Summer has always been my favorite season. Summer in the South can be scorching and miserable sometimes, but there is a lot more to celebrate during summer than not. School is out, sports are in, summer vacations are ahead, longer days mean more fun in the sun, and the list goes on and on. I have a lot of things I am looking forward to this summer — adding a baby girl to our family and enjoying maternity leave with her is the biggest one! Along with my maternity leave, I am very excited to relax and enjoy, and dive deep into my summer reading list!
I have not always been big into reading for fun — growing up my older sister was always the bookworm of the family — but as I have gotten older, I can’t seem to put some books down or stop adding to my reading list, and I love it. If I really enjoy a book, I want everyone I think that would enjoy reading it to know about it. I am constantly giving books to my mom, sister, and friends to read, and vice versa. I get my book recommendations from friends and family, from book clubs including Reese’s Book Club and Belletrist, “books you might like” on Amazon, an intriguing cover at the bookstore, and some of the best books I have even found in the Little Free Library in our neighborhood.
I will warn you that my taste in books does not typically include love stories, happy endings, or lighthearted stories. I mainly go for mysteries with all kinds of twists and turns, just like the “mom self-care” meme poking fun of moms who watch Netflix murder documentaries for self-care. If you are into this genre of books, check out my lists below.
Some of my favorite books that I always keep on hand for whenever I get the urge to re-read are:
- The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- The Lying Game & The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
- The Guest List & The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
- The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
- The Tattooist of Auscwitz by Heather Morris
- Gone Girl, Sharp Objects & Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
The books on my 2021 Summer list so far are:
- Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
- The Chain by Adrian McKinty
- The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
- Northern Spy by Flynn Berry
- The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson
- The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron
- The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
- The Book of Two Ways by Jode Picoult
- Dark August by Katie Tallo
- The Last Flight by Julie Clark
If you are looking for some good book recommendations to gift your dad or husband for Father’s Day, these books were a big gift hit at my house:
- Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis
- Wettest County in the World by Matt Bondurant
- Malcolm Gladwell Books
- Bill O’Reilly Books
- Howard Stern Comes Again by Howard Stern
- The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood by Jane Leavy
- The Bad Guys Won by Jeff Pearlman
If you have any book recommendations you think I should put on my list, send them my way!
