We can’t wait to get stuck into a good book this summer – here’s the page-turners Team FQ would recommend you pack in your beach bag.

LUCY SLIGHT, features editor
My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine by Kate Betts is a memoir of a fashion journalist who moved from America to Paris in the 80s. It’s a candid tale of falling for the French, falling in love and falling into what became an incredible start to her career, cutting her teeth at Women’s Wear Daily in Paris. From learning how to speak like a true Parisian, to finding herself viewing collections at Yves Saint Laurent’s atelier, it’s a captivating read and a wonderful insight into the world of magazines pre-internet and email.

PHOEBE WATT, features writer
I just finished reading Mindy Kaling’s second autobiography, Why Not Me? Okay, if I’m being honest, I actually listened to the audiobook, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Not only did the hands-free convenience allow me to multitask the hell out of that Saturday (and by that I mean I tidied my bedroom and then gave myself a manicure), but I got to enjoy the complete, sensory experience of hearing such Mindy-isms as “I can’t for the life of me not eat something that I want to eat”, in the voice of the woman herself. For fans of The Mindy Project and Kaling’s first book, Why Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Why Not Me? is everything you’d expect it to be. If you’re not a fan, what can I say, Why Not Me? is everything you’d expect it to be.

SALLY-ANN MULLIN, editor
One of my all-time favourite books is Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud. I read this for the first time at university and since then, I’ve picked it back up and read it more times than I care to mention. It’s such a quick, easy read and I love the way Freud describes Marrakech in the early 1970s from the viewpoint of 5-year-old Bea. Heading to Marrakech last year for an FQ shoot was a life highlight and something I’ll never forget. Staying in the Mellah and visiting Jemaa el-Fnaa Square – two prominent settings within the book – was incredible. Obviously much would have changed since 1972, but there were still so many sights, smells and sounds that were just as Bea describes them in the book.

MARCEL GULL, creative director
I read The Pigeon by Patrick Suskind every Christmas without fail at my family beach house in the Abel Tasman. Basic plot: A man’s tranquil life is turned upside down when he comes home to find a glaring pigeon roosting on his doorstep, prohibiting him entrance to his sanctuary. I like being reminded that a seemingly insignificant event can prove that a meticulously organized life is impossible to sustain.

TYLA MCKENZIE, fashion and editorial assistant
Like most, I immediately became a Lena Dunham fan as soon as the HBO series Girls hit my laptop screen. I had been wanting to read her book Not That Kind of Girl for a while and managed to pick up a copy on a last minute pre-flight dash to the mall. An easy, hilarious (complete with actual LOLs) and witty read full of real life experiences of what it means to be a young woman today.

KELLY MCAULIFFE, digital editor
Disclaimer: This book won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. But since its original publication in 1988, Paulo Coelho’s uplifting The Alchemist has gone on to sell over 65 million copies and be translated into 67 languages – so it’s clearly doing something right. The classic allegory tells the tale of Santiago,  a young Andalusian shepherd, who travels to Egypt to fulfill his destiny after experiencing a recurring dream about hidden treasure. Sounds straightforward enough, but there are some interesting life lessons Santiago (and you, the reader) will pick up along the way. A good one to tuck into prior to making your New Year’s resolutions.