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Earlier on in the season, I wrote a long newsletter detailing my list of books that I planned to read over the summer. Well, fast forward three months, and I’ve finally worked my way through the entire list, and I’m ready to share my first-hand reviews with you in case you’re looking to pick up any of these titles. We’ve got a pretty good mix of new books and old ones, lighthearted “beach” reads, and more serious stories to talk through. Let’s dive into the list, shall we?
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My Summer Reading List Book Reviews:
- Slightly South of Simple, by Kristy Woodson Harvey: Even though I only included one physical title from this series on my summer reading list, I actually read all three books in the collection. They’re each told from a different point of view between three sisters, and I love the jumping back and forth between past and present. It’s a great series to binge if you love following along with family drama and especially sisterly relationships.
- Whispers Underground, by Ben Aaronovitch: As I mentioned in my newsletter, my brother-in-(common)-law gave me this series for Christmas, and I’ve been slowing working my way through all year. I’m technically not finished with this one yet, but I’m well on my way, and am absolutely absorbed in the supernatural tale of ghosts, goddesses, and the British police force that has to manage them.
- Swan Song, by Elin Hilderbrand: I wouldn’t call this my favorite of Elin Hilderbrand’s books, but it still completely delivered in the essentials: intricate social dynamics, gorgeous Nantucket vistas, and quick dialogue that kept me enthralled the whole way through. The murder mystery angle was really gripping, too.
- Tower of Dawn, by Sarah J. Maas: And just like that…I’ve finished the Throne of Glass books. What a wild ride! This one I’m mentioning in my list from summer is technically the second-to-last book, but I went ahead and read the finale right afterward. Hands down, the best fantasy series I’ve read thus far.
- Food Saved Me, by Danielle Walker: Since being diagnosed with UC last fall, I’ve been anxious to find testimonials from other people who suffer from the same autoimmune disease. This memoir by Danielle Walker felt so relatable to me, and helped make me feel less alone. I wouldn’t say that she and I agree on how to manage UC, but it was still a book that I’d recommend to sufferers just to get that valuable alternative perspective.
- The Power, by Naomi Alderman: Wow. This one was so unexpectedly awesome. I picked it up from a Little Free Library box while at the beach last year without knowing anything about it, but I loved the dystopian angle. It shows what could happen if women were given a special power that made them “top dog” in society, and I loved every minute of it. The last line made me smile in such a sinister way (if you know, you know). Flawless finish.
- The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab: What a beautifully written novel! The storyline is a little bit fantasy, a little bit drama, some romance. I think it deserves all of the heavy praise it has been getting lately, and I already can’t wait to reread it.
- The Wedding People, by Alison Espach: My friend Nikki and I read this one for our 2-person book club, and I gave it four out of five stars, which is actually pretty high praise in my way of rating. I love how honest and fast-paced the dialogue was. When there was a conversation, I flew through the pages. Trigger warning, though, that suicide is regularly discussed.
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Truth be told, I read quite a bit more than just these eight books over the summer. So, as an aside, I’d love to retrospectively add the following to my summer reading list, including my star rating in case you’re curious: By My Hands: A Potter’s Apprenticeship (5 stars), The Unmaking of June Farrow (4 stars), Severance (3 stars), Divine Rivals (4 stars), Ruthless Vows (5 stars), and The Rook (5 stars).
What was on your summer reading list this year? Did you get through all of the titles you wanted to? If you’d like to see what’s next on my list, hop over to my Home Matters newsletter here because yesterday I shared a linked list of all my planned fall time reads, plus my reasons for picking each one. Let me know in the comments here or over on Substack what you think I should add to future reading lists, and feel free to join me in reading these next titles so you can be part of the conversation when I publish my next round of reviews this winter!
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Ohh, very nice! I think I’ll add Food Saved Me, The Power, and the Throne of Glass series to my TBR list, which continues to grow longer and longer… It feels like I basically lived at the library this year, so my collection of unread books I own is feeling very unloved. Oh well. Good thing books last a long time!
Here’s what I read this summer, with bite-sized reviews of each:
Necessary Trouble: Nicely written memoir, appreciated the perspective on the era.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry: Very small, compact, a glossing over of basic astrophysics knowledge. Not comprehensive and doesn’t try to be.
Fat Chance: Genuinely an excellent book, I ended up regularly talking about this one to my friends and family. No fat shaming, but well-backed studies on what drives obesity, and whether or not it’s harmful. Definitely made me more mindful of my sugar consumption.
The Day the World Stops Shopping: An interesting concept for a book that tries to help the reader understand the ways in which our current systems are layered and stacked together like a game of Jenga. It’s not a feel-good book, but it is useful.
The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan: A fluff book about buy nothing groups. Nothing of substance in here.
The Anxious Generation: Not the best, but a good book on how parenting practices since the 1990s have changed childhood and adult psychology. A should-read for anyone considering having kids.
The Privatization of Everything: Now this is a book everyone needs to read! I’m serious – if you’re wondering why the US economy seems broken, this is why.
More from Less: Can’t agree with a lot of the arguments or the overall take in the book, but an interesting perspective.
Nature’s Best Hope: Another book I think everyone needs to read. We’re in a severe climate and biological crisis, and it’s vital that we do something to help combat it. I was already putting in native plants before I read this book, but the arguments only continue to inspire. If there was a way for me to mass-distribute this book to everyone, I would.
Delicious: A fun look through the history of flavors and how humans have interacted with them. A unique field of study, with lots of memorable tidbits. I know I’ll never forget lake preservation.
A Wizard of Earthsea: I’m honestly not a fiction person, but I’m trying to broaden my horizons a bit and read more, and a fantasy series seemed approachable. I really enjoyed this book and even though I haven’t found the second one in the series to be anywhere near as strong (I finished a Wizard in two days – the next one I’ve been crawling through the first 30 pages for a week), I think it’s a great read even as a stand-alone book.
The Myth of Capitalism: Pessimistic, the numbers don’t lie. I feel like this book pairs very well with the Privatization of Everything. Make no mistake – this book is very honest, and will not try to give you any sort of hopeful “here’s what you can do at home to help!” spin.
How Are YOU Going to Pay For That?: A good book, but the information was very repetitive after reading The Myth of Capitalism, and the reasoning was often weaker. I’d recommend Myth over this one.
The Nature of Oaks: This is a good book, and we should plant more oaks. But Tallamy is fighting a crusade (and one we all should be joining him on!) and so in any book from him, you’re going to get a lot of repetitive information. There is a wealth of information unique to this book, yes, and there are all sorts of interesting things about the life in, on, and around, oak trees, but you will end up skimming some of the repetitive stuff from his other books.
Sing Like Fish: Took me a little bit to get through this book, as I’m not very knowledgeable about sound waves and the book required some knowledge to fully appreciate it, but this was truly an enlightening book. Definitely makes you think long after reading it.
Momfluenced: My only audiobook read on the list! I found the author a bit insufferable at times, and overall I don’t think the book had a ton of substance, but it was an OK read. Good for an audiobook, aka, something that you don’t need to pay 100% attention to.
Wanted: Toddler’s Personal Assistant: I wanted a few fluffy books after Sing Like Fish, and this fit the bill. It’s nice, it’s sentimental, there’s nothing too ground-breaking here. A good enough memoir.
Can’t Even: More substantial than the previous two, but nothing too heavy or complicated in here. Honestly, if you can stand to drop the millennial-specific perspective, I’d recommend just skipping over this one entirely and reading the Myth of Capitalism and the Privatization of Everything – they’ll give you proper answers as opposed to just hang-wringing.
Stolen Focus: I didn’t like this one anywhere near as much as I expected to, based on all the hype it got. It’s a good book. It’s got substance. It’s timely. Just didn’t seem particularly earth-shattering to me, and I’ll likely end up forgetting about it at some point.
Selling the Dream: Did not expect the writing style for a book about MLMs. It’s a fun book, not a serious one.
Sisters in Hate: Makes you angry. And that’s good. I don’t know how much actual information I got out of this book, but it does inspire a lot of emotion, in spite of being written very neutrally.
Sorry for the very long comment, but it was fun to think back about each book I read from May-August. I normally read a book, then almost instantly start another, so I really appreciated the prompt to mull over and revisit the ones I had read this summer. 🙂
Thanks for the amazing, detailed recommendations! I’m definitely adding some of these to my TBR list 🙂