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Summer Reading List

My husband, daughter and I love to read and we are finding some wonderful picks this summer.  We read a lot in this family:  my husband is a college professor and my daughter runs the book blog Hasty Book List.  I just like to read!  Here are some of our favorite summer picks.






1.  The Forgotten Cottage by Courtney Ellis was a great read!  Set in current-day England, a recovering alcoholic is visiting the site of her grandmother's childhood home.  In the book Audrey, the main character, struggles with her daily desire to drink while searching for purpose, love and a place to call home.  The book jumps between her great-grandmother's life and Audrey's, creating a connection between the two women of courage and strong women.






2.  From Strength to Strength by Arthur C. Brooks provides a "roadmap" for those leaving a career that has defined them for decades, to find fulfillment in a different way post retirement.  He helps the reader explore how addiction to work and alcolades leads to ultimate disappointment and that relationships are what matters.  He gives surprisingly different advice about marriage and friendships and asks you to ponder, "How many Thanksgivings do you have left?"






3.  The Chicken Sisters by KJ Dell'Antonia was my fun beach read this summer.  Our book club read it and I thought it was going to be nothing but fluff.  However, this cute story with an adorable plot line was so much more.  A charming story that explores family bonds and makes you want to eat really good fried chicken!





4.  The Wonderful World of Marceline by Diane Manley.  This is a highly personal choice, but I grew up in the town where this book is set.  I was more curious to read about the things the author chose to highlight more than the story itself, but I found that I was very interested in the plotline and how it would end up.  My second story based on the idea of a reality show, so that turned out to be a theme this summer!






5.  Booth by Karen Joy Fowler.  Another book club book, this novel focused on the lives of the infamous Booth family.  I was worried this would be a glorified novel on John Booth, the man who assinated Abraham Lincoln, but instead it focused mostly on what an odd family this was.  Truly interesting, at times deeply disturbing, and yet other times completely eye-opening, this book is eerily similar to the times we are living in.






These are the books that I loved for very different reasons.  I would also recomment the following:


Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedic
For Butter or Worse by Erin La Rosa (another reality show book!)
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult


Check back on September 21 for my Autumn Reading List!  

Would you like to comment?

  1. Reading is the best! I will have to add these books to my list. I make sure I read daily!

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  2. So many to choose from I will be adding several of these, including Booth, to my reading list.

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  3. Maggie1:36 PM

    I was just looking for another book to read. Thanks for the recommendations.

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  4. That's great timing as I don't have any books to read at the moment. I do like the sound of from Strength to Strength. I'd sure that would be an interesting read.

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  5. Anonymous4:48 PM

    These books will be put on my wishlist! I have been trying to find new books to read for when we sit outside and enjoy the weather! - Hannah Bures

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  6. Such good book reccomends. The Chicken Sisters sounds like a great book to read.

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  7. Sounds like a lot of great books. My oldest loves to read I'm going to share each one of these books with her. I'm sure she will enjoy reading any of them!

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  8. Booth sounds like my kids of book! I love history and I also like crime books. I would love to read about his family life and such. Sounds like a great read!

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  9. This is such a great reading list, I have to check out some of these books.

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  10. I just started a new book a few days ago. But ill add these to my reading list. Hopefully, they are on prime reading, now you can get free ebooks with your prime membership.

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  11. Monica Simpson10:05 AM

    I'm always wanting to add titles to my reading list. These all sound great to me!

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  12. This sounds like a great list, my backlog just keeps getting longer!! The Chicken Sisters may jump the line though, I could go for a feel good wholesome story.

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  13. Richelle Milar11:33 AM

    These are all really great recommendations of books! I’m surely gonna add this on my list!

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  14. The Forgotten Cottage would be my type of reading. I thing the English countryside has something special!

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  15. I will have to add these to my summer reading list. My reading list will now take me until after summer to finish now. LOL. Thanks for sharing!

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  16. I haven't read any of these. It would be fun to finish off the summer with a couple more books!

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  17. Anonymous7:33 AM

    I am currently reading a book that my husband's best friend gave me. So far, so good. Thank you for these recommendations. -LYNNDEE

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  18. I will be adding some of these on my reading list. It is taken me until the end of summer to finish my summer list. And preparing the autumn list as well.

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  19. Anonymous7:11 PM

    It's been long I haven't read a good book! I'll have to check out these books. The story of chicken sisters and the forgotten cottage sounds great to me 🙂.

    Everything Enchanting ❤️

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