At Clearbox, we’re suckers for some good old-fashioned physical media. As the weather takes a turn, we thought we would take this week’s blog as an opportunity to discuss some of our favourite reads from this summer. After all, you can’t write stories without reading them first!

Stick around to find out what our team recommends…

The Other Side of the Dream by Clem Burke 

• Recommended by John Megaughin

Image Credit: Harper Collins

In a deviation from my usual reading list of Berlin Wall history, post-apocalyptic fiction and anything by Liane Moriarty, this summer I read The Other Side of the Dream by Clem Burke. Most of you won’t know who Clem is – he’s the drummer in Blondie. Clem sadly died last year but his friends and family came together to finish this book. I’m so glad they did. This book is a treasure trove of detail about New Jersey and New York in the 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond, and features an insight into the creative mind of one of rock & roll’s greatest ever drummers (and best ever haircuts). It’s a time machine book that makes you feel like you’re standing in CBGBs when Debbie Harry & co started to find fame and it’s a lovely tribute to what seems to be a wonderful human being. Recommended for music fans, or anyone who wants to step back in time to New York before it became uber gentrified…

When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén

• Recommended by Kasey Leigh McCrudden

Image Credit: Audible

When the Cranes Fly South is a novel that tells the story of Bo, an elderly man living alone in rural Sweden after his wife is put into a care home. The book centres on Bo’s relationship with his adult son, as they fight over whether or not Bo should be allowed to keep his dog, Sixten. This is one of the books that stuck with me the most this summer, mostly down to its beautiful characterisation and poignant themes of mortality, loss and intergenerational trauma. Translated from its original Swedish, WTCFS is the kind of cosy fiction that leaves you feeling a little bit changed afterward, as it plunges you into a contemplation of family, life and death. I loved how the author interweaves Bo’s point of view with notes from his carers’ log, highlighting his deteriorating condition and the loss of independence most of us will experience as we age. It’s incredibly moving, and very accessible – highly recommend if you’re going through a reading slump and need a good story to pull you out of it!

The Punch by John Feinstein 

• Recommended by Neil Coleman

Image Credit: Amazon

This summer I read The Punch, in which author John Feinstein digs into the 1977 NBA Basketball drama that nearly killed Rudy Tomjanovich (LA Lakers) and permanently branded Kermit Washington (Houston Rockets) as the villain who threw it. I was recommended this by a friend, as it simultaneously unpacks an untold landmark sporting moment and media psychology in tandem. Bizarrely, the real story isn’t the hit itself, it’s what happened after: a media frenzy that picked sides fast, racial bias baked into the coverage, and two athletes who spent decades living in the shadow of three seconds. What I liked about this as it doesn’t hand you a tidy conclusion – this book is about how quickly a single moment can become the stuff of myth, and how hard it is to undo once it does.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

• Recommended by Alana McPhillips

Image Credit: Penguin Books

I bought a really gorgeous copy of Frankenstein in Livraria Lello in Porto last year and finally started it in the last couple of months. I’ve made it through about eight books over summer with my six year old (The BFG, Fantastic Mr Fox, a few Goosebumps titles..), but taking time to read for me happens a little less often. I found the opening letters a little challenging and dry, but after a slow stop-start attempt, I’m getting more into the story and really enjoying how beautifully written and visual it is – I’m glad I persevered!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 

• Recommended by Niamh MacManus

Image Credit: Amazon

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a novel about Eddie, an 83-year-old maintenance worker who dies in an accident at the amusement park where he has worked for most of his life. In the afterlife, he meets five people who each help him understand a different part of his life, from relationships and sacrifice to love, forgiveness and the impact we have on other people without even realising it.

It’s ultimately about how interconnected our lives are, and how even seemingly ordinary moments can have a much bigger meaning than we know. It leaves you thinking about the people who have shaped your life and the ways you might have shaped someone else’s without realising.

The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas 

• Recommended by Alex Davey

Image Credit: Goodreads

I found myself accidentally sucked into BookTok a few years ago and jumped on the Sarah J. Maas hype. I got so hooked on the Throne of Glass series that it changed my reading habits and genres! I used to be a ‘book on holiday’ and occasional bedtime type of reader but with this series, EVERY opportunity I had I was reading. SJM describes worlds and characters so completely you feel like you know them personally and have been to these places! It is a hefty series with eight books and I was at a complete loss when I finished it! If you believe in magic, dive right in, you will not regret it.