The sun is finally shining, the days are getting longer and I am finding myself reading a bit more at night and even catching a few chapters here and there at sports practices.
I love putting together a few recommendations of books that I have enjoyed recently or that are on my to read pile. I know many of you are book lovers too so hopefully you enjoy a few of these suggestions. If you have any books that you have loved lately, I’d love to get your recs in the comments below.
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
I really enjoyed this book recently and found it to be really hard to put down. This is the story of Hedy Lamarr, famous Hollywood actress in the 1940’s, that was a Jewish-Austrian refugee and brilliant scientist that created a revolutionary technology that is the origin of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. I’m not normally one to read biographies and this book is written as a fictional account of her life but it is really well written and she is so interesting. Definitely pick this one up and once you finish, tune into Bombshell on Netflix to see her story in a documentary.
If you do enjoy this book, you might also check out Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict, which is the story of a strong and intelligent woman that serves as a maid in Andrew Carnegie’s household. I really enjoyed that one as well.
Auschwitz Lullaby by Mario Escobar
This is a beautiful and tragic story of a German nurse deported to Auschwitz and charged with creating a school and nursery for the camp children. This was such a lovely book and based on a true story.
Mrs Everything by Jennifer Weiner
I don’t know if this really qualifies as a beach read so how about a pre-beach read? The release is in June but you can preorder now and I always preorder every single thing Jennifer Weiner writes. This is the story of two sisters that grow up in the 1950’s and details their lives as they experience the turbulence of the 1960’s and struggle to define who they really are.
Jennifer Weiner is such a brilliant writer- I usually devour her books in just a few days and the great thing is that if you love this one, you will find she has written a ton of books over the years. Click here to see them all
This is a fictional story about a young man that submits a deeply personal manuscript to a publisher and gets the one and only Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as his editor. The book details a friendship that emerges between the two and how Jackie’s guidance changes his life forever.
This is such an original idea for a story, I really can’t wait to read it.
This sounds like a quirky and fun book – the story of overworked and exhausted single mom, Amy, that suddenly finds herself spending a summer alone in New York City. Our heroine finds herself in one hilarious situation after another as she attempts to navigate her new life.
The title of the book totally drew me in and the reviews on this one are excellent.
If you are looking for nonfiction, I have you covered as well.
We are huge soccer fans and Abby Wambach is a hero to me and to my girls so you better bet I devoured this the day it was released. If you are not a sports person but have girls or you are a girl or you know girls, I’d pick this up. It is a very fast read and basically sets out 8 lessons Abby has learned from her professional soccer career that apply to life. I can’t recommend enough getting this one on audiobook as Abby reading it just adds so much more nuance to her words.
If you aren’t convinced yet to grab this book, it is based off a viral commencement speech she gave at Barnard College that you can listen to here.
The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
I haven’t read this yet but it is definitely on my list. This is lessons Melinda has learned in her extensive travels around the world- focusing primarily on women and their roles in society.
Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl
Another author that I just love. Ruth Reichl is a dream for anyone that loves food. She is a very famous restaurant critic and writes the funniest, most interesting books about her experiences (fiction and non fiction). This is a behind the scenes look at her experiences as the editor of Gourmet Magazine- the evolution of restaurants in America, famous chefs and so much more. I know that might not sound super interesting to everyone but I love Ruth’s writing style. It is so effortless and easy to read her books.
If you like this one, go back and check out Garlic and Sapphires and Delicious as I really enjoyed
That’s it for now- if you’d like more reading recommendations- here are a few other lists:
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