It’s summer reading season! I started working on my summer reading list a few weeks ago, and it’s… ambitious. Maybe impossible. I have 37 books on there, and I’ve only finished one so far. (Can September count as summer, too? I might be working on this list all through the fall.) There are just SO many great books out right now, and some even better ones coming out soon. I can’t resist any of them.
I’ll be posting every week on the Words From The Sowul Facebook page (like/follow if you haven’t already) on my summer reading 2018 progress, ratings and reviews.
So, here it is, by category, with links to Goodreads pages.
My Impossible List: Summer Reading 2018
Literary Fiction
White Houses by Amy Bloom (because I love Eleanor Roosevelt, even fictionalized)
The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer (because feminism is so of the moment right now)
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (because it’s been on my TBR pile for months and I’m ready to dig in)
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (the sequel to Beartown, which is my least favorite Backman to date, but I’ll still read anything he writes)
A River of Stars by Vanessa Hua (because it sounds both like a culture/demographic I haven’t read much before, and an incredibly relatable story)
A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza (I love culture clashes between generations, especially when religion is involved)
What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan (because I like to read about rich people in other countries)
The Boat People by Sharon Bala (another cultural story I haven’t read much about)
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (because… Oprah’s book club)
I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon (mixed reviews on this one, but I’m still intrigued)
The Ensemble by Aja Gabel (because it’s about music and friendship)
That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam (parenting + racial dynamics= interesting)
Visible Empire by Hannah Pittard (historical disaster, right up my alley)
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (I’m always looking to add novels in translation to my list; this one has interesting themes of expectation and growth)
Lighter Fiction
The Late Bloomers’ Club by Louise Miller (because it sounds like old-fashioned small-town fun)
All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin (because I read all of her books)
How Hard Can It Be? by Allison Pearson (the sequel to I Don’t Know How She Does It)
Save The Date by Morgan Matson (because I’m a sucker for a family drama with a wedding backdrop)
Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win by Jo Piazza (because the author is half of the duo who wrote The Knockoff, a fun favorite; this one’s about a woman in politics, which I find even more interesting than fashion)
The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand (it’s not summer without a Hilderbrand book)
Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos (the sequel just came out and it’s getting rave reviews, so I thought I’d start with the original)
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (sounded cute)
Mystery/Thriller
Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser (because even though it’s not in my best-loved genre, I love Jessica’s work with Writer’s Digest and have actually met her in person!)
Force of Nature by Jane Harper (the sequel to The Dry, which was the best mystery I read last summer)
The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson (even though I usually hate James Patterson– how could I not be curious about this collaboration?)
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (mostly because it’s on MMD’s short list, but I’ve also never read a mystery set in India before)
Sunburn by Laura Lippman (sounds steamy and thrilling!)
Nonfiction
The Read-Aloud Family: Making Meaningful and Lasting Connections with your Kids by Sarah Mackenzie (because I won’t stop until both my kids are “the one who loves reading the most in the whole class” as my son recently dubbed himself, to my intense joy)
Human Errors: A Panorama of our Glitches, from Pointless Bones to Broken Genes by Nathan H. Lents (because I’m doing research on genealogy for my WiP and this sounds fascinating)
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (because multiple people have told me it’s amazing/fascinating)
The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life by Anya Kamenetz (because I’m always struggling with my comfort level with screen time, and I’m interested in any book that starts with “The Art of…”)
Fascism: A Warning by Madeline Albright (because my grandfather recommended it, and he’s a great barometer for nonfiction, especially in the political arena)
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser (because I recently read and loved Caroline by Sarah Miller– the story of Laura’s ‘Ma,’ and was interested in the discrepancies between historical record and Laura’s novels)
Heating and Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs by Beth Ann Fennelly (I’ve been intrigued by this one since MMD recommended it on her podcast; plus, it’s readable in just one sitting)
Off The Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam (I’m a devoted Vanderkam fan; early reviews say it’s her best, most perspective-changing book yet)
100 Essays I Don’t Have Time To Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children and Theater by Sarah Ruhl (I’ve been looking for a collection of short, well-written essays)
I don’t know if I’ll make it through this entire list in one summer, but I’m going to do my best!
What’s on your summer reading list?
As soon as I saw the title of your post in my feedreader I hopped over to your blog! Summer reading lists are THE BEST, no? I’m smiling at your ambition–I hope you get to read every last one of them, even if it takes you into Sept. (Here in Florida, it’s summer until December, so if you lived here, you’d have a real shot!)
I haven’t made my list yet and I’ve been having a slower-than-usual reading year, so maybe this is just the kick in the pants I need. I see two at least that I’ll have on my own list, Off the Clock and Force of Nature. I just watched the first episode of The Great American Read, and I plan to read at least a couple of the books on that list, since I haven’t even read half of the 100 novels chosen. Maybe next week I’ll post my own list–thanks for the inspiration!
I started watching The Great American Read too, Kathy! I’m excited for that series. I did a lot of classics-reading in my teen years, so I’m pretty well caught up there, which is why my summer reading list this year is very current.
You’re always so ambitious with your reading lists, Leanne! Which makes me curious: How do you prioritize which one(s) to read first?
I don’t have an official summer reading “list,” but based on what my general reading strategy is right now, I’ll be alternating between brand new books (Side By Side by Jenni L. Walsh, Guardian by A.J. Hartley), older / “catch-up” books (Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne, N.K. Jemisin’s Dreamblood Duology, The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton), and a mix of YA magical realism and mental health books as “market research” for my current manuscript (Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno, Secret of a Heart Note by Stacie Lee).
That’s a good point, Sara– a friend of mine also asked how I’m planning to read 37 books. Prioritization is a start. Honestly, it has a lot to do with how I want to read it (digital, hardcover, audio) and what’s available at the library 🙂
Is the Jenni L. Walsh book a sequel to Becoming Bonnie? I hadn’t heard about that one.
It is! I think it’s going to cover Bonnie’s years with Clyde and their crime spree together.