Need a book for the summer? Charlotte Casiraghi has you covered! Princess Caroline ’s daughter, who is admittedly “addicted to books,” shared a number of summer reading picks in Chanel’s latest “Literary Rendezvous at Rue Cambon” film. Among the Monegasque royal’s recommendations was Joyce Carol Oates’ Blonde: A Novel, which she described as quite a feminist book.
Charlotte also suggested Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald, Grand Union by Zadie Smith, Outline by Rachel Cusk, The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy, The North Face of the Heart by Dolores Redondo, The Heptameron by Marguerite de Navarre, and Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney.
One book that is “synonymous with summer” for Charlotte is Green Wheat by Colette. The royal mom of two admitted that it “really moved” her when she was a teen.
During the summer, Grace Kelly’s granddaughter makes sure to pack a variety of books in her suitcase. “To me, summer is about a different approach to reading. Perhaps because the reading is less scattered, less chaotic. I take more time to dive into a book. There’s really the pleasure aspect giving myself over to a book, which I do more in summer. I like varying moods, pleasures, having a somewhat eclectic selection of books and not necessarily having books with the same tone. So, I like variety in the books I take with me,” she shared.
Charlotte continued, “I always fill my suitcase with a few more books than I’ll end up reading or even books I’ve already read, but which I’ll lend or give away because there’s always someone who has forgotten to bring a book.”
When asked her ideal setting to read in the summer, Prince Albert’s niece answered, “The ideal place is a hammock with a beautiful ocean view. Or it’s a place where you won’t be disturbed, so if you’re on vacation with a lot of children it might be a bedroom where you can be alone to read. But I still say the hammock.”