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You may not get a summer-long break from reality anymore, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed some time to yourself to relax and recharge. One of our favorite ways to chill out is to escape real life for a little bit by reading a great book. Summer is prime time for getting some major reading done because the weather is just calling you to go outside and read by the pool, at the beach, or swinging in your hammock in the backyard.

The only thing that could make reading any better? A fantastic cocktail.

Here are some great cocktails to pair with the books on your summer reading list:

A Book That’s Hot Right Now: Unbroken
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
Cocktail: Whiskey on the rocks, because Louis Zamperini was a badass and you should be too.

Unbroken hit #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers List this year for a good reason: it is amazing. It tells the true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete whose plane went down in World War II and left him stranded on a tiny raft to fend for himself. Zamperini just died this month, but his story will be told on the big screen this coming Christmas in a movie directed by Angelina Jolie. Read the book now so when the movie comes out, you can tell everyone how much better the book was.

A Book You Should Have Read By Now: Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Author: Rebecca Wells
Cocktail: Mint Julep, so you’ll fit in with those Southern belles you’re reading about.

This book was a big deal when it came out 18 years ago – it held the #1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller List for 68 weeks! – but there’s a chance you haven’t read it yet. Well, now is a good time to crack that book open and get down to reading. It is a book every woman should read because it takes an extremely real look at female friendships in a way that makes it anything but a “chick” book.

A Book You Were Supposed to Read in High School, but Bought the Cliffs Notes Instead: Little Women
Author: Louisa May Alcott
Cocktail: Hard cider, because it was a popular Civil War era drink and that’s when this book takes place.

We were all assigned a few classic books back in high school, but whether or not we actually read them was an entirely different story. Little Women falls into this category, but we assure you that if you actually read it, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised. Forget what you read in Cliffs Notes, forget the movie you watched with Winona Ryder…forget it all and get the book.

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