My Summer Reading List 2023

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Summer reading season is almost here! I simply can’t wait. I’ve been making lists since about March, and I wanted to share what I came up with.

New Releases:

I was never a big new releases in the summer person until last summer when I read six of them for a challenge, and now I pay attention. This year I poured over to what’s coming out, and picked these six books to splurge on.

The House Is On Fire by Rachel Beanland

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley

Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin

Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman

Backlist

To me you can’t have summer reading without re-reading some favorites. Here are the three I picked for summer 2023.

End of Watch by Stephen King

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

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My 2020 Reading Goals

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Every year I set way too many reading goals, and I don’t meet half of them. That’s okay - I have fun setting the goals and then give them up when I stop having fun meeting them. After all reading is my hobby not my job.

This year I set three new goals:

  • Read 200 books (around 16 or 17 books a month)

  • Read books from 20 different countries

  • Read 20 new to me cookbooks and cook at least one recipe from each one

I also took note of a few reading challenges. Mr. Book on Litsy, the Reading Women Challenge, and Modern Mrs. Darcy’s challenges all caught my eye. I’ll cross check each of these lists against what I read, but probably won’t seek out any books to finish them.

I also keep track of states I’ve read from and like to see if I can read a book that begins with each letter of the alphabet.

Oh, and I have my project re-read to work on, and I really should finally read In Cold Blood. Not to mention the 50 new releases I have on hold at the library, and the 10 audiobooks I’ve anxiously been waiting for on Libby.

So yeah, 2020 should be a pretty good reading year. I can’t wait to see what happens!

Show Us Your Books January 2020

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Winter sports have started which means a lot of my reading takes place at the ice rink now.

Winter sports have started which means a lot of my reading takes place at the ice rink now.

It never fails. As soon as I hit publish on my list of favorites from 2019 I read 3 amazing books. Don’t get me wrong, too many amazing books is a good problem to have, but I feel bad for my books. I hope they know they are all my favorites in their own way.

Should have been on my best of 2019 list

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood - This read like a warning to us all, with a glimpse of a silver lining. It’s not too late, but you need to pay attention. I was worried this sequel would be awful, but I liked it quite a bit.
The River by Peter Heller - A lot of the reviews on this book went back and forth on if it should be called a thriller. The tension of people vs. nature plus the constant threat of a hidden adversary thrilled me.
Stoner by John Williams - This book shows up a lot on lists of classics you probably haven’t read. I finally read it for a book club and thought it was wonderful. It sounds boring if I describe it - the story of an undistinguished man’s life, but Williams wrote with such a thoughtful melancholy and I loved it.

Audiobooks that got me through December

Cookies don’t bake themselves, and I needed the help of some good audiobooks.

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane - A good story that kept me guessing until the end. However I probably wouldn’t recommend this on audio because the narrator mispronounced all of the Massachusetts names and it drove me nuts.
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem - Another one that kept me guessing. However this one worked especially well on audio. If you tried to read this and couldn’t get into it because of the main characters ticks you might want to try it again.
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou - Completely bananas. I couldn’t believe this was a true story. If you think you know workplace drama, give this one a try. Woah.

Just as good the second time around

Part of project re-read

A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline - Once again this book ripped out my heart and crumpled it up like an old piece of paper. It’s very similar to Stoner now that I think about it.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - I’ve been seeing this book everywhere lately, and I’m so glad it’s getting the love it deserves.

Life According to Steph

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