18 Summer Book Recommendations for 2015

Are you ready to fill up your Kindle with some fun books for summer? I have a nice long list of books I am hoping to read and thought I’d share a few with you as well!

Here are some of the popular books out right now and a few anticipated summer books you might want to preorder:

1.  Inside the O’Briens: A Novel by Lisa Genova

This was a great book- all about a family that discovers the Father has a rare and debilitating hereditary disease. The story shows how the adult siblings in the family react to the news and how they decide to handle their own chances of getting Huntington’s Disease.  This sounds depressing I know but it was a beautifully written story and I loved development of the main character, Joe, as the book and his disease progressed.

2.  Things You Won’t Say: A Novel by Sarah Pekkanen

This would be a great book club book.  It is the story of a police officer that experiences the near fatal shooting of his partner and shortly after shoots a suspect himself in the line of duty.  The story details the impact on his family and a marriage on the rocks.  Again I know this sounds like a bummer but I found it hard to put down 🙂

3.  Primates of Park Avenue: A Memoir by Wednesday Martin

This is a unique book about Motherhood in New York City- the lifestyle and the mentality of women living on the Upper East Side.  The story is told by a cultural anthropologist so she analyzes the women and their habits from that perspective- comparing them to primates and tribal people.  Some of the things she describes are crazy- like searching for a blow out and bikini wax whilst in labor- but it is interesting and fun for light summer reading.  At first I really didn’t care about ladies who seem to want to make others feel bad as a professional but this book did draw me in.

4. Summer Secrets by Jane Green

This book will be released in just a few weeks.  Jane Green is an author that never disappoints me.  I pick up every book she writes and usually can’t put them down.  Start with this one and if you like it, you might check out Saving Grace and Tempting Fate as well.

5. Killing Monica by Candace Bushnell

Candace Bushnell is another good one- usually her books  are a little more provocative.  She wrote Sex in the City and Lipstick Jungle and tends to write about powerful, NYC career women.  This story is about a successful writer looking to shift from her blockbuster books to something she feels more passionate about.  I am sure it won’t disappoint but this one isn’t released until June 23.

6. Lessons in French by Hillary Reyl

Set back in 1989, this is the story of a young American Girl invited to work as a famous photographer’s assistant in Paris.  This is the story of a young woman struggling to find herself in a very glamorous world.  Sounds like a winner to me 🙂

7. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

So this book is very, very highly anticipated and will be released July 14th.  This is the original book Harper Lee wrote before she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird.  The novel was rejected by publishers and shelved until it was discovered last year.  The story follows many of the characters from To Kill a Mockingbird 20 years later.  I can not wait to read this one and I have To Kill a Mockingbird in my Kindle as a refresher before this one comes out.

8. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson

Everyone knows the story about the Titanic but what about the Lusitania?  This is the story of the Lusitania and it has received fantastic reviews.  The story is supposed to be suspenseful and gripping and I just bet it is made into a movie before too long.  Here is a little review:

It is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love. 

9. Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

This is a lighter choice for those that want something for the beach.  After a heartbreak, a young woman moves to a quiet seaside town and turns her hobby of baking into a successful career.  This is a perfect book to pick up if you are a fan of Jojo Moyes — and if you haven’t read her books you are missing out 🙂

10. The Corsican Caper by Peter Mayle

Another fun escapist story from Peter Mayle.  I love his books- he is a British ex-pat that lives in France and tells fun and amazing stories about his life in Provence.  If you ever dream about saving goodbye to real life and running off to live in the French countryside, these books are for you.  This is the third book in a series about a silly sleuth involved in uncovering various plots that happen within the jet set of the French Riviera.

11. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

If you want a little inspiration for summer projects, this is an interesting take on how to clear the crap from your life for once and for all.  This is written from a Japanese organizational expert’s point of view so there are a few cultural differences to consider when reading.  Overall I found this to be a quick read with some great tips to organize your home and get rid of all the clutter and junk once and for all. I actually got this one from Audible and listened on a long car trip recently.

12. Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner 

I liked this book quite a bit.  It is the story of a modern girl in London that finds a survivor from WWII.  She reveals a story of her life before the war, during the blitz on London and life post war in England.  I totally recommend this one- you’ll get lost in the characters.

13. To Find a Mountain by Dani Amore

This is the story of a young girl living in the Italian countryside during WWII.  Her Father escapes the Germans and hides out in the Italian mountains and it is up to her to take care of her family in the midst of war.  There are a lot of popular books out right now about WWII but you don’t often hear the Italian perspective and I really enjoyed this one.

14. Paper Towns by John Green

By now just about everyone has read The Fault in Our Stars and this is another novel about a boy desperately in love with a mysterious girl from afar.  She comes into his life for just a day and then disappears again leaving him clues to find her.  This is going to be a movie released this summer so you might want to read it first.

15. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert 

A classic love story that will be made into a movie this summer.  The movie is set for release June 12th and the trailer looks  really good to me!  You might want to grab the book first

16. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin 

A young woman leaves Ireland in the 1950’s to make a life for herself in New York. The book is about a woman who is torn between her old life in Ireland and her new life (and love) in Brooklyn.

17. The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes

Here is another fun novel by a favorite author of mine.  Marian Keyes writes fun and lively stories about women that are perfect for a day at the beach.  The book is about a woman in Dublin that attempts to do one good deed and a series of events unfold that dramatically change her life.  I can’t wait to read this one.

18. Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner

Yet another favorite (ha ha I have a few it seems)- I read everything from Jennifer Weiner.  I love her stories and I always get totally engrossed in her novels- perfect for travelling as you won’t want to put the books down.

This story is a chance meeting of two children at a hospital one night and how their very different lives intersect into adulthood.  If you love this one, go back through her other books. I haven’t read one that I didn’t love 🙂

And here are a few other book lists you might enjoy:

15 Books to Read in 2015

100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

And last year’s summer book recommendations: