One thing I’ve never done before is pick my favorite books from a given year. I saw Janssen do this over at Everyday Reading and loved seeing what stood out to her most. I finished 52 books last year and, when looking back, I was surprised how difficult it was to come up with my favorite 10. Not because I loved all of them, but because many of them just didn’t stick with me or stand out in my mind. I considered two things when deciding my top 10 – enjoyment-factor and tangible takeaways. If a book was either really enjoyable or I had a tangible takeaway, I included it on my list. Here are my top 10 favorite books from 2019.
My Top 10 Favorite Books from 2019
Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins
This book helped me understand investing sooo much better. I’m by no means an expert, but I now know what to look for in analyzing stocks. I also came away from reading the book with tangible action steps that felt pretty easy to complete. That happens so rarely!
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected! It was funny and insightful and sad and thought-provoking. I would definitely recommend it!
Small Space Style by Whitney Leigh Morris
This book was full of both inspiration and practical advice on how to live in a small space. For just the two of us, our 600 square foot apartment is plenty big. But i definitely can’t store as much or spread out in the kitchen like I’m used to. I’ll take all the small space help I can get.
The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman
I’ve been following Emily Freeman online for years and she never disappoints. She has a podcast by the same name which is amazing. I chose this book for the tangible takeaways I came away with for decision making. “What’s the next right thing?” became my mantra when deciding on my 2020 goals.
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
This book changed the word gratitude from a children’s church platitude to a powerful and life-changing concept for me. Last year I made my own list of one thousand gifts and it was well worth the time and effort. You can read more about that here.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
As a person who has read a lot of habit and productivity books, this one didn’t have that much novel information for me. But what was new for me was SO helpful. I love the idea of changing our self-identity with every single action we take. For example, this year I’m becoming a runner. Definitely worth a read, even if you’ve read a lot on the subject. FOR SURE worth a read if you haven’t read up on habits much at all.
This is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick
I read this book shortly after we moved here and it was such a fascinating book about place-making. I definitely intend to reread it sometime this year. It gave me a lot of ideas about how to get more settled in our new city… most of which I took no action on, but you know, I’ll get there. Even if you haven’t moved recently or have lived somewhere all your life, I think this book has many valuable insights about finding + making community.
The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines
Besides just being sweet, I was so impressed with how Chip and Joanna were willing to just try things. Joanna in particular, as she seems to have a personality more similar to my own. I have a lot of big ideas but always talk myself out of things. Reading this book inspired me to think less and do more.
The River by Peter Heller
This is a book that I had no desire whatsoever to read. But I trust Anne Bogel and her recommendations enough that when she raved about it for her summer reading list, I decided to give it a shot. The story sucked me in immediately and made me want to stay up all night to find out what happened. The prose is beautiful. It makes for a great summer read.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
This is another book that kept popping up in recommendations (though now I can’t for the life of me remember where), and I decided to give it a shot even though I really didn’t think I would enjoy it. It just didn’t seem like my type of novel? Steampunk? Pass. But it actually sucked me right in and I really enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook and then quickly blew through the 2nd and 3rd book in the series as well. In hindsight, I wish I had started with the original series and then moved on to this one, which is actually a prequel.
What are your favorite 2019 reads?
Leave a comment and let me know. I’m ALWAYS looking for more recommendations!
Update: I’ve now shared quick reviews for the majority of these books in this post. If you’re interested in any of these books, that’s the place to go to see what I thought of them!
This is the second year that I’ve created a summer reading list for myself. To be honest, it’s more like a summer reading wish list than an ‘I actually expect to read all these books’ list. But there’s something about taking the time to thoughtfully choose the books I want to read in an upcoming season that makes reading feel special and energizing. Last summer, I was able to get through a lot more books than I expected! And having the guideline of what to read next helped a TON.
This year, for the sake of being a well-rounded reader, I broke up my list into genres and selected three books for each. If the last day of summer ends on September 23 (it does, I checked), this gives me 15 weeks to read 15 books. I wish I could say I planned that, but I didn’t! How crazy is that? A book a week is an easy reading pace for me, but only if I’m not watching too much tv. This should be a good challenge for me! 🙂
A few quick tips for getting more reading in
Always have a book on hand. For me, this means having a book on my nightstand and a couple Kindle books I can read using the Kindle app on my phone. And also maybe an audiobook too.
Read more than one book at once. I read different types of books during different parts of the day. Mornings are for non-fiction. Evenings are usually for fiction. This is another reason why I chose multiple genres for my summer reading list!
For sure listen to audiobooks. They make commutes and chores so much better, plus you can cross more books off your list this way too!
Decide ahead of time how much of a book you have to read. When you reach that point, ditch it if you’re still not interested.
Don’t be afraid to read in bits and pieces. You don’t have to have large chunks of unoccupied time to make good progress in a book!
Know which book(s) you’re going to read next. You can create your own summer reading list.
Any tips I missed? Please share in the comments!
Without further ado, here’s my summer reading list:
This is one of the books recommended by Anne Bogel in her Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide. This book looks so different from anything I’ve ever read before. I’ve put myself on the hold list at my library already!
This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children. A classic Lisa See story—one of women’s friendships and the larger forces that shape them—The Island of Sea Womenintroduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives.
Yet another Anne Bogel recommendation. This one caught my eye because it’s a Jane Austen retelling and I love a good Jane story. It sounds fun and lighthearted, perfect for summer nights when heavy reading feels so wrong.
Charming romantic comedy perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Sophie Kinsella. Charlotte Gorman loves her job as an elementary school librarian, which couldn’t be more opposite from her identical twin sister. Ginny, an Instagram-famous beauty pageant contestant, but the winning plan quickly goes awry when Ginny has a terrible, face-altering allergic reaction the night before the pageant, and Charlotte suddenly finds herself in a switcheroo the twins haven’t successfully pulled off in decades. But as she discovers there’s more to her fellow contestants than just wanting a sparkly crown, Charlotte realizes she has a whole new motivation for winning.
I stumbled across Whitney’s blog the other day and thought her style was so charming. While our condo here in Arlington (589 square feet) isn’t that small for the two of us, I still feel like I could use all the small space living tips I can get. I’ve put myself on the library hold list for this one and am looking forward to flipping through the pretty pictures.
Interior design maven Whitney Leigh Morris makes living in under 400 square feet look elegant and effortless—even with a husband, baby, and two Beagles in the mix. In her debut book, Whitney shares her ideas and practices for making any tiny space efficient and stylish—whether it’s a rustic A-frame in the woods or a chic microapartment in the city.
I’ve had this book on my shelf for approximately 5 gazillion years, and have even started reading it several times. I always end up putting it aside for something lighter (literally. this book is a long’un!). I’d love to finish up this book this summer.
In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.
Now that we live in the nation’s capital, I thought it would be really fun to read a book about each of the United States presidents. I’m not positive that I want to 100% commit myself to this long of a project yet. Reading about the 1st president seems like a good place to find out though. I picked this one because a quick google search informed me that it’s the most interesting biography about George Washington.
Celebrated biographer Ron Chernow provides a richly nuanced portrait of the father of our nation and the first president of the United States. With a breadth and depth matched by no other one volume biography of George Washington, this crisply paced narrative carries the reader through his adventurous early years, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America’s first president. In this groundbreaking work, based on massive research, Chernow shatters forever the stereotype of George Washington as a stolid, unemotional figure and brings to vivid life a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods.
If reading a biography about the first president goes well, it only makes sense to read one about the second! I’ve heard about this author a lot but have never read any of his books myself. Also, I just saw someone reading it on the metro. That feels like a sign.
In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second president of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; who was learned beyond all but a few and regarded by some as “out of his senses”; and whose marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the moving love stories in American history.
I’ve been following Jon Acuff on Instagram for yeeeeaars. His are probably the posts I share with my husband most just because they’re so funny. But I’ve also learned a lot about business and personal development from him too. I’ve been wanting to read one of his books for a while now. Since I’m really good at starting things and really bad at finishing them, this feels like a great place to start 😉
According to studies, 92 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail. You’ve practically got a better shot at getting into Juilliard to become a ballerina than you do at finishing your goals.
If you’re tired of being a chronic starter and want to become a consistent finisher, you have two options: You can continue to beat yourself up and try harder, since this time that will work. Or you can give yourself the gift of done.
I don’t know a whole lot about this book or its author, but I DO know that it’s one of my favorite subjects. I have heard quite a few recommendations for this particular book!
Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field.
To be honest, this book sort of intimidates me. It sounds way too academic or expert for me. But it’s about money and the way that people actually behave with it, which also sounds fascinating, so I’m going to give it a try!
Nobel laureate Richard H. Thaler has spent his career studying the radical notion that the central agents in the economy are humans―predictable, error-prone individuals. Misbehaving is his arresting, frequently hilarious account of the struggle to bring an academic discipline back down to earth―and change the way we think about economics, ourselves, and our world.
This book is such a personal finance classic that I’ve been meaning to read. (noticing a theme with my summer reading list?). I hadn’t considered reading it when I first heard about it because I thought it was for dads. Crazy assumption, huh? But it’s about a lot more, including challenging the assumptions and mindsets we have when it comes to money that aren’t doing us any favors.
In Rich Dad Poor Dad, the #1 Personal Finance book of all time, Robert Kiyosaki shares the story of his two dad: his real father, whom he calls his ‘poor dad,’ and the father of his best friend, the man who became his mentor and his ‘rich dad.’ One man was well educated and an employee all his life, the other’s education was “street smarts” over traditional classroom education and he took the path of entrepreneurship…a road that led him to become one of the wealthiest men in Hawaii. Robert’s poor dad struggled financially all his life, and these two dads—these very different points of view of money, investing, and employment—shaped Robert’s thinking about money.
This books comes highly recommended from Liz over at the Frugalwoods blog. Some of the things it covers I know well, like how to avoid debt and what to do if you have it. But there are a lot of topics that I don’t know much about and would love to learn about like
understanding the stock market
figuring out the world of saving for retirement
whether we’ll ever need an investment advise
Fun stuff, no?
“In the dark, bewildering, trap-infested jungle of misinformation and opaque riddles that is the world of investment, JL Collins is the fatherly wizard on the side of the path, offering a simple map, warm words of encouragement and the tools to forge your way through with confidence. You’ll never find a wiser advisor with a bigger heart.” — Malachi Rempen: Filmmaker, cartoonist, author and self-described ruffian
Here’s another classic personal finance book I’d love to have under my belt. I love the idea of people building wealth not to live super flashy lives but to love their families well and give generously.
The bestselling The Millionaire Next Door identifies seven common traits that show up again and again among those who have accumulated wealth. Most of the truly wealthy in this country don’t live in Beverly Hills or on Park Avenue-they live next door.
Confession. I’ve been intending to re-read this book since the movie came out. In 2014. Has it really been that long? Did you see the movie and was it any good?
The Giver, the 1994 Newbery Medal winner, has become one of the most influential novels of our time. The haunting story centers on twelve-year-old Jonas, who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Lois Lowry has written three companion novels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son.
I’ve heard such great things about John Steinbeck but I’ve never read any of his works. I’m really looking forward to this one.
They are an unlikely pair: George is “small and quick and dark of face”; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a “family,” clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation.
Laborers in California’s dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie’s unswerving obedience to the things George taught him.
This classic sounds like a fun summer read. I can’t believe I made it through so many years of schooling without this one being on the required reading!
At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate. This far from civilization they can do anything they want. Anything. But as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far removed from reality as the hope of being rescued.
Bonus Fun Books
I realized that many of my books on my Summer Reading List are non-fiction and not exactly lighthearted. Here are four more bonus books, all ideas from Anne Bogel. I put myself on the hold list at my local library for each of them. Fingers crossed one or two of them will become available this summer!
Do you have any of the same books on your summer reading list? Which of these books is a must-read and, more importantly, are there any that you would recommend I take off my summer reading list?
If you love to read but haven’t given the classics a chance, now’s the time to change that. Even as a person who got a degree in English, I sometimes find it difficult to pick up a classic. It’s hard to get away from the stigma that they’re boring and hard to read. But fear not, readers. Here’s a list of classic American literature that’s definitely worth reading.
I loved this Southern gothic novel so much more than I expected to. It was one of those rare books assigned to me for school that I actually finished because it was fun. It’s disturbing and thought-provoking, which is not always my taste in literature. I found myself somewhat confused from the stream of consciousness narrative throughout, but it was fun puzzling together what was actually happening. I have a feeling this is a book I could read again and again.
This is one of the first American books written throughout in vernacular English. I’ve heard people criticize the book as coming across as racist. Keep in mind, however, that it’s satire that was really against the grain during the time it was written and caused a lot of people to think in ways they hadn’t been forced to before.
This is certainly a well-beloved book that you’ve surely heard of. If you haven’t read it by now, here’s a gentle nudge to give it a shot. There’s a reason so many people love it.
I got so much more into this book than I expected to. Fair warning: it may make you want to adopt a dog into your life. I’ve banned my dog-obsessed husband from reading it until we have the space to keep a puppy happy.
To be honest, I remember almost none of the details of this book, even though I’m pretty sure I read it twice in high school. It’ll all come back to me when I start re-reading it. I do remember loving the story. This book certainly has stellar reviews.
I listened to the audiobook, read by Maya Angelou herself. It’s a heartbreaking and inspiring story certainly worth reading at least once. The Audible version is phenomenal. There’s something extra special about hearing a work read by the author, especially such a poetic work.
This is another one of those books I was assigned in school but completely enjoyed reading. It’s about the Dresden bombings during World War II, with science fiction and dark humor woven throughout. It has a strong commentary on war which I don’t 100% agree with, but it’s thought-provoking and brilliantly written. I wrote a paper about how Vonnegut wrote this book as a commentary on the Vietnam War as much as it is a commentary on World War II.
This autobiography is also heartbreaking and inspiring. Harriet Jacobs lived from 1813 – 1897 and tells the story of being born into servitude in the south and eventually finding freedom and family in the north.
Don’t let the glamour fool you. This book is chock full of deep thoughts and darkness barely kept at bay. The symbolism and character development is any literature lover’s dream come true.
I enjoyed this book quite a lot, despite my dissatisfaction with the ending. The prose is beautiful and the critique of the human condition excellent. If nothing else, this classic is certainly worth reading for understanding the cultural references alone. The book certainly takes you back to a fascinating era of American history.
This is one of those books that I thought was sweet and light-hearted when I read it as a child and then found all the deeper meanings as an adult. The writing is simple but Louisa May Alcott raises some serious questions and bucks the status quo in this book. Jo has long been a beloved character for her spunk and ability to forge her own path.
Books on my TBR
These are books that I’ve heard so much about but haven’t had a chance to read myself yet. I can’t personally vouch for them, but they’re well-beloved books by people in general (not just boring English professors).
“This is the story of two sisters—one a missionary in Africa and the other a child wife living in the South—who sustain their loyalty to and trust in each other across time, distance, and silence. Beautifully imagined and deeply compassionate, this classic novel of American literature is rich with passion, pain, inspiration, and an indomitable love of life.”
“From the moment she entered the world, Francie needed to be made of stern stuff, for the often harsh life of Williamsburg demanded fortitude, precocity, and strength of spirit. Often scorned by neighbors for her family’s erratic and eccentric behavior—such as her father Johnny’s taste for alcohol and Aunt Sissy’s habit of marrying serially without the formality of divorce—no one, least of all Francie, could say that the Nolans’ life lacked drama.”
“Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.”
“Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.”
“Aldous Huxley’s profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls.”
“The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of “the Brotherhood”, and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be.”
“The hero-narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days.”
Leave a comment and let me know what books stood out to you? Are any of these your absolute faves already? Least favorites? Tell me all the things.
I’m not much of a re-reader. This applies to both fiction and non-fiction. I’m not sure why this is. Part of it is that I tend to have a scarcity mindset. If I read a book too much, I’m afraid it’ll lose its magic. Maybe I’ll get bored with it, or maybe it won’t be as good as I thought it was. Another reason is because there are so many books in the world. I know I can’t read all of them, so reading the same ones over again seems like a waste. Nevertheless, there are a handful of non-fiction books that I’ve read more than once. In some of them the information was just that good. In others, I find their ideas helpful and thought-provoking. A few of them have helped me to understand myself better, unlocking doors to parts of myself that I didn’t realize existed.
I adore Gretchen Rubin. She has such a unique way of investigating the world and I find her insights so enlightening. In this book she recounts her year-long happiness experiment in which she focused on building new habits and trying new things each month for an entire year, all with the end goal of making her happier. At first I was turned off by the book. The idea of focusing on one’s own happiness felt selfish and self-absorbed to me. But after giving the book a shot, I realized that happiness is about much more than making yourself feel good. Her lessons can be applied to making those around you happier, developing your spiritual life, and overall self-improvement too. I’m not sure I’ll ever have the self-discipline to do a year-long project like hers, but I think it’s fascinating to read about.
This second book by Gretchen Rubin felt like a really natural progression. The Happiness Project was all about what she could do to be happier, much of which involved developing new habits or getting rid of bad ones. Better than Before is all about habits. There are so many wonderful insights in this book. I’ve already read it twice and I know I’ll probably keep coming back to it again and again as I grow and change.
This book completely revolutionized how I thought about time management. The main premise of the book is that we should look at our lives in weeks built up of 168 hours. If you:
sleep 8 hours/night = 56 hours
work = 45 hours
chores 1 hour/day = 7 hours
meals 2 hours/day = 14 hours
remainder = 46 hours
That leaves you with 46 hours each week to spend with our family, work on our hobbies, start a side-hustle, or whatever else it is that’s important to you. There’s so much freedom in realizing how much time we have that we can put toward the things we care about, as long as we’re intentional. There is lots more practical advice in the book. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Lara seems like one of those magical people that can get an inordinate amount of impressive stuff done and still look good doing it. What I love about this book is her vulnerabilityin her honest and unflinching story. She provides some great questions so that you can dig deep and get a better idea of who you are and what your dreams are. Once you’ve started figuring that out, she helps you set goals to go after those dreams. For me, the best part about the book is the spiritual side. I don’t see a lot of people examine the spiritual side of productivity and goal-setting, so this was a fresh perspective that I really enjoyed.
In this book, Elaine Aron shares her research on more highly sensitive people. This can be sensitivity emotionally and physically. This was such a fascinating book for several reasons. First of all, it made me more aware of all the ways I’m unusually sensitive, especially physically. Previously, I would try to ignore when I was overstimulated, like in a really loud, busy room for a long period of time. Now that I know to look for it, I realize how those situations are making me feel and can either change my circumstances or at least be a little more understanding with myself. Another thing I loved about the book is that it opened my eyes to how others might be sensitive in ways that I’m not. I’ve shared this book with several other people and it’s let to some really great conversations and deep insights.
In this book, Adina talks about how a person’s lifestyle as a whole affects their skin. She also gives recommendations and recipes for how to have a more natural approach to skincare. To be honest, I don’t know whether or not the science behind this is good. But the concepts were interesting enough to me to come back a second time. I definitely noticed a major improvement in my skin when I started eating more vegetables, as she recommends. I’m also impressed that she gave out the recipes for all the products that her company sells.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of this book (no judgments if you haven’t. I too like to occupy dwellings under rocks.) Marie Kondo is famous for her advice about decluttering. I started reading this book the first time because I wanted motivation to declutter my own life. I continued reading it because she’s so extreme and it’s fascinating to me. After finishing, I couldn’t bring myself to find the time to follow most of her advice, though perhaps I will the next time we move.
Susan Cain is an absolute genius. In this book, she shares lots of research, stories of successful introverts, and invaluable advice for navigating the world as an introvert. Introverts and extroverts alike need to read this book. As an introvert, it will help you understand yourself more and do a better job of setting yourself up for success. As an extrovert, this book will help you understand all those mysterious quiet people in your life.
I don’t typically plan out what I’m going to read next. I’ll get inspired by a blog post and then reserve a book from the library moments later, meanwhile all the books that have been getting dusty on my TBR list never get read. That also means that I read a lot of books of one genre while neglecting to diversify. This summer I’m going to try and be a lot more intentional with my reading life. As you can see, I’m working on reading more fiction, so I have a lot more of that category on my summer reading list. Take a look through and let me know if we’re reading any of the same ones!
I heard about this book from the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide. Out of all the books she recommended, this one most appealed to me, which is interesting, since she thought it would appeal to the least amount of readers. I just finished this book a few months ago, and while it was a bit darker than I expected (because I neglect to read descriptions for fear of spoilers – I really bring it upon myself), I really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to this read as well.
I devouredthis series andthis series, so I’m really looking forward to reading the Kane Chronicles. These books are about Egyption mythology in YA Lit form. Admittedly, I’m already halfway through the first book and I’ve certainly enjoyed it so far. These are easy, fluffy reads, meant more for my entertainment than self-betterment. To be honest, Rick Riordan and Orson Scott Card are currently my primary educators on mythology, so perhaps I should branch out from YA Lit to more educational mythology books. Perhaps. Both of these authors make for great audiobookreading, if that’s what you’re looking for.
My husband and I made a deal while we were still dating that if he read all the Harry Potter books, I would read some Star Wars books that he recommended. It took a while for him to finish his end. Now that we have theaudiobooks, he’s actually read them almost as many times as I have, but I have yet to hold up my end of the deal. I’m planning on reading the first of this series this summer.
This was another one I found off of Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide. She suggests a book that is a sequel to this one, but I feel strongly about reading books in order, so I’m checking this one out first. This book features a federal investigator from Melbourne facing his past. It falls into the twisty, mystery category. I’ll save this for a weekend when I have some downtime so that when I inevitably get sucked in to obsessing over the ending, I’ll have time to finish.
Yet another Modern Mrs. Darcy recommendation. What can I say, the woman has great taste. This is supposed to be an easy but substantive read, which is great for summer reading. If you’re a fan of Grey’s Anatomy then you’ll likely enjoy this book too. But mainly the cover is pretty, and I’m all for a pretty cover.
This bookby Laura Vanderkam completely changed the way I think about time and productivity. I would basically read anything she said about the subject, so I preordered Off the Clock, which comes out May 29, 2018, and am looking forward to reading more.
Even though I can be super frugal, I still have a hard time not spending money at all. I definitely want to cultivate more gratefulness in my life and stop relying on spending money to meet my needs. I’m looking forward to learning from and being challenged by this book!
I feel like lately I’ve been hearing Daniel Pink mentioned everywhere. I haven’t read any of his books yet but this felt like a good place to start. Any help in finding motivation would be much appreciated.
I have been hearing about this book for ages and am really looking forward to diving in. I’ve been thinking a lot about spiritual disciplines lately. It’s easy to think that once my current season is over, I’ll have more time for that. Now that I’m in my late-twenties (unless it can be mid-20s till you’re 30, in which case I’m mid-20s), I’m realizing that I’m going to have to fight hard to make the time for what’s important to me.
This book is all about the reading life from a gospel point of view. I’ve never heard of any books like this, but I love reading and I love the gospel, so I figured this would be a good fit.
I have been listening toher podcast for months and always come away feeling so encouraged and inspired. But I’ve never read any of her books! That for sure needs to change. I chose this title because I’ve been feeling like I could use some more bravery in my life lately. I can’t wait to hear what Annie has to say.
Share the Love
What’s on your summer reading list? Do you go light + fluffy for summer or stick to the usual titles? Leave a comment and let me know!
Hi, I’m Kelsey! I live in the DC area with my husband and two cats. I currently spend my days working from home, reading all the books, and enjoying home life in our new-to-us 1940s condo. Read more about me here.
This is one of the books recommended by 
East of Eden
Any help in finding motivation would be much appreciated.
