In reality, very little of my summer looks like this. I will read almost every day this summer, maybe missing one or two (the horror!) but it's often before bed or while supervising bath time/asking why I am getting splashed when I am 5 feet away from the tub or in little snippets throughout the day. The sun won't shine every day and there is pretty much always something that needs done around the house.
But I still look forward to summer reading. I aim to read more than I do the rest of the year (my goal this year is 12 hours a week, up from the 10 I'm trying to hit now) and there are a lot of new books coming out that I am excited to read (I had my books picked for each June, July, and August two weeks ago). Without school runs twice a day, I hope our days will be a little calmer and that we will still have plenty of lazy summer days.
With all the new books I am excited to read, my library holds are always maxed out (not hard when we only get 5). They are maxed out year round but since I'll put my most anticipated summer reads on hold months before they are released, I have empty hold spots even less. So I need a mix of new and old (and even some I own!) books to read.
I called this list a backlist summer reading list, backlist meaning not the author's most recent book. In some cases, at least one, the author hasn't written anything since BUT all of these are at least a year old which means the library hold lists are manageable. I've read and enjoyed them all, in many cases having specific memories of reading them. To me, that means that it was an enjoyable reading experience - the right combination of the right book at the right time. These are all lighter books, almost all with a romance, many of them taking place in the summer. If my library holds are taking too long to come in, these are the books I'd be pulling off the shelf in the meantime.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a product link, I’ll receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. I am a heavy library user and highly recommend them but thank you for helping support this blog if you decide to purchase!
The Shark Club by Ann Kidd Taylor
When Maeve is a young girl she is bitten by a shark. Years later, she becomes a marine biologist who travels the world, learning about sharks. That's probably not the reaction I would have. She returns to the hotel where she grew up and meets a young girl who is also really interested in sharks as well as reconnecting with an old crush. What is she going to do, with the young girl following her around, with the old crush, and with her job with sharks? This book taught me a few things about sharks as well as being a fun read. (I wrote a whole post on it here.)
Fireworks by Katie Cotugno
This book is about teens trying to become popstars in Florida in the late 90s. I think my semi-constant mention of the Backstreet Boys here makes it rather obvious that that's all I needed to know to want to read this book. That might not work on everyone. A girl with no interest in being a popstar tags along with her friend when the friend is meeting a big time music producer. Both girls end up training to become pop stars and meet (of course) up and coming boy pop stars. If you had any interest in the late 90s pop music craze, this was a really fun read.
When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger
This book was billed as the 3rd book in the "Devil Wears Prada" series. I never read the original (but really enjoy the movie) but did read the second. This book really has very little to do with that world besides Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt in the movie) being one of three main characters. But 95% of the book would have worked fine if she was just given another name so don't be deterred if you haven't read the 1st two books in the "series". Anyways, Emily is living in the suburbs of New York where there is quite the pressure to look perfect. This book follows her and two of her friends as they navigate this life. I usually enjoy a good book about the uber-rich, especially around NYC, since that is a life that will never be mine (and I'm fine with that). It makes for a quite enjoyable read.
Italian for Beginners by Kristin Harmel
This one is about a woman who has always played it safe but then her little sister gets married and Cat is feeling a little bored with her life. She takes up an invitation from an old flame to spend a month in Italy. Who wouldn't want to spend a month of the summer in Italy? (Ok, I don't really with kids in tow and all sorts of responsibilities here but it would have sounded a lot more temping 15 years ago). The old flame is a bit of a dud but Cat decides to stay and just enjoy Italy. She learns to let go and enjoy life. Since most of us aren't running off to Italy this summer, this book is a good substitute. And much cheaper than international flights.
Love Finds You at Sunset Beach, Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn
While we're talking about jetting off for places...why not a week or two in Hawaii (that one I do have a little experience with). Robin Jones Gunn might be my most read author and is about the only one I will buy books by without reading them. She wrote my beloved Christy Miller series but this is her most stand alone novel (in my opinion). It follows, Sierra, a character from the other books but you don't need to have read them for this to make sense (I think). She goes to Hawaii to babysit her nephew while her sister is at a wedding and then Sierra spends a week on the North Shore with a friend. She meets a guy, she has to decide what to do with her life, post Hawaii. She watches surfing, she helps out her friend. This might be my favorite of all her books and one I've read many times. The paperback is strangely expensive on Amazon but, also, still cheaper than flying to Hawaii!
Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
This is YA, which just feels so right for the summer. Maybe because I remember falling in love with my now husband over the summer when we were both teens? This, like so much YA, takes place the summer after Amy (and Roger) graduate high school. Amy's father has semi-recently died in a car accident and her mother has decided to relocate to the East Coast (from the West). Amy is tasked with driving the car cross-country, something she doesn't want to do after her Dad's died in one. Enter Roger, an old family friend, who also has reasons for driving across the country. The take a slightly more scenic route, critique each other's music, and maybe become something more than just old family acquaintances.
The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams
Told in two time periods - 1951 and 1969, on an island off the coast of New England, with characters almost all with lots of money. Miranda's mother has recently remarried and Miranda is now spending her summer among all these rich people where she doesn't feel she fits in. She, instead, befriends the son of the man who runs the lighthouse, things go slightly amuck, and Miranda doesn't return to the island for 18 years. I feel like an island off the coast of New England would still be rather chilly in the summer (although I have very little experience to back that up) but it makes for captivating reading.
Fitness Junkie by Lucy Skyes and Jo Piazza
If you think our culture's obsession with weight and diets and restrictive eating and who knows what else is trending...is a little out of hand, well then this might be the book for you. Janey is CEO of a couture wedding dress company and she's told she needs to lose 30 pounds before coming back to work. She enters this crazy world of diets and all that comes with it, trying out a lot of different fitness regimes before settling on one run by a workout guru with a crazy following. Things aren't quite what they seem. It makes me feel better about not following any crazy diet but it was humorous reading about these people that do.
Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith
Another YA (they are a summer staple), this one about a girl who finally decides to tell her good friend that she's had a crush on him for YEARS when the lottery ticket she gave him for his birthday turns out to win the jackpot and then she can't really tell him NOW when everyone suddenly wants something from him and it would only seem like she's capitalizing on his new wealth. Some lessons (we all probably know but these are teens) about money and what is really important in life (not money). I gave it it's own post back here!
The Summer House by Hannah McKinnon
Flossy has brought her three grown children back to their family beach house for their father's 80th birthday. OF COURSE there is drama, otherwise it wouldn't be a book. All three of the grown kids have their own family problems to deal with and a lot of things escalate and come to a head in the time they are spending together. It might make you either appreciate that you aren't or wish that you are spending a lot of time, together in the same house, with your whole extended family.
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
Rachel has always been a good girl, doing exactly what she is supposed to, until the morning after her 30th birthday when she wakes up in bed next to her childhood (and current) BFF's fiance. Rachel did like Dex first but then Dex started dating Darcy and they got engaged and Rachel is supposed to be the maid of honor....a lot of people do not great things in this book but it really is so much fun. I was rooting for Rachel (Darcy is kinda the worst) all through the summer her and Dex are trying to figure out whatever this is.
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Dimple is excited to get away from her well intentioned but overbearing family for the summer to go to a summer program for aspiring web developers. The (slight) problem is that there she meets Rishi. Rishi and Dimple have an arranged marriage but only Rishi knows this. Slight hijinxs ensue. Dimple is a character I really wanted the best for and she's determined to do her best work in this summer program. I still remember reading this one in about a day at the lake. I am about due for a reread!
Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Hannah has no idea what she wants to do with her life, at the old age of 29. Hannah moves back to her hometown of LA to crash in the guest room of her longtime friend. The two girls go out to a bar that night where they run into Hannah's high school boyfriend, Ethan. Ethan asks Hannah to come home with him. Hannah's friend wants to take her back home. The story splits from there and plays out both choices concurrently. That makes for an interesting construct, something many of us probably wish we could do from time to time - see how things would play out with different choices! What is really meant to be?
Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand's newest book is usually the one I will put on hold 2 months before it comes out. This is one of my recent-ish favorites of hers - two familes gather on Nantucket for the wedding of their children. All wedding choices are being made according to The Notebook - what the bride's mother left when she died with very specific instruction on how her youngest's wedding is supposed to go. The story takes place in the days leading up to and through the wedding. The bride and groom are happy but their family members have a lot of drama. I almost always blow through her books in about a weekend and this was no exception. A little heavier than others, with the mother long gone, but still pretty delightful.
Now I really want to go and reread all of these this summer! If those library holds take too long that might be what I do! Happy reading!
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