Six Summer Reads

In my last On My Mind post, I mentioned that May was a heavy reading month for me. I spent the first few months of the year on the Outlander series, finishing book three and making my way through book four. Well, book four is a slog. To be fair, I thought season four was also a slog so I kinda knew what to expect. After a few months of picking it up, putting it down and never seeming to finish it, I knew I needed a break. I needed something I could breeze through and engage with in a different way. So, I started something new! And then I did it again. And before I knew it, I’d read six books in a month – all of which I very much enjoyed!

I’ve only done one other book round up – Every Book I’ve Read During Quarantine – which was super fun! These posts remind me of mini versions of the book reports I did in elementary school. I freaking loved book reports. I also loved dioramas, but that’s a story for another day. Anywho, whenever I chat about books I always do my best to give summaries and thoughts without giving anything away (because spoilers are the worst). I loved all of these books for different reasons and think each one would be a great weekend or beach or bath read 🙂 Have you read any of them? If you have or decide to, please let me know! I’d love to chat!

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

This was on my To Read list forever! You are definitely familiar with the concept. You know the drill – if you could pick 5 people to have dinner with, alive or dead, who would you pick? Why would you pick them? And if you all actually sat down together, what would happen? Serle explores this very idea through her main character, Sabrina, who sits down for her 30th birthday dinner in NYC and is surrounded by her mostly familiar (and one famous) five. The entire book centers around the dinner, which takes place in present day NYC, but flashes back to her past as well. It was emotional, thoughtful, romantic, slightly magical and incredibly moving. I loved that she was able to revisit and work through parts of her life, and the author does a wonderful job of bringing the reader along. I literally could not put it down and cried more than once.

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

After The Dinner List I immediately downloaded another one of Serle’s books, craving a similar voice. I have to say, In Five Years, while beautiful, was also brutal. I don’t know if it was because it’s also about a thirty something in present day NYC, or because of the themes of love and friendship and destiny, but this book wrecked me while simultaneously having me on the edge of my seat. The whole premise is that after the most perfect night in December 2020 – where she gets engaged! – Dannie falls asleep and wakes up FIVE YEARS LATER in completely different circumstances. After a shocking, exhilirating and confusing hour in 2025, she wakes up again in 2020 and spends the rest of the book trying to ignore, avoid and ultimately face what she experienced – and who she experienced it with. It’s a wild concept with a joyful, sort of stressful, and kind of tragic plot that I found completely captivating. I love how both of Serle’s books mix the real with the magical. They also both really speak to the modern woman’s experience of life and love. That being said, I was emotionally exhausted after reading these who back to back and decided to pick up something a bit different…

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Okay to be honest, this book was also emotional. Clearly I was in a feelings phase. This one is kinda hard to describe (and the cover doesn’t share this) but, at the core of it all, it was about why we are who we are and what makes life worth living. For me it was really accurate in wrestling with topics related to mental health, specifically depression, anxiety and addiction. Also the main character’s name is Nora, which I found odd for the first few pages and then once I got to know her she took on a life of her own and stopped being a name hijacker 😉 Similar to the past two books, this one takes place is present day and is about a thirty something woman who lives outside of London. She is sad. She is disappointed. She is full of regret and is constantly beating herself up about what her live would have been like if she made different choices. And then, she has the opportunity to see for herself what would have happened if she made other choices. I laughed – a lot. I also cried. I felt seen. I’m not even going to try to explain the library itself because the book description really nails it. Check it out and read this book – it’s definitley one of my all time favorites!

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

This was, hands down, my favorite. If you read one book this year let it be this! Julian Jessop is an older kind of washed up artist who is, well, lonely. And he’s tired of it. So he gets a notebook and writes down how he really feels, encouraging whoever finds it next to do the same. Then, he leaves it in a coffee shop and disappears. The story follows the book – and the individuals who write in it. Pooley is a beautiful writer and really understands people. This book contains a cast of quirky, charming and relatable characters that come together in a heartwarming tale about the power of honesty, friendship and connection. It wasn’t entirely predictable – which I appreciated – but did give me a happy ending (although not the one I expected). Oh gosh I loved this book so very much. I really hope you read it!

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

When I first started this book, I did not like it. First of all – everyone is anxious. I am anxious! It felt like too much. The dialogue reminds me of that Gilmore Girls Rory and Lorelai back and forth banter that actually really stresses me out (I was never a big Gilmore Girls fan). That being said, the story is told from multiple perspectives and Backman is a master at developing characters that I grew to love. He entertwines their stories so beautifully and intentionally. Anyway, the book is actually a comedy, but a bit dark. It’s about a would-be crime, the lengths we go for the ones we love, loneliness and trying to control what we can. The eight (very) anxious strangers are all viewing an apartment when a (failed) bank robber burts in and takes the entire group hostage. The (failed) robber is struggling. The strangers are struggling. And you struggle, sigh, cry and get frustrated right along with them. Sometime’s I would be like omg I need to stop and take a breath I am exhausted. And sometimes I would laugh so hard. And sometimes I would feel so deeply distraught. About a quarter of the way through, I was invested. There are a lot of unexpected twists, too, which was a lot of fun. Similar to the last two books, this one also touches on the perils and stressors of modern day life, of finding happiness and loving yourself.

People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry

Okay, again, when I first started this book I was kinda meh on it. And when I read the Author’s Note at the end I realized holy crap, that was intentional. People We Meet On Vacation is essentially a modern day When Harry Met Sally, which is, coincidentally, one of my very favorite movies. This is a book about love. The main characters are a dynamic duo – Poppy and Alex – who are the very best of friends, despite being polar opposites. Well, they were the very best of friends. Something happened, and you spend much of the book backtracking to understand the what, why and how. This is another modern day tale: both Poppy and Alex are from the midwest, attend the University of Chicago but one ends up home and the other ends up in NYC. They are incredibly lovable in very different ways, and the dialogue between them is epic – quick, witty and so natural. Unsurprisingly, this is a romance – but it’s a slow burn. Once you start reading you will not be able to stop!

Up next I’m reading The Guest List by Lucy Foley, which is already kind of dark but definitely manageable (I’m down with suspense but not thrillers, especially of the psychological sort). I’ll keep you posted on my progress! If you’re ineterested in following along as I read, I’m pretty active on Goodreads and find it to be an excellent tool to track what I’ve read, what I’m reading and what I want to read!

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