SUMMER READING LIST

The summer is always one of the slower portions of the year for me work-wise. In my early twenties I would feel so down on myself and would try to overwork myself unnecessarily just to feel productive. I realized how dumb this was. I was working harder, but certainly not smarter. So I switched gears and decided to embrace the slower weeks– and was better for it.

I’m already looking forward to this summer and hope to spend as much time as possible outside!!! I’m picturing mornings on the back patio with a cup of coffee, lazy afternoons in the backyard with a book, and evenings grilling outside.

I used to despise the term “summer reading” because it meant required reading for school. My high school had every class assign at least one book (even the math classes) and it drove me insane. (I especially hated when you’d show up on Day 1 expecting a pop quiz or proof that you read and the teacher was like, “Nah, I trust that you read it.” 🙃) As an adult? Summer reading is my dream come true though!!! I wanted to round up some books I personally recommend for summer reading and then share what I have been collecting in my own TBR pile.

Note that these aren’t entirely “beach reads,” which I would characterize in its own category.

SUMMER READING LIST

BOOKS I RECOMMEND FOR SUMMER READING:

THE PERFECT COUPLE

Anything by Elin Hilderbrand makes for great vacation reads as almost all of her books take place during summers on Nantucket.

ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE

A quirky book that will have you falling in love with its equally quirky main character Eleanor.

BAD BLOOD

This is a fast-paced true story of Theranos (the doomed startup by Elizabeth Holmes). if you’re a fan of investigative journalism, this is for you.

DAISY JONES & THE SIX

A multi-character novel about a band’s rise and fall. Feels so real, you might find yourself Googling the band as if it had truly existed.

FROM SCRATCH

In this beautifully raw memoir, you will travel to Sicily with Tembi Locke as she returns to her late husbands’ home of Sicily with their daughter. It reads like a love letter to both her husband and Sicily.

AMERICAN ROYALS

This is a great choice if you want guilty pleasure young adult book. American Royals reimagines the United States as a monarchy and chronicles the dramas of the teenage royals who are set to take over the throne.

THE NICKEL BOYS

Not exactly a light book, but one that you can easily read in one day. It’s a heartbreaking novel based on true events of a reform school for boys in Florida.

SAVE ME THE PLUMS

This is a wonderful memoir for all the foodies out there! It’s an insider’s take on what the magazine publishing world was like at its peak with the most tantalizing descriptions of food along the way.

EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER

An easy, light romance with incredibly real characters. While some romance novels end up being so cheesy, this was just…. lovely and nice.

THE PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION

A perfect “will they, won’t they” romcom about two best friends who go on annual summer vacations together.

THE VACATIONERS

Consider The Vacationers if you want a book you can read a few pages at time, picking it up and putting it down over the course of a trip. It’s a slow read with a family of quirky characters who travel to Mallorca for two weeks. Great escapism with the best descriptions of the Spanish island and foods.

THE VANISHING HALF

A brilliantly written novel about twin sisters who run away from home and take two completely different life paths. The story is just as much about how the twins’ paths diverge as it is about how they overlap.

THE IDEA OF YOU

A steamy romance novel that is so good you will not be able to turn it down. The novel follows the love story of a divorced mom and the star of a boy band (who is not-so-secretly based on Harry Styles).

HEAD OVER HEELS

Get pumped up for the rescheduled Olympics this summer by reading Head Over Heels. A fun romcom that follows an ex-gymnast who returns to the sport as a coach of a young Olympic-hopeful.

BOOKS I WANT TO READ:

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

The Last Story of Mina Lee

The Gift of Failure

Imposter Syndrome

Facing the Mountain

What books do you have lined up for your own summer reading?

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