This Is What My Summer Reading List Looks Like
As I bibliophile, I never stop thinking about reading books. And I mean literally, never. It’s always on the back of my mind as I go through my day. Weekends are highly anticipated for one major activity and that is, yes you guessed it right, catching up on my current reads and browsing through what I would like to read next.
In the age of online shopping craziness, most bookish humans around me can be constantly found at Indie bookstores in the Bay Area attending author talks, or browsing through the latest releases while they chit chat with the bookseller and grab a coffee to settle down in the store for the day.
Some of us also spend a good amount of time on Amazon or Book Depository looking up for discounted prices and pre-ordering stuff like it’s a much awaited super high-tech gaming laptop or the next best phone you have been saving for!
Whether you prefer a Bookstore or Amazon, you’d have to admit that talking about books and recommending your favorites to other bookish friends are some of the best conversations you could have as a reader.
Ever since I have started being more active in the readers community, making friends, connecting with authors and writing book reviews, it has given me a tremendous amount of happiness. It’s like finding your space and discovering your people! I love getting book recommendations and sharing my experiences too as I navigate through my never-ending reading list.
Recently, Bill Gates and some other influential readers (not leaders) shared their Summer Reading lists that put a spotlight on some fantastic reads, and made me really focus on my choices as a reader too. I am becoming more selective by the day, and it is due to the pleasant fact that we now have so many new authors writing such brilliant stories and life lessons that it’s a good thing to be overwhelmed as a reader today.
So, here I am sharing my Summer Reading list for bookish humans like me who are looking to dive into a new story:
Women have more money — and power — than ever before. So why are we still so conflicted, and unsure, of what or how to deal with it? Today show financial editor and bestselling author Jean Chatzky provides the much-needed answers in Women With Money. Her candid three-part plan is really influential in understanding yourself in relation to money, and attaining your financial goals with confidence and joy. I am loving this one!
2. Artemis
I absolutely love Space Science fiction — be it books or films. I have always had a soft corner in my heart for these stories and so picking up Artemis is exciting. The plot description just gives you goosebumps: ‘Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.’ Well, this one is again a readers’ favorite coming from the master storyteller Andy Weir.
From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award long list title The Poet X, comes a dazzling novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride, and a drive to feed the soul that keeps her fire burning bright. Elizabeth Acevedo is such an impressive writer and this book also has her distinctive voice that speaks volumes about the heights girls can achieve if they dare to dream. She explores a different kind of creative talent through the story of a teenage girl, Emoni Santiago, who many would foolishly dismiss as a classic cautionary tale.
4. Bad Blood
This book is already such an iconic read recommended literally by E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E. So I finally picked it up in my summer reading list and can’t wait to get started. Known to be a thrilling page-turner, Bad Blood is the full inside story of the breathtaking rise and shocking collapse of a multibillion-dollar startup — Theranos. Written by John Carreyrou, the prize-winning journalist who first broke the story and pursued it to the end, this is a riveting story of the biggest corporate fraud since Enron, and a disturbing cautionary tale set amid the bold promises and gold-rush frenzy of Silicon Valley.
Oh, how I love courtroom dramas! Having read tons of books centering legal thriller and courtroom drama themes by writers like John Grisham, I am fascinated by this one which is gaining praise form a lot of readers. Set in the small town of Miracle Creek, Virginia, this book is a thoroughly contemporary take on the courtroom drama, drawing on the author Angie Kim’s own life as a Korean immigrant, former trial lawyer, and mother of a real-life “submarine” patient. I must say it has sucked me in and right from the start I can see it’s a winner.
6. Full Woman, Fleshy Apple, Hot Moon
Poetry has always been very close to my heart. The poems of Pablo Neruda are beloved worldwide for their passion, humor, and exceptional accessibility. And so my reading list could not be fully exciting without a beautiful selection of poems like these. The nearly fifty poems selected for this collection and translated by Stephen Mitchell — widely praised for his original and definitive translations of spiritual writings and poetry — focus on Neruda’s mature period, when the poet was in his fifties.
Beautiful. Daring. Deadly. The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez — her family, her people, her country. Soon Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost. Political intrigue, history, wanting to know more about Cuba, and a love story were the things that attracted me to this book. After much success of her previous novel, Chanel Cleeton is back with an even more intriguing one that has been a part of notable bookclubs like Reese Witherspoon’s. If you love historical fiction with political backdrops, this one is surely the one to pick!
Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a modern day epistolary novel, very unlike the cliche’ ones. The book is a meta-compilation supposedly put together by Bee of emails, articles, and other assorted correspondences that tell the story of Bernadette: what made her who she is, and what led up to her disappearance. is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter’s love for her mother. I have picked this up thoroughly to be entertained by a witty novel and get to know the author Maria Semple and her writing.
Let me know which of these books you would like to read and why. Have you already read any of the? Let me know how you liked them, and also any suggestions from your Summer Reading list!
You can check out my book reviews on Bookish Friends.
