a hazardous quest. Protected by a disreputable enchanted dog, she finally reaches a very ordinary castle where a handsome prince interrupts her journey. An original fantasy for high school and adult readers. 1981. - Viriconium
by John M. Harrison
DB065188
Collection of fantasy classics set in Viriconium, an imagined, decadent English Roman city. Contains the novels The Pastel City, A Storm of Wings, and In Viriconium, published between 1971 and 1982, as well as "Viriconium Knights" and six other short stories. Includes 2005 introduction by Neil Gaiman. 2005. - A Stranger in Olondria
by Sofia Samatar
DB081593
Jevick always loved stories of Olondria, a country of books and learning. When his father dies, Jevick finally visits Olondria, but the trip is complicated when he finds himself haunted by a ghost from home. He must learn the ghost's story if he wants to help her soul rest. World Fantasy Award. 2013. - Orlando
by Virginia Woolf
DB023691
Fantasy about a young Elizabethan nobleman who, by book's end, has been transformed into a young woman. The author examines English literary and social history through the three hundred years of Orlando's life, and the transformation emphasizes Woolf's belief that women are the intellectual equals of men. - The People in the Picture
by Haydn Middleton
DB028269
The author, who lectures on mythology at Oxford, offers a modern fairy tale about a British woman who finds her unhappy life transformed by the disturbing intrusion of a figure from Welsh myth. - The Gold Ball
by Hanne Svendsen
DB031449
A fantasy reminiscent of the work of Isak Dinesen. Set on an imaginary island off the coast of Denmark, the story is told by Maja Stina, who is searching for her ancestors. Maja's namesake was the granddaughter of Niels Gloe, the founder of the island colony, and was known to wear a magical golden ball on a cord around her neck. - A College of Magics
by Caroline Stevermer
DB042081
Fantasy adventure set in an alternate Edwardian Europe. Faris Nallaneen, the young duchess of Galazon, arrives at Greenlaw College on the French coast, where she has been banished by her wicked uncle. The college teaches magic, and Faris learns of her special destiny as one of the four guardians of the North. She must learn her magical skills well to free her kingdom, defeat her enemies, and mend a magical rift.