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Labor Day has come and gone, which means it’s time for my round-up of what I read this summer. This year, in my life, it also means grad school is back in session (insert me crying). Instead of focussing on my insane to-do list or all the homework I’m currently avoiding – LET’S TALK BOOKS.

summer reading list

Any good ones you read this summer? Anything you’re currently eyeing? I’m always, always, always down for some good recommendations! 

Highlights:

Books you NEED to read:

  • Everyone: I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, Austin Channing Brown | Such a necessary conversation to have in this day and age, and Brown is the most gifted communicator. She is honest yet gracious; her words are sobering yet hopeful. One of the best books of 2018, hands down.
  • If you’re struggling with the American Christian Machine: The Most Beautiful Thing I’ve Seen: Opening Your Eyes to Wonder, Lisa Gungor | This book is beautifully written and also holds some beautiful truths. Gungor shares very personal struggles that somehow feel universal. I quite literally couldn’t put it down.
  • If you’re married: Wedding Toasts I’ll Never Give, Ada Calhoun | This was a rec by an author I follow – and it’s funny. However, I think it’s best for the marrieds out there (and not so great to read during a break up… what? who did that?).

If you’re a writer, you’ll love:

  • The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Short Stories, Marina Keegan | A collection of Keegan’s various work during college, this book is basically intimidating for how well done it is. I am typically not a short story fan – but Keegan has a way with words that you can’t argue with. Her writing – and her story – will inspire you to be a better writer.
  • Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott | Mostly advice on writing fiction (skills I do not possess) – I actually learned so much from this. I’m always a fan of Lamott’s sassy, quirky style – but this book felt like a mixture of therapy and life advice.

Fun novels (*sometimes* I read fiction):

  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer | This book is just lovely. Funny, charming, quaint – it’s everything you want out of a post-WWII era novel. Plus Netflix just released an adaptation of it that’s so perfectly casted!
  • The Sun is Also A Star, Nicola Yoon | This is the best of YA fiction – angsty, sassy, ridiculous, and fun. I loved the random asides and loved the writing style.
  • The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion | Such an entertaining read, it felt a bit like you were reading a TV show (in the best way).

Books I was late to the game on, but – as we’ve all heard – really are amazing:

  • Bossypants, Tina Fey | Why did it take me so long to read this?! Who knows. Just as entertaining as you have heard for the past 10 years. Fey is an icon for a reason.
  • Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott
  • The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead | W o w. That’s how I felt 4 chapters in, and that’s how I felt at the end. Whitehead gave us a masterpiece with this one – not an easy, fun, beach read (hence not listed above), but an incredible novel.

 

Full list:

 

Currently Reading:

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