As the “official” start of summer just passed, I thought I would share my favorite reads for summer as well as the things that are on my own summer reading list. Though I don’t buy into the whole “books for each season” thing, there’s something to be said for a light and easy to read book for sitting by the pool/under a tree with a picnic.
Recommendations:
- A YA novel :
- The Diviners by Libba Bray: Evie O’Neill has been a very bad girl. After pushing a party trick too far and exposing a scandal she’s sent off to live in New York City with her Uncle William who runs The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult. It’s the days of bobbed hair and bathtub gin but Evie’s secret powers may be a more interesting party trick than anything Fitzgerald could dream up. Check out my full review here. The second book in this series comes out soon so it’s the perfect time to catch up!
- We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: We Were Liars is about a young girl recovering from a traumatic accident. She’s spent the last two years trying to remember what happened the summer she lost her memory, but something is keeping her from remembering. The book follows Cadence as she returns to her family’s summer home and tries to put pieces of her past, and herself, back together.With a narrator that inspires the same fierce readerly devotion as Sharp Objects, the atmosphere of A Hundred Summers, and capturing first love and loss like Sarah Dessen or Stephanie Perkins, We Were Liars is the perfect book to pick up this summer!
- A children’s book
- Harry Potter: Let me guess, you missed HP when it first came out and now you’re too embarrassed to admit you didn’t read it. Have no fear, I’ll never tell. There’s something in HP for every kind of reader — even those who swear they don’t like books with magic. There’s history, friendship, good vs. evil, new worlds, England…the list goes on and on.
- A memoir
- Bucolic Plague:How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: Who doesn’t want to read about farming, former drag queens and Martha Stewart?! This book requires no more explanation. Go forth and read!
- A microhistory
- You want some fun facts to shareatBBQs and margarita nights, right? These are the perfect books for those “Did you know…” moments
- Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson
- Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
- You want some fun facts to shareatBBQs and margarita nights, right? These are the perfect books for those “Did you know…” moments
- A cookbook:
- Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward: I am endlessly impressed by the recipes I’ve made from this book. They’re easy, healthy and delicious!
- Self-Help:
- Summer time is a great time to re-evaluate your priorities and these two will help you with that:
- Make it Happen by Lara Casey
- Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin
- Summer time is a great time to re-evaluate your priorities and these two will help you with that:
What I’m Reading:
- Memoir
- Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequest : I just picked up this memoir about food and cooking and I am already hooked!
- Buzz-y book:
- The Grace Keepers by Kirsty Logan: I keep hearing about this book on the Book Riot podcast (check out the podcasts I listen to here). It’s described as The Night Circus meets Station Eleven, which if you know my reading tastes is basically the best book ever for me.
- Cookbook:
- Against All Grain AND Deliciously Ella: Though I have already read Deliciously Ella, I am looking forward to cooking more of the recipes with fresh summer produce. I am also setting up to do my second round of Whole30 so Against All Grain will be a much-needed help!
The Library of Alexandra 
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