Ah, summer. It's a season practically synonymous with slowing down, embracing the art of lounging (whether on a pool float or on your couch next to your air conditioning unit), and sunshine. We could wax poetic about how restorative a dose of warm weather can be, but instead, we're letting song writers, authors of our most beloved beach reads, and luminaries do that for us. Ahead, we've gathered a smattering of the happiest summer quotes—from short options that lend themselves perfectly to Instagram captions when your go-to "rosé all day" won't quite cut it—to lengthier ruminations on what this time of year represents.
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1
Henry James
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language," the famed British author wrote in his 1878 novelette In an International Episode.
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2
Melissa Marr
In 2012, the young adult and urban fantasy author wrote in her novel Darkest Mercy: “Rejoice as summer should...chase away sorrows by living."
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3
Debasish Mridha
“Summer is singing with joy, and the beaches are inviting you with dancing waves," the physician, philosopher, and author wrote in Sweet Rhymes from Sweet Hearts.
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4
J.P. Donleavy
“O summer and soft wind. Relieves the heart and makes living cheaper," the Irish-American novelist and playwright wrote in 1955's The Ginger Man.
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5
Jenny Han
Known for To All the Boys I've Loved Before, the Korean-American young adult and children's fiction author wrote in her 2013 book The Summer I Turned Pretty: "Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August."
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6
Toni Morrison
"I have only to break into the tightness of a strawberry, and I see summer – its dust and lowering skies," the American novelist, essayist, and Pulitzer Prize winner wrote in The Bluest Eye.
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7
Anna Godbersen
"It is easy to forget now, how effervescent and free we all felt that summer," the American writer of The Luxe series wrote in Bright Young Things.
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8
L.M. Montgomery
"I wonder what it would like to live in a world where it was always June," the Canadian author wrote in Anne of the Island, the third novel in the series Anne of Green Gables.
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9
Sarah Dessen
In her New York Times bestselling book, Along for the Ride, the American novelist wrote: "In the summer, the days were long, stretching into each other. Out of school, everything was on pause and yet happening at the same time, this collection of weeks when anything was possible."
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10
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in the fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer," the renown American fiction writer wrote in The Great Gatsby.
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11
Maud Hart Lovelace
"It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside," the American author wrote in Betsy-Tacy and Tib—the second book in the famed young adult Betsy-Tacy series.
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12
Kelle Elmore
"I love how summer just wraps its arms around you like a warm blanket," the American fiction and semi-autobiographical author wrote in Magic in the Backyard.
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13
Evelyn Waugh
The British novelist, journalist, and book reviewer wrote in Brideshead Revisited: “If it could only be like this always—always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe…"
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14
Wallace Stevens
"The summer night is like a perfection of thought," the American modernist poet wrote in The House Was Quiet and The World Was Calm.
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15
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Perhaps one of the most famous quotes about summer, the the American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet wrote in Merlin's Song: "Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air's salubrity,"
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16
Jeanette Walls
"One benefit of Summer was that each day we had more light to read by," the American author and journalist wrote in her memoir The Glass Castle.
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17
Kenny Chesney
"It's a smile, it's a kiss, it's a sip of wine. It's summertime," the American country music star sang in the hit song "Summertime."
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18
Van Morrison
"Smell the sea, and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly," the Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and record producer sang in "Into the Mystic."
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19
William Shakespeare
The famed English poet, playwright, and actor wrote in "Sonnet 18: "Summer's lease hath all too short a date."
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20
Richelle E. Goodrich
"Oh sun! Fervid Sun! You welcome me with summer. Drench me in your rays," the American author, novelist and poet wrote in Being Bold.
