What I’m Reading This Summer (And You Should, Too)
My one-year-old daughter is nicknamed the “Destroyer of Books.” She puts everything, including books, in her mouth. And proceeds to gum them to death.
As a life-long book worm, this is incredibly painful to me. I wouldn’t even highlight my own college textbooks because I didn’t want to harm the books. Needless to say, I have switched over to e-books for my own reading.
And my Kindle app is getting fired up for this summer! Lazy summer days provide a lot of time for reading. Road trip coming up? Download an audiobook or two. And reading on the beach is pretty much required, right? Whether you are a teen, older student, educator, or parent, I’ve got something on this list you will like.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Find someone to read along with and you’ll have a built-in book club!” quote=”Find someone to read along with and you’ll have a built-in book club!”]
If you are a parent and want to encourage your teen to read this summer, check out these suggestions from Katherine Lombardo, a high school English teacher, and all-around amazing person. My favorite suggestion is to read along with your teen. So, go through this list (or their assigned reading for school) and get 2 copies of the book!
Just a note on what you’ll find on my reading list – heavy on YA books, with some historical fiction and nonfiction thrown in for good measure. Also, I’m too frugal to buy books; I get them from the local library. You’ll see mentions of some waitlists below.
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My 2019 Summer Reading Recommendations
So, here are my recommended reads for this summer in alphabetical order. Some are educational, but most are just for fun!
Becoming – Michelle Obama’s memoir traces her life from growing up working class in Chicago to a successful lawyer to First Lady. The waitlist for my library is SIX MONTHS for this one. But I can wait 🙂
D-Day Girls – This nonfiction book tells the true story of female spies in Great Britain during World War II who helped the Allies win the war.
Dreamland Burning–historical fiction. A teen finds a skeleton in her family’s backyard. Her discovery will lead her to question race relations, not only 100 years ago, but today as well. Already downloaded and I can’t wait to start this!
Dread Nation – Imagine the zombie apocalypse broke out during the Civil War. If you’re still with me, you’ll love this book. Find out how the war ends and how life changes for a young African American zombie fighter woman in Baltimore. I really enjoyed this one and hope you do, too!
Educated – In this memoir, Tara Westover describes her early life, growing up (barely) home-schooled in rural Idaho with a survivalist father. However, she eventually ended up breaking with her parents and earning a PhD from Cambridge. Some pretty harrowing descriptions of her early life and an amazing transformation.
Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning – If you’re looking for a way to improve your learning, this is the book for you. The authors dive into research about how we learn and give tips and strategies you can use right away. I highly recommend this one!
The Poet X – This YA book, written in verse, has won so many awards! I’m was on a crazy long waitlist for this, but this book was worth the wait! Set in Harlem, a young woman Xiomara, uses poetry to express her feelings and thoughts.
The Sun is Also a Star – A sweet YA story about two teens in New York who fall in love over the course of one day. The movie version of this book is in theaters right now, so read it before heading to the theater! And yes, I always prefer the book over the movie.
Bonus! Harry Potter series – I reread the series last summer and got so much more out of it than I did the first time. If you haven’t read the books, start now. If you’ve read the books before, try them again!
Hopefully, there are some books on this list that excited you! Head to the book store or your local library and get reading!
What are you reading this summer? Let me know in the comments below.
Related Posts: 3 Reasons Audiobooks are Awesome for Students, Why You Need to Read Harry Potter as an Adult, How to Get Reluctant Teens to Actually Read, Diverse Summer Reading Recommendations for Teens