On My Nightstand : Summer Reads

Now that vacations are on the calendar and visits to the park are a weekly occurrence, I've been scanning my bookshelves and picking out a few new releases that sound like perfect summer reads. Anyone who has read this blog—or my previous one—probably knows that I have a wee issue with commitment, so it's best if you do not assume that I will read exactly these five books this summer. If I check two off of this list along (along with one or two spontaneous picks), I'll be happy—each one sounds fantastic. (Descriptions via Goodreads.) 

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The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan: “An affecting and hope-filled posthumous collection of essays and stories from the talented young Yale graduate whose title essay captured the world's attention in 2012 and turned her into an icon for her generation."

Honestly, it had me at the title. While “Icon for her generation" brings to mind Hannah Horvath and her grand proclamations, I've heard nothing but amazing things about this collection of short stories and it is so tragic that the author was killed in a car accident given her promising future as a writer. 

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Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche: “... a story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home."

After breaking down my reading statistics from last year in true nerd fashion (ex. YA vs. Adult, fiction vs. non-fiction, male vs. female authors, etc.), I realized that I read embarrassingly few non-American, non-white authors. One of the Booktubers I follow spoke of the importance of reading diversely, and I've been looking for ways to do that myself. Americanah gets high praise from the Book Riot podcast, so it jumped to the top of my list. Plus, Lupita Nyong'o just optioned the film rights, and I ADORE HER, so I'm getting a jump start on reading the book before the movie gets made. (Question for anyone who might be familiar with this author: Do you recommend I read Half of a Yellow Sun before Americanah?)  

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Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback by Robyn Davidson: “Davidson emerges as an extraordinarily courageous heroine driven by a love of Australia's landscape, an empathy for its indigenous people, and a willingness to cast away the trappings of her former identity. Tracks is the compelling, candid story of her odyssey of discovery and transformation."

This is an older book, but after loving Cheryl Strayed's Wild, I am down for another story about a woman on a solo journey through remote lands. The movie adaptation of the book will be released later this year, starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver.

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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: “... a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II."

I am not a huge historical fiction fan, but when I do read the genre, the books I pick almost always center around World War II. I heard someone absolutely rave about this book (though for the life of me, I cannot remember who), and knew I had to read it. I hear the writing is exquisite.

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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver: “Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet."

This one has been lingering on my bookshelf for ages, and it's time to give it a read. Since our CSA just started back up, I think it's a perfect time to read about the value of local, sustainable food.

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So tell me—what's on your summer reading list? I really wish that Amy Poehler's Yes Please and Lena Dunham's Not That Kind of Girl were coming out before the fall. Is there someone in publishing we can bribe for an earlier release date?! I guess I'll have to settle for pre-ordering them!