What to read this summer

June 12, 2020

Since we will be staying closer to home this year, there will be more guilt free time to just sit back and read a book. I am very particular with my books and if they don’t grab me from the start, it doesn’t get opened again.

I like a good fast light fiction read, and I also like real life stories. If the book can give me some wanderlust it goes up in rank! 😀

Here are my top recommendations. Some are old, some are new and some are in between. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Non-Fiction:

A House in the Sky
Amanda Lindhout, co-written with journalist Sara Corbett

This amazing true story account of Canadian traveller turned journalist, Amanda, who was kidnapped in southern Somalia.

What I was Doing While You Were Breeding
Kristin Newman

This wonderful memoir of comedy writer and traveler, Kristin, will put you through the emotions while giving you serious wanderlust.

Eat Pray Love
Elizabeth Gilbert

An oldie but a goodie. If you haven’t read it yet, it will make you want to take an extended journey across the world to create your own magic.

Into the Wild
Jon Krakaue

Jon’s storytelling of Christopher McCandless short life will leave you not wanting to put the book down.

Wild
Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl’s memoir of her life and the decision and journey to hike the Pacific Crest Trail alone is one book I found hard to put down.

Bossypants
Tina Fey

I love Tina Fey and her autobiographical comedy book. It goes behind the scenes of to show you what exactly her life was like compared to what you think it is.

Is everyone hanging out without me?
Mindy Kaling

I loved Mindy’s story of her childhood all the way up to her comedy writing and acting success.

The Last Black Unicorn
Tiffany Haddish

Tiffany’s life story is one hell of a story. She lays everything out on the line, the struggles, the success and the comedy she views it all from.

Fiction:

The Beach
Alex Garland

Set in Thailand, it will give you some serious wanderlust, but it will wrap you around the story that unfolds.

Crazy Rich Asians
Kevin Kwan

If you haven’t seen the movie or read the book yet, read the book! This is a serious page turner and it immerses you in to Singapore and will make you want to jump on a plane.

Stephanie Plum Novels
Janet Evanovich

Read them in order to get the back-story of Stephanie Plum, who becomes a bounty hunter with no experience when she loses her job. These are laugh out loud books that you can finish in a day. There are 32 books in this series so far.

The Rules of Magic
Alice Hoffman

If you loved Practical Magic, you will love this one. This is the story of the Aunts and how things came to be in their life. I hear this is getting made into TV series on HBO so read it before it comes out.