Susan Miller Tells Us The Best Summer Beach Reads According To Your Zodiac Sign

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What do the cosmos say you should be reading this summer? For those who look to the stars for insight and to the sand for solace, it's not such a far-fetched question. Just as every zodiac sign has a signature holiday, it stands to reason that each also has a perfect beach read. With all its promise of escapism and introspection, vacation season is no time to leave literary fate to chance. Between retrogrades, eclipses, and end-of-chapter cliffhangers, it's as good a moment as any to outsource your reading list. We always welcome a bit of guidance — celestial or otherwise.

Astrology and beach reads have a few things in common. Both are cyclical and vaguely therapeutic. Both lend themselves to ritual: the turning of pages echoes the turning of planets. Each, in its own way, remains promising locations in life's ongoing search for meaning. And so, in the spirit of literary alignment, Women.com asked internationally known professional astrologer, Susan Miller. The beloved Astrology Zone founder has turned her gaze from the heavens to your beach bag, matching each zodiac sign with a recommended read.

Are you a fire sign craving a plot with heat and bite? Or a water sign in need of a story that moves like a slow tide? Maybe the air sign in you needs something nimble and a little offbeat, whilst earth signs, ever pragmatic, might prefer something with spine and substance. Whatever the case may be, there's a book with your name (and maybe your birth chart) on it.

Birth charts are great if you want to get an idea of how others perceive you, and they can also be helpful for figuring out the kind of book you'll actually finish on holiday. For Aries, that means something ambitious with just the right amount of risk. Aries people "like to be pathfinders in a new industry and take risks," Susan Miller exclusively tells Women.com, so "any business kind of story is perfect for them, or [a book] about a startup, especially tech."

By this logic, "The Startup Wife" by Tahmima Anam fits the bill: a blisteringly clever satire about an MIT coder who builds a cult-like app with her new husband (and former high school heartthrob) only to watch him take the credit. This book is fast and subversive — with enough ambition to thrill our Mars-ruled trailblazer.

"Taurus is a very sensuous sign," says Susan Miller. "They're all about the senses" — attuned to texture, taste, and atmosphere in everything they do. It follows, then, that Taurus readers often prefer slow, immersive stories that offer richness over urgency. The most satisfying books, for them, are those that reward attention with emotional depth. For these reasons, Michelle Zauner's "Crying in H Mart" is a natural fit. 

A moving memoir of grief and identity, this short read follows Zauner — herself known as the frontwoman of indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast — in her efforts to reconnect with her Korean heritage through food in the wake of her mother's death. Not only is it one of the best picks from Dua Lipa's Book Club, Service95, "Crying in H Mart" also took home honors at the 43rd annual American Book Awards. Told with lyricism befitting of her background as a songwriter, and packing an emotional punch, it's a sensory-rich exploration of memory, culture, love, and loss. For Taurus, it's more than enough for them to savor slowly.

As an air sign, Gemini lives in their heads — drawn to ideas and the quick exchange of language. Books with too much stillness lose them; they prefer velocity and voice. Knowing them, they might want to write a book of their own some day. But until then, Susan Miller recommends "a story about their publishing industry, singling out "When the Going Was Good" by Graydon Carter.

"It's a delicious story about Vanity Fair," Miller said of the former magazine editor's memoir. Carter returns to the last glossy chapter of print journalism — a time of unchecked expense accounts and grandiose parties. Amid the gossip and cultural cachet, we get a unique take on this now-vanished golden age. "When the Going Was Good" boasts the sharp, insider detail that Gemini, who has an appetite for information, will read with relish.

A book doesn't need to be loud to move Cancer. A single moment — a tender scene between a parent and child, or a quiet return to a familiar room, for example — can leave a deeper impression on this empathic water sign than any dramatic plot twist. Stories that encourage interior depth and felt intensity resonate most, especially when they allow space to bathe in their emotional afterglow.

"Cancer knows how to make the home a safe haven against the world," says astrologer Miller. That's why she recommends "Stand in My Window" by LaToya Yvette. This is a contemplative book about home as a physical structure and an emotional undertaking. Through essays and photographs, Yvette traces her renovation of a 200-year-old house in upstate New York, using it as a vessel to explore ideas of homecoming and inheritance.

Leo isn't afraid of little spectacle. What this fire sign wants from a book is what they want from life: glamour and drama, of course! "With Leo, it's all about lavish fashion, luxury, and parties," Susan Miller said. It's no surprise, then, that she recommends "The Great Gatsby." This classic piece of American mythology may be entering its second century, but its allure hasn't faded. Beneath the artifice and orchestration is a tale of performance, longing, and the hunger to be seen — themes Leo understands better than most.

But for those looking to revisit Fitzgerald's glittering world through a more modern medium, Jane Crowther's "Gatsby" is among the best new release beach reads for your summer 2025 TBR. The narrator, Nic Carraway, finds herself on the margins of wealth — this time in a Long Island summer rental — watching, as ever, from just outside the circle. It's a contemporary echo of the original's preoccupations, this time refracting through shifting social dynamics and refreshed iterations of desire.

Virgo may not romanticize much, but they understand beauty when it's exacting. This grounded earth sign is known for their meticulous restraint and care. They appreciate language that's been fine tuned. "They are wordsmiths in the way Gemini is, but with even more precision," said Susan Miller. Her pick is "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong – another of the best picks from Dua Lipa's book club, Service95 – a formally fluid text that beautifully moves between poetry and prose.

But Miller threw another title into the ring, too: "The Natural History of the Senses" by Diane Ackerman. "I normally put this recommendation with Pisces, but you can put it with Virgo, too," she added — a reminder of the striking symmetries found in sister signs in astrology. Ackerman's humanistic and holistic approach results in writing that is warm and expansive, and capable of making the olfactory system as compelling as a piece of narrative fiction.

Libra moves through the world collecting beauty and conversation in equal measure. So, it's only natural they gravitate stories with both. "Libra is social and likes to be with a lot of people, explained Miller. "The appreciate stories or series about a group of friends," pointing to titles like "The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants," which capture the texture of long friendships as they grow over time and endure.

"Libra is a sign that goes to museums. They go to all the clubs. If you want a new restaurant, you have to call Libra," said the astrologer. "They're at every gallery opening and is constantly in the culture." Naturally, she added, Libra can appreciate books that explore cultural life. One such title is "Say Everything," the memoir by Ione Skye, the daughter of singer Donovan, who grew up in heady Los Angeles amongst rock stars.

Pressure — that's what Scorpio wants. This intense, inward-facing water sign doesn't mind staying in the dark, as long as something sharp is waiting at the end, and the stakes can never be too high. "For Scorpio, I love stories that are international thrillers or mysteries, but specifically one where the fate of the world rests on one person," Miller said. "Anything where the whole city's about to blow up with anthrax or someone has to solve it with one tiny clue."

Look to Jeffrey Archer — "An Eye for an Eye" captures exactly this kind of high-stakes urgency — or any story with a Die Hard-style arc, where the clock is ticking and the outcome is far from assured. If the odds are impossible, Scorpio will be all in.

Stillness doesn't suit sky-bound Sagittarius. If the narrative doesn't move, they will. They want novels with a passport — "no matter what they face in life, Sagittarius has to take a trip," advises Miller.

"International travel is the thing that makes them happiest." It makes sense, then, that she recommends a global pick — anything that explores the world beyond the familiar. Try "People We Meet on Vacation." Every summer, travel writer Poppy and her best friend Alex pick a new destination for their summer getaway. But after a falling out leaves them estranged, Poppy hatches a plan to win him back. It's one of Emily Henry's most iconic rom-com books, and a perfect pick for our starry-souled Sagittarius.

"Now Capricorn," Miller muses, "you could go two different ways." That's the thing about this sign – they're rarely just one thing. Ruled by Saturn, symbolized by the mountain goat, Capricorn is both grounded and aspirational. They are deeply invested in structure, but are always climbing towards something bigger. Miller gave more context: "The story goes that Plato called Capricorn the philosopher King, who treats the people in his employ with kindness and care. So anything about money, money management, or putting money together for a big venture or a stock market particularly will appeal to them." This makes "Trust" by Hernan Diaz an apt pick — a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel set in the New York of the Roaring '20s, that interrogates wealth and the stories used to justify it.

But Capricorn also has a deep respect for history, and are drawn to works of biography and architecture. For this reason, Miller also suggests another Pulitzer Prize winner: "James" by Percival Everett." This is a retelling of Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved man at Huck's side.

Aquarius is often mistaken for emotional distance, when it's really an attachment to ideas over instinct. As Susan Miller said, "Aquarius is very creative and considered a genius sign because it's ruled by Uranus. This energy is often directed toward math and science." Thomas Edison and Galileo were Aquarians, as was Charles Darwin. "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus, then, is an ideal companion for this sign.

Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant chemist who doesn't believe in roles, least of all the ones handed to her by 1960s America. When she's pushed out of the lab and into the unlikely spotlight of daytime television, she turns a cooking show into a covert science lesson — dismantling the patriarchy, recipe by recipe and molecule by molecule.

At the closing of the zodiac, Pisces carries what the other signs tend to leave behind: dreams. They absorb what's unspoken or imagined, so Miller deems it "the most creative sign because it rules the subconscious." That sensibility finds its mirror in "Open Water" by Caleb Azumah Nelson. Told in the rare second person, its voice is immersive and difficult to pin down. The narrative drifts between memory and presence, perfect for our daydreaming Pisces. This water sign will likely recognize the rhythm and emotional pull without needing them explained.