I am extremely excited to be able to read more books this summer. Last summer, I read quite a few but I spent most of my time BUYING a lot of books instead of reading them. This summer, I’m making it my goal to read as much as possible. I’d love to be able to get through a book each week but sometimes I have weeks where the last thing I want to do is read (this usually only happens when I’m forcing myself to get through a book, though). I have 16 full weeks until my fall semester at Temple begins so I’m making it my goal to read 12 books. Hopefully I can surpass this goal but we’ll see how busy I end up being this summer!
Some people believe that summer reads should always be light and easy to get through. I don’t necessarily have that belief. I will pretty much read anything that interests me over the summer from memoirs to young adult books. I also have way more books on my summer reading list than I know I’ll get to. I like to have options, ya know?
Also, before I get to my summer 2016 reading list, here’s a shameless plug for you to MAKE A GOODREADS ACCOUNT AND FOLLOW ME! Goodreads is basically like Facebook for books. It’s amazing and I find so many good reads through this site!
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all. (via Goodreads)
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah’s story to tell. The later years are Jude’s. What the twins don’t realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world. (via Goodreads)
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she’s a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life–and her relationship with her family and the world–forever. (via Goodreads)
Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named Leila. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.
Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila’s own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth—sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you’re looking for is to get lost along the way. (via Goodreads)
Landline by Rainbow Rowell (currently reading)
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble; it has been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect him to pack up the kids and go home without her. When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts… Is that what she’s supposed to do? Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened? (via Goodreads)
The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. (via Goodreads)
Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
Imaginary friend Budo narrates this heartwarming story of love, loyalty, and the power of the imagination—the perfect read for anyone who has ever had a friend . . . real or otherwise.
Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He’s been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age, and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear.
Max is different from other children. Some people say that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, but most just say he’s “on the spectrum.” None of this matters to Budo, who loves Max and is charged with protecting him from the class bully, from awkward situations in the cafeteria, and even in the bathroom stalls. But he can’t protect Max from Mrs. Patterson, the woman who works with Max in the Learning Center and who believes that she alone is qualified to care for this young boy. (via Goodreads)
Never Never (Part 2 and 3) by Colleen Hoover + Tarryn Fisher
Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen. Complete strangers since this morning. He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget. (via Goodreads)
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Release date: August 2nd, 2016
Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up. She graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.
Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant and has a total soft spot for Lily; and the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head, but Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his no dating rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.
As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan, her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened. (via Goodreads)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? (via Goodreads)
One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Release date: June 7th, 2016
In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.
On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.
Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.
That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.
Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly? Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying. (via Goodreads)
Swear on this Life by Renee Carlino (currently reading an ARC)
Release date: August 9th, 2016
When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J.Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer.
Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio.
That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being flattered that he wrote the novel from her perspective, Emiline is furious that he co-opted her painful past and took some dramatic creative liberties with the ending.
The only way she can put her mind at ease is to find and confront “J. Colby,” but is she prepared to learn the truth behind the fiction? (via Goodreads)
Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover
Sydney is living in an idyllic bubble—she’s a dedicated student with a steady job on the side. She lives with her best friend, has a great boyfriend, and the music coming from the balcony opposite hers is fast becoming the soundtrack to her life. But when Sydney finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, the bubble bursts. The mysterious and attractive man behind the music, Ridge, gives Sydney hope that she can move on and they begin to write songs together. But moving on is harder than she expects, Sydney can only hope….
Maybe someday…
Colleen Hoover draws you in to this passionate tale of music, love and betrayal… (via Goodreads)
Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova
Joe O’Brien is a forty-four-year-old police officer from the Irish Catholic neighborhood of Charlestown, Massachusetts. A devoted husband, proud father of four children in their twenties, and respected officer, Joe begins experiencing bouts of disorganized thinking, uncharacteristic temper outbursts, and strange, involuntary movements. He initially attributes these episodes to the stress of his job, but as these symptoms worsen, he agrees to see a neurologist and is handed a diagnosis that will change his and his family’s lives forever: Huntington’s Disease.
Huntington’s is a lethal neurodegenerative disease with no treatment and no cure. Each of Joe’s four children has a 50 percent chance of inheriting their father’s disease, and a simple blood test can reveal their genetic fate. While watching her potential future in her father’s escalating symptoms, twenty-one-year-old daughter Katie struggles with the questions this test imposes on her young adult life. Does she want to know? What if she’s gene positive? Can she live with the constant anxiety of not knowing?
As Joe’s symptoms worsen and he’s eventually stripped of his badge and more, Joe struggles to maintain hope and a sense of purpose, while Katie and her siblings must find the courage to either live a life “at risk” or learn their fate. (via Goodreads)
The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
In his most extraordinary book, “one of the great clinical writers of the twentieth century” (The New York Times) recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders. Oliver Sacks’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat tells the stories of individuals afflicted with fantastic perceptual and intellectual aberrations: patients who have lost their memories and with them the greater part of their pasts; who are no longer able to recognize people and common objects; who are stricken with violent tics and grimaces or who shout involuntary obscenities; whose limbs have become alien; who have been dismissed as retarded yet are gifted with uncanny artistic or mathematical talents.
If inconceivably strange, these brilliant tales remain, in Dr. Sacks’s splendid and sympathetic telling, deeply human. They are studies of life struggling against incredible adversity, and they enable us to enter the world of the neurologically impaired, to imagine with our hearts what it must be to live and feel as they do. A great healer, Sacks never loses sight of medicine’s ultimate responsibility: “the suffering, afflicted, fighting human subject.” (via Goodreads)
The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
If you could repeat one year of your life, what would you do differently? This heartwarming and hilarious novel from the authors of The Status of All Things and Your Perfect Life features three best friends who get the chance to return to the year they turned forty—the year that altered all of their lives, in ways big and small—and also get the opportunity to change their future. (via Goodreads)
If you liked this post, be sure to check out more book related posts here on the blog!
5 Children’s Books All 20-Somethings Should Read
5 Romantic Reads for Valentine’s Day
And, if you haven’t already, follow me on Goodreads and on the Litsy app (my username is kaylablogs)!
TATBILB & I’ll Give You The Sun are simply amazing! Maybe Someday gave me intense feels as well. 😉 I was personally pretty disappointed with Gone Girl and DUFF, but that’s probably because I had set my expectations too high.
I’ve been wanting to read Landline and Never Never! I heard such great things about both books, so I cannot wait to read what you think about them!
Amelie | http://awanderersadventures.wordpress.com
Author
I’m working my way through Landline now and I love it so far! I’m on part 2 of Never Never and it’s alright so far. I read the first part in one afternoon when I was in Cancun in January, the parts are so short I’m embarrassed it has taken me so long to get through part 2 lol.
I read The Girl on the Train over winter break and I LOVED it so I wanted to try Gone Girl to see how it lives up to the hype. I started reading the DUFF last summer and then stopped so I’m gonna try to read it again and see what happens! I can’t wait to see what you read this summer, too!
The Girl on the Train is one my list too! And now that I know that there’s going to be a movie about in, I need to get through it before it comes out!
Author
Yes, I’m so excited for it! And I’m ready for Me Before You as well!
Still Alice is absolutely incredible. It made me so emotional! I really recommend giving that a read ASAP.
Savannah from http://thealwaysblog.com
Author
I can’t wait to get to it!
Definitely looking forward to you reporting back on these. What a great list!
Author
Thank you Chrystina! I will do my best to keep y’all updated!
To All the Guys I’ve Loved Before shamelessly made me bawl my eyes out on a plane… So be prepared for that ?
I love this list! Such a great assortment of books. I’m excited to see how many you get through and I’m totally going to follow you on Goodreads. I’m trying to read 12 books for the entire year and REALLY hoping to far surpass that goal.
Darrian || http://www.ohshiftyall.com
Author
I read 20 books last year and this year my goal is 25! I was off to a good start but now I’m ~3 books behind schedule. Hoping to get back on track this summer! And thanks for the warning about TATBILB lol.
I have been severely slacking on my reading list, so I’m definitely looking for some suggestions. I am always looking for beach reads, and I haven’t read any of theses. Thanks Kayla!!
Author
You’re welcome! You’ll have to let me know what you think if you decide to read any of these!
This looks like an awesome list of books! It feels like forever since I’ve actually just sat down to read a book – I will definitely have to pick one of these up!
Author
Yes, I’m so excited to get back to reading! The last book I finished was over spring break… I’ve been slacking this year!
Love this list! I really liked Inside the O’Briens and Still Alice. I am excited to read Swear on This Life too!
Author
Thanks Olya! There are sooo many good books coming out this summer, I can’t wait!
Brb, adding most of these to my list!
xoxo, Jenny
xoxo, Jenny
Author
Go for it! Be sure to let me know what you think!
Oh I am definitely adding some of these to my list 🙂 I have been wanting to read To The Guys I’ve Loved Before for awhile, so I know that you have great taste in books 😉
Author
Hahaha, thanks Kait!
Some of these sound so amazing! I totally want to start reading more!
Author
I highly recommend making a Goodreads account! It has “forced” me to pick up books more and I love seeing what everyone else is reading!
I was really excited to read this post! I’ve read a few of these books! I am definitely adding the rest to my tbr pile! I also get a lot of reading in during the summer!
xo Ashley
Author
I love the summer just for that reason! Sooo much time to read and blog, haha!
I love getting book recommendations. These look so good!!!
Author
Thanks Elana!
I need to make my summer reading list too! I’m so excited to be able to do some pleasure reading again! I’ll have to check some of these out, they sound really good! And actually, “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” was recently on the sorting shelves at my school library (where I work), and my coworker and I had a conversation about it – it sounds like such an interesting book!!
Stephanie | Sincerely, Stephanie
http://www.stephanietherese.com
Author
I just took a neuro course this semester and my teacher talked about it and it sounded so interesting!
Oh yay thank you for sharing this! I just finished reading See Me by Nicholas Sparks and it was SO GOOD!
xo
Lauren
The Fashionista’s Diary
Author
I’ll have to check that out! Thanks, Lauren!
So many fun picks!
http://www.kayleighskloset.com
Author
Thanks Kayleigh!
I’ve heard good things about that Jenny Han book! I need to hit up my local Barnes and Noble because now that I’ve graduated I have TIME in my life to READ for fun again!! 😀
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
Author
YAY!!! Let me know what you end up reading!
That’s a long list!
Author
Haha, I know! I’m trying to read as much as possible this summer!
these are so great! i’m adding them to my amazon book wishlist 😛
Author
Thanks Sara! Haha, my Amazon wishlist is sooo long at this point!
I’m currently reading Me Before You, and it’s amazing you need to add it to your list!
Laura B. | http://www.LauraWears.com
Author
I already read Me Before You and I agree it’s amazing! I can’t wait for the movie to come out!
Definitely need to copy you and create a Summer reading list! And might have to borrow a couple of your suggestions!
P.S. Loving your website! Glad we were able to get connected through Helene’s webinar!
Author
Go for it! Thanks Chloe! Glad you’re enjoying the blog 🙂
Next week I am leaving for vacation, this is just what I needed! Thank you for the wonderful recommendations!
Author
Thanks Lindsey! Hope you enjoy your vacation! 🙂
YES this was exactly what I was looking for! We like pretty much the same types of books, and you will LOVE anything written by Jenny Han. <3
Stephanie
petitepastels.blogspot.com
Author
Thanks Stephanie! I’m excited to finally read her books!
I was just saying that I need to get my summer reading list in order! I have a road trip coming up and someone recommended that I download audible so I can listen to a book or two while I drive. I’ll definitely be checking these out.
LiveLifeWell,
Allison
Author
I’ve actually never had any experience with audio books! I think that’s a great idea, especially if you have a long commute every day.
I loved Gone Girl, and Still Alice showed me a heart wrenching new perspective. Happy reading!
Author
Thanks Emily! I’m eager to read both Gone Girl and Still Alice!
Cool TBR summer list! It looks like you have some fun and interesting reads ahead. Gone Girl is a really wild book, and the movie adaptation was pretty good. I liked the movie version of Still Alice. It was heartbreaking and really opening. The book is on my tbr list too.
Author
I loved reading The Girl on the Train so I’m really excited to get through Gone Girl! I’ve heard great things about Still Alice as well. My mom watched the movie and said it was really sad. Thanks for stopping by, Katy!
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is such a great read! I recommend the author’s triology, “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” too. It’s so summery and relatable and perfect for the beach.
paige • eyeliner wings & pretty things
Author
Thanks Paige! I will definitely have to look into that one.
Ahhh all of these look so good. I feel like I never have time to read any more but it is definitely on my list for the summer! Thanks for giving me some ideas.
xo,
Sara Kate Styling
Author
Of course! Thanks Sara!
Don’t mind me, just stealing ALL OF THE BOOKS from your summer reading list and adding them to mine. I’ve just spent the last half hour looking all of these up on Goodreads and yep – ADDING. Thanks, girl! xx
Author
You’re welcome! I’m glad I could help you out! You’ll have to let me know what you think of the books 🙂
I’ve been in search of new kindle reads to download to keep me busy in my travels. Thanks for so many ideas 🙂
Author
You’re welcome! Kindles are the best!
I just found your blog from BlueEyedBiblios’ blog. I love your summer reading list! All of these books sound amazing!
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is cute and The Duff is amazing. I think that Jenny Han and Kody Keplinger are great writers! Gone Girl left me speechless and is probably my favorite psychological thriller. I watched the movie for Still Alice and would like to read the book. Have a box of tissues near by when you read the book because if the book is anything like the movie it will have you in tears. I don’t know if you get really emotional when reading a book or watching a movie but I do. I’m a big baby when it comes to sad books/movies.
Can’t wait to read what you think of the books!
http://plethora-of-nonsense.blogspot.com
Author
Hi Mariah! Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. I definitely cry when I read books so thanks for the tip! 🙂
Going to check out your blog now!
I read Gone Girl with a book club. While it was an intriguing read, when I learned “the reality” of what happened, I intensely disliked the character who deceived the audience. (Don’t want to spoil the unfolding for those who have not read it.) It was depressing by the end.
Author
I’ve heard mixed reviews about Gone Girl but I feel like it’s one of those books I have to read since it was so popular! Thanks so much for stopping by + leaving a comment 🙂
Great summer list! You picked some good ones, I’ve read a few of them already and now have a couple I’d like to check out
Author
So glad you liked it, Casey! I’m happy to contribute to your list. Thank you for stopping by!
Great summer TBR. I love I’ll Give You the Sun and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. As for Gone Girl, it was okay but I liked the movie better.
Author
Thanks Laura! I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about Gone Girl but I want to read the book before seeing the movie so I still am going to try it 🙂
ahhh i can not wait to read swear on this life by Renee Carlino and It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover X)
http://www.cikitaokt.wordpress.com
I didn’t really enjoy Maybe Someday, but I enjoyed I’ll Give You the Sun and loved To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. I hope you’ll enjoy all the books on your list!<33
I am reading From and other Demos from Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I totally recommend this book; it shows us it’s never too late to change things for the better !