Summer reading 2017: Eight books to take on holiday

A perfect holiday for a book lover involves peace, quiet and a pile of tomes to read. But with so many new titles published each year, the choice can be overwhelming.

Whether you're after some pure escapism for the poolside recliner, or something more thoughtful to peruse in a cafe on your European tour, here are the books you'll want to take with you.

Irresistible by Adam Alter

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New York professor Alter's work is the perfect invitation to turn off your devices and get away from it all. Irresistible investigates our culture's devotion to social media and digital technology, from Instagram to Fitbit, and examines the fatal attraction of technology that promises to make our lives faster and easier, but ultimately enslaves us.

Sirens by Joseph Knox

A crime-fiction buyer for Waterstones, Knox spent eight years working on this novel in his spare time. The result is a gripping Manchester-set noir about junior detective Aidan Watts, who is sent undercover to find the teenage daughter of a local MP but instead he falls in with a drug dealer. For those who need a bit of grit with their sun, sea and sand.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Publishers initially told Swedish writer Backman that his novel A Man Called Ove, about a 59-year-old, suicidal curmudgeon, had no commercial potential. More than 2.8 million copies later, the book has become one of Sweden’s most popular literary exports. Backman's new title is set in the stagnant rural community of Beartown, where residents rely on ice hockey as their main source of pride. USA Today calls it "the Friday Night Lights of the ice rink".

Micromastery by Robert Twigger

We're often told about the importance mastering one skill, or putting in those 10,000 hours to succeed at our passion, but Twigger argues that most successful people, including Nobel prize winners, often undertake a range of creative activities which nurture their core practice. Whether it's baking bread, learning to tango or lighting a fire, the time we take to perfect smaller tasks can change the way we work and live. What better time to start learning something new, than your holidays?

Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym

In this unusual memoir, Korean-born violin prodigy Min Kym describes how her career took off when she encountered her musical "soulmate" - a 1696 Stradivarius. However, the violin is stolen and she is struck with a case of musicians' block, forcing her to learn to trust people again and find meaning beyond the world of strings.

All the Beloved Ghosts by Alison MacLeod

Skipping between dream and reality, countries and time periods, this short story collection focuses on characters negotiating the fine line between life and death. The ghosts are not literal, but inhabit the dreams and memories of characters, including Sylvia Plath, Anton Chekhov and Princess Diana. A captivating kaleidoscope of tales perfect for those lazy days when a novel can't hold your attention.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

The first novel from the celebrated short-story writer and essayist begins on a dark night during the American Civil War, with Abraham Lincoln visiting the graveyard where his son has been buried. His trip stirs up the spirits who wish to be heard and the book is narrated by a chorus of voices in various states of consciousness, living and dead, dreaming and waking. The Independent calls it "completely beguiling" and a tale of "majestic and spellbinding glory".

A Separation by Katie Kitamura

If you're staycationing this year, you can travel to Greece in Kitamura's haunting tale of love, loss and alienation. It tells the story of a woman who goes in search of her missing husband in a remote rural fishing village in the Peloponnese. What follows is a suspenseful and intimate journey into the dark heart of a failed marriage. The New York Times calls it a "coolly unsettling" postmodern mystery.