If you’d rather stick to the shore, check out The Best Beach Reads of 2019.By Lynn Sherr ( PublicAffairs 212 pages $25.99) Want to protect your books while you’re out swimming? Try 8 Ways to Waterproof Your Summer Reads.

Whether you want to brave the wilds and swim in rivers or lakes, or you prefer the pool, these reads will provide you with plenty of inspiration. Until I manage to get out in the water again, books like these will have to tide me over.

Swimming in every location from the sea to pools to canals to flooded quarries, Deakin contends with irritated coastguards and baffled members of the public in his attempts to swim in as many different bodies of water as he possibly can. In Waterlog, Roger Deakin tells his story of his ongoing quest to swim at pretty much any place he can find around the UK. Okay, I’ll admit it – I’m a sucker for swimming memoirs (especially ones with punny titles). Showing new swimmers that the water is fun instead of scary, Leo Can Swim is the perfect introduction to the world of swimming. One for very small readers and their parents, this lovely picture book is a great accompaniment to babies’ and toddlers’ first swimming lessons. No matter how inviting the water looks, Into the Drowning Deep will make you glad to have your feet firmly on the land. The crew of a science research ship head out into the middle of the ocean, trying to find out what happened to the first ship to explore this part of the sea, never to return. In this chilling novel, the author of the Feed series takes on mermaids, creating a story with the same fascinating twists and excellent world-building as her previous zombie tales. This one might make you want to stay out of the water. The catch? Instead of being from a human donor, the heart will come from a genetically engineered pig, as one of the first attempts at xenografting. In this near-future sci-fi story by former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman, Cameron Kelsey, a young boy with a serious heart condition, is given the chance to have a transplant that will hopefully help him live a longer life, and let him do all the things he wants to do – including diving down to touch the bottom of his local pool. Here are some great books about swimming for anyone else who’s missing the water. When I couldn’t make it down to my local swimming pool, I had to take a bit more of an armchair approach to swimming. When we were in the middle of a heatwave here in the UK, I wanted nothing more than to dive into a lovely cool pool, or try my hand at some outdoor swimming.

Lynn sherr swim