Lena Dunham's summer reads

The next installment in our celebrity bookshelf stalking sees us take a look at Lena Dunham’s summer reads.

The Girls producer, writer and actor posted her current literary selection on Instagram earlier this week, and we have to say, it’s a long but good ‘un.

Here’s what you need to know.

The Country Girls Trilogy, by Edna O’Brien

Focusing on two young Irish country girls, Kate and Baba, the trilogy serves as a heartbreaking portrait of youth, friendship and love gone wrong.

Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights, by Katha Pollitt

Groundbreaking and concise, Pollitt’s book reclaims women’s abortion rights through persuasive lines of argument – all supported with dramatic statistics.

Single, Carefree, Mellow, by Katherine Heiny

Formed of ten exquisitely-composed stories (all featuring women in various states of love), Heiny’s novel takes a disarming and wry look at the inherent nature of betrayal and secrets within relationships.

Love By The Book, by Melissa Pimentel

Pimental’s novel charts a year in the life of Lauren, a 28-year-old American who moves to England looking to revamp her luck in love. Laugh-out-loud funny.

Landline, by Rainbow Rowell

A New York Times bestselling author, Rowell draws the reader into the lives of Georgie and Neal – a couple whose marriage is on the rocks, but are both miraculously blessed with an unexplainable (almost otherworldly) solution to fix it.

The Daylight Gate, by Jeanette Winterson

Set in 1612, Winterson’s novella is situated in Pendle (a Lancashire town historically notorious for witch trials), and focuses on the plight of a group of women accused of evil practices. A terrifying and gripping read.

Dear Jenny, We Are All Find, by Jenny Zhang

Vulnerable and highly-explorative, Shanghai-born, NYC-raised Jenny Zhang’s first collection of poetry presents as a raw and fragmented exploration of her own sense of personal disorientation.

The Likeness, by Tana French

Tana French’s thriller follows police detective Cassie Maddox as she sets about discovering the mysterious circumstances of the death of a young woman – who is also her doppelgänger.

I’ll Drink To That, by Betty Halbreich

This memoir of celebrated longtime Bergdorf Goodman personal shopper Betty Halbreich is every part as glamorous as you’d hope it would be.

You’ll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again, by Julia Phillips

If you’re after stories of debauchery and industry manipulation, this one is for you, as Hollywood producer, Julia Phillips tells all in her revealing autobiography.

Green Girl, by Kate Zambreno

Lost and damaged, Ruth is an American girl in London - her story captured through Zambreno’s disjointed and hallucinatory narrative. A provocative must-read.

Two Serious Ladies, by Jane Bowles

Bowles’ engrossing modernist tale sees two upper-class women, Christina Goering and Freida Copperfield, react to stifling 40s society by descending into debauchery.

What We See When We Read, by Peter Mendelsund

Ever wondered about the phenomenon of reading? Mendelsund creatively explores the question from every angle imaginable, throwing widely references from Nabokov to Dickens – all complete with whimsical illustrations courtesy of Mendelsund himself.

Lena Dunhams summer reads

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