Fun Summer Reading List for Mom

Goodness do I love to read.  Life has gotten so busy the past few years and I have virtually given up on TV but the one thing I always make time for is reading.   I love books and I thought it would be fun to put together a list of some of the books on my summer reading list as well as some of the books I read recently and loved.

Hopefully you find some to sneak into your beach bag as well!  Just click the title of each book and you can read a longer description, check prices and see additional reviews!

The One and Only by Emily Giffin 

I loved this book.  It follows the story of Shea, a 30-something living in Texas and totally obsessed with her former college football team.  I found myself becoming very invested in Shea and couldn’t put this one down.  Perfect beach read!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Ok so this is the talk of 2014.  The book did not really interest me at first but I kept seeing it everywhere and hearing everyone talk about it so I finally picked it up.  It follows the romance of 2 teenagers battling cancer and it is a very engrossing story.  The movie comes out soon so you might grab this one now.  I bet you have a hard time putting it down!  (Note: I don’t want to scare anyone off by saying this is a depressing story because I didn’t think it was depressing at all.  It isn’t a light and upbeat beach read though. The story is very compelling so I read this quickly but Cancer is a central character in this book so just keep that in mind.)

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd 

I read this right when the book came out and loved this as well.  It is not necessarily a beach read and it is a thick book but I thought the story was really lovely and the characters so well written.  Here is a quick summary from the publisher:

 Hetty “Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.

You might remember Sue Monk Kidd from the Secret Life of Bees several years ago- I loved that book as well 🙂

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

This book I did like and it has received really great reviews.  It took me awhile to really get into the book but I am glad I stuck with it.  Here is a quick description from the publisher:

For the Posts, a two-week trip to the Balearic island of Mallorca with their extended family and friends is a celebration: Franny and Jim are observing their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary, and their daughter, Sylvia, has graduated from high school. The sunlit island, its mountains and beaches, its tapas and tennis courts, also promise an escape from the tensions simmering at home in Manhattan. But all does not go according to plan: over the course of the vacation, secrets come to light, old and new humiliations are experienced, childhood rivalries resurface, and ancient wounds are exacerbated.

Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

This is written by JK Rowling (of Harry Potter Fame).  This is the second book in a series about Cormoran Strike, a private investigator trying to unravel a mystery.  I read the first book, Cuckoo is Calling and I although I didn’t find it nearly as amazing as the Harry Potter series, I still liked the book quite a bit.  I will for sure grab this one this summer.

Delicious! by Ruth Reichl  

This one is on my list to read this summer- I have read two of Ruth Reichl’s books- Tender at the Bone and Garlic and Sapphires- and enjoyed both books.  If you are not familiar with her, she is a famous food critic from the New York Times and editor at Gourmet magazine.

Here is a description of her newest novel:

Billie Breslin has traveled far from her home in California to take a job at Delicious!, New York’s most iconic food magazine. Away from her family, particularly her older sister, Genie, Billie feels like a fish out of water—until she is welcomed by the magazine’s colorful staff. She is also seduced by the vibrant downtown food scene, especially by Fontanari’s, the famous Italian food shop where she works on weekends. Then Delicious! is abruptly shut down, but Billie agrees to stay on in the empty office, maintaining the hotline for reader complaints in order to pay her bills.
 
To Billie’s surprise, the lonely job becomes the portal to a miraculous discovery. In a hidden room in the magazine’s library, Billie finds a cache of letters written during World War II by Lulu Swan, a plucky twelve-year-old, to the legendary chef James Beard. Lulu’s letters provide Billie with a richer understanding of history, and a feeling of deep connection to the young writer whose courage in the face of hardship inspires Billie to comes to terms with her fears, her big sister and her ability to open her heart to love.

 

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams 

I read this several months ago- and I liked this book.  Here is the quick description:

Lily Dane has returned to Seaview, Rhode Island, where her family has summered for generations. It’s an escape not only from New York’s social scene but from a heartbreak that still haunts her. Here, among the seaside community that has embraced her since childhood, she finds comfort in the familiar rituals of summer.

But this summer is different. Budgie and Nick Greenwald—Lily’s former best friend and former fiancé—have arrived, too, and Seaview’s elite are abuzz. Under Budgie’s glamorous influence, Lily is seduced into a complicated web of renewed friendship and dangerous longing.

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty 

This was released last year and I loved this book.  I have read a few more from Liane Moriarty because I liked this one so much.  This book traces the lives of three women and uncovers the secrets in their marriages and lives.  Initially it was hard for me to keep the characters straight but I was totally drawn into this story and wound up loving it by the end.

All Fall Down by Jennifer Wiener

 I just started this book and so far it is so engrossing to me!  It is the story of a very busy mother caught in a life that isn’t all it seems.  She starts to take an occasional Vicodin to help with a little gym injury and slides into an addiction- using the pills to cope.

So far I can totally relate  (um… except the drug addiction 😉  ) and I have read pretty much every Jennifer Wiener book and always love them.

Tempting Fate by Jane Green  

 Jane Green is another author that I can always count on. She writes interesting stories that are perfect for the beach.  I read this one when it came out and loved it.

Here is the publisher’s description:

Gabby and Elliott have been happily married for eighteen years. They have two teenaged daughters. They have built a life together. Forty-three year old Gabby is the last person to have an affair. She can’t relate to the way her friends desperately try to cling to the beauty and allure of their younger years…And yet, she too knows her youth is quickly slipping away. She could never imagine how good it would feel to have a handsome younger man show interest in her—until the night it happens. Matt makes Gabby feel sparkling, fascinating, alive—something she hasn’t felt in years. What begins as a long-distance friendship soon develops into an emotional affair as Gabby discovers her limits and boundaries are not where she expects them to be. Intoxicated, Gabby has no choice but to step ever deeper into the allure of attraction and attention, never foreseeing the life-changing consequences that lie ahead. If she makes one wrong move she could lose everything—and find out what really matters most.

What books are in your beach bag this summer?

And another list you might want to check out:

100 Amazing Books to Read in Your Lifetime