Dive into this year's summer reading selection from Chanel's Librairie 7L.&nbsp;

What's better than reading a good book during the dog days of summer? If you are in need of inspiration for your next read, the summer collection from Chanel's Librairie 7L brings together the voices of four women who've made their mark on the literary landscape across centuries and continents: An 11th-century Japanese lady of the court, an American folk singer, a Belgian psychoanalyst blurring the boundaries of reality, and a muse who became a fashion photographer and then a war reporter. 
The iconic Librairie 7L was founded by Karl Lagerfeld in 1999 in Paris and acquired by Chanel in 2021. Read on to discover the fashion house's summer reading list, and hopefully, add a book to your TBR pile.&nbsp;

<h2>We Were Forbidden, by Jacqueline Harpman</h2>

We Were Forbidden by Jaqueline Harpman. Courtesy Chanel.

Translated from the French by Ros Schwartz and published by <a href="https://www.transitbooks.org/books/wewereforbidden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Transit Books</a>, Jacqueline Harpman's collection, We Were Forbidden, is a brand new trio of novellas—The Ardennes Forest, The Outcast, and The Broom Closet—that explore the depths of human defiance through women who challenge the status quo. The Belgian writer and psychoanalyst's acclaimed novel, I Who Have Never Known Men, was her first book to be translated into English and is regarded as a modern feminist classic.&nbsp;

<h2>When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance, by Joan Baez</h2>

When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance by Joan Baez. Courtesy Chanel.

When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance is a debut collection of poems from Joan Baez, an American folk singer and legendary activist. First released in 2024 by independent publisher Godine, Baez pens an intimate, autobiographical collection of poetry, a never-before-seen look into the artist's personal life and artistic career. When You See My Mother, Ask Her to Dance shares reflections from Baez's childhood, memories of her family, and musings on her encounters with Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Jimi Hendrix, and more.&nbsp;

<h2>The Pillow Book, by Sei Shōnagon</h2>

The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon. Courtesy Chanel.

The Pillow Book&nbsp;by Sei Shōnagon is an intimate portrayal of court life in 10th-and 11th-century Japan, first written around 1002 CE. As the lady-in-waiting to the Empress Consort Fujiwara no Teishi, Sei Shōnagon had a front-row seat to the lives and loves of the nobility around her.&nbsp;More than just a diary, The Pillow Book is a fascinating window into classical Japan during the height of the Heian period, and a meditation on the wonders of everyday life. Translated by Meredith McKinney and published by Penguin Classics in 2006, Sei Shōnagon's seminal prose is the earliest known example of the Zuihitsu genre— a spontaneous, layered text that incorporates musings, anecdotes, poetry, and more.&nbsp;

<h2>The Lives of Lee Miller, by Antony Penrose&nbsp;</h2>

The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose. Courtesy Chanel.

Model, artist of the surrealist movement, and war photographer, Lee Miller cannot be defined by a single period of her life. Her son, British photographer Antony Penrose, chronicled her life in front of and behind the camera in his biography&nbsp;The Lives of Lee Miller, which was the inspiration behind the 2023 film Lee.

Your Late Summer Reading List, Courtesy of Chanel

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