Summer reading means something very specific for a lot of people—think “beach” reads. Light and fluffy tends to be the go-to, but that’s certainly not the only way to approach summer. Personally, I enjoy picking up books that I know I’ll enjoy (which often means returning to a favorite author) and that I can pick up and put down with ease for 5-10 minutes at a time—there’s just more interruptions in the summer than during those long, dark stretches of winter. Effortless reading is a big win, for me, regardless of genre.
I’d love to hear what you’re looking forward to reading this summer!
I need to read Promised Land too... and though I've not read it, I just recommended Murderbot to my mom's husband, and he loves it so far. Started at #1.
Master of the Senate by Robert Caro, some Richard Powers books I have on my shelf, and Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service. There will be about a dozen more.
War and Peace for starters. I’m determined to finish it after 3 unsuccessful starts. In addition to that, I look forward to reading City of Thieves, The Wreath, A Piece of the World, Wolf Hall, HhhH, Northanger Abbey, and Jane Austen at Home. That sounds like 3 great months of reading!
Marcia, you should join in on my War and Peace book club! It's at thebigread.substack.com. Let me know if you're interested and I'll get a discount to use since we're almost halfway through the year. There's a couple hundred of us reading a chapter per day.
In the Fiction "summer reading" genre, I'll be reading the next book in the Aubrey-Maturin Series (The Yellow Admiral), the newest William Martin historical mystery Bound for Gold, and a couple of classics from F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby and The Side of Paradise.
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare; Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury; To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee; The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver; and Animal Farm, George Orwell.
I'm hoping to catch up on some science fiction and fantasy I have not had a chance to read over the year. The big two are Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson and Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. The new baby coming in June may put those plans on hold though!
I’m not sure that my summer reading is necessarily different from my rest-of-the-year reading. I am officially on summer break now and will be diving into my very first Agatha Christie next week on our family getaway.
I just got a copy of Becky Chamber's fourth book in the Wayfarer's series, The Galaxy and the Ground Within, so I'll probably kick off summer with that. Followed by Obama (Michelle's book Becoming rocked me so I'm looking forward to Barrack's), Brandi Carlile (My absolute favorite songwriter and musician), and Matthew McConaughey's (the hotness right now, everyone saying how good this is) new books. My buddies are trying to get me to read Sanderson's, Stormlight Archive series with them. I've not read any of Sanderson's work so I'm looking forward to trying that out.
I've really enjoyed getting to read some stuff to my 7 year old daughter that's not just little kids books. We read the first two Harry Potter books, but she's too young for book 3 just yet. We read Coraline and she loved that so maybe The Graveyard book. She also really likes stories about real people and events, but I haven't found anything yet that. Trying not to be too impatient as she's right on the cusp of being the right age for some great books. Welcome to any suggestions.
My kids love the Who Was/Who Is... series of biographies. They have stories of many different people. It’s so hard when our young readers are right on the cusp of being ready for so many great books. Before long she’ll be there and you can share so many stories with her.
I'd like to read 'Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther' by Roland H Bainton this summer. And also 'Children of Hurin' by J.R.R. Tolkien. But I guess I'll still be busy reading 'War & Peace' by then. Since I'm on page 500 right now.
I read longer books during the summer because there’s no NHL hockey to distract me. This year I’m planning on tackling An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke, Either/Or by Kierkegaard, The Pioneer by JF Cooper, and the Library of America’s collection of Abraham Lincoln’s Selected Speeches and Writings.
Love this question and love summer reading!
-Martha Wells' Murderbot series
-Shadow and Bone by Bardugo (I want to start watching the show)
-Book 2 and 3 of The Expanse
-Obama memoirs (Becoming and Promised Land)
-The Dig by Preston
-And Hamilton in time for Independence Day!
I need to read Promised Land too... and though I've not read it, I just recommended Murderbot to my mom's husband, and he loves it so far. Started at #1.
Becoming was so great...I've already got Promised Land queued up for the summer. I've not heard of the Murderbot series but it sounds great.
I'm taking a grad class on Jane Austen, so it'll be Emma, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion for me!
Ah, wonderful! I have plans of reading her entire works this year yet. (I haven't read any yet.)
Ooo, that sounds fun. Is this an online class? I’m working on Emma now and finished Persuasion last year.
It is! I'm getting a PhD and I'm in the coursework phase, so this is a part of that process.
Master of the Senate by Robert Caro, some Richard Powers books I have on my shelf, and Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service. There will be about a dozen more.
I just read about Zero Fail in the NYT this morning. Seems fascinating.
Looking forward to catching up on war and peace!
Glad to hear it!
War and Peace for starters. I’m determined to finish it after 3 unsuccessful starts. In addition to that, I look forward to reading City of Thieves, The Wreath, A Piece of the World, Wolf Hall, HhhH, Northanger Abbey, and Jane Austen at Home. That sounds like 3 great months of reading!
Marcia, you should join in on my War and Peace book club! It's at thebigread.substack.com. Let me know if you're interested and I'll get a discount to use since we're almost halfway through the year. There's a couple hundred of us reading a chapter per day.
Sounds interesting. What’s involved with joining the group? What are the benefits of the read along?
In the Fiction "summer reading" genre, I'll be reading the next book in the Aubrey-Maturin Series (The Yellow Admiral), the newest William Martin historical mystery Bound for Gold, and a couple of classics from F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby and The Side of Paradise.
Those seem like great choices! I've been meaning to re-read Great Gatsby this year. Summer really is perfect for that book, isn't it.
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare; Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury; To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee; The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver; and Animal Farm, George Orwell.
I'm hoping to catch up on some science fiction and fantasy I have not had a chance to read over the year. The big two are Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson and Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. The new baby coming in June may put those plans on hold though!
I’m not sure that my summer reading is necessarily different from my rest-of-the-year reading. I am officially on summer break now and will be diving into my very first Agatha Christie next week on our family getaway.
I want to read Lonesome Dove this summer - will be making a trip out west and seeing lots of new places, and I really like reading westerns.
This book will capture your heart with a quickness
I just got a copy of Becky Chamber's fourth book in the Wayfarer's series, The Galaxy and the Ground Within, so I'll probably kick off summer with that. Followed by Obama (Michelle's book Becoming rocked me so I'm looking forward to Barrack's), Brandi Carlile (My absolute favorite songwriter and musician), and Matthew McConaughey's (the hotness right now, everyone saying how good this is) new books. My buddies are trying to get me to read Sanderson's, Stormlight Archive series with them. I've not read any of Sanderson's work so I'm looking forward to trying that out.
I've really enjoyed getting to read some stuff to my 7 year old daughter that's not just little kids books. We read the first two Harry Potter books, but she's too young for book 3 just yet. We read Coraline and she loved that so maybe The Graveyard book. She also really likes stories about real people and events, but I haven't found anything yet that. Trying not to be too impatient as she's right on the cusp of being the right age for some great books. Welcome to any suggestions.
My kids love the Who Was/Who Is... series of biographies. They have stories of many different people. It’s so hard when our young readers are right on the cusp of being ready for so many great books. Before long she’ll be there and you can share so many stories with her.
I started with something completely mindless like you mentioned originally, and read Seth Rogen's new book.
I fully intend to hop back into President Obama's memoir and to start reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy to my son.
I just started off with Lonesome Dove. So far, I’m loving it.
I'd like to read 'Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther' by Roland H Bainton this summer. And also 'Children of Hurin' by J.R.R. Tolkien. But I guess I'll still be busy reading 'War & Peace' by then. Since I'm on page 500 right now.
I read longer books during the summer because there’s no NHL hockey to distract me. This year I’m planning on tackling An Essay Concerning Human Understanding by John Locke, Either/Or by Kierkegaard, The Pioneer by JF Cooper, and the Library of America’s collection of Abraham Lincoln’s Selected Speeches and Writings.