In just a few days I’ll be lounging poolside with a cocktail in hand and my nose in a book.
We’re heading to Zoetry Parisio de la Bonita for our fifth annual Y2 Yoga retreat and I cannot wait! In preparation for the retreat I usually buy a few new bathing suits and order some new books. I decided to forego new swimwear this year since Victoria’s Secret has discontinued their swim line and I’m at a loss for where to get my swimwear now. 🙁
Reading on vacation is one of my favorite activities so I always pick out new books to devour.
I’ve been in quite a book rut and nothing I’ve read recently has really been all that great so I asked for book recommendations in my Peanut Butter Runner Community Group on Facebook and got a ton of amazing suggestions.
I’ve got these two books being delivered by Amazon Prime tomorrow. The first is The Nightingale by Kristin Hanna. I love Kristin Hannah’s books so I’m excited to jump into this one. The second is Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult. I am not the biggest fan of Jodi Picoult in general but this book received such high praise and great feedback that I decided to give it a try.
Here’s the full list of suggestions. I wanted to share the suggestions with you guys in case you’re looking for recommendations. I know I’ll be making my way through this list throughout the spring and summer!
2017 Spring Reading List
Fiction
- Kitchens of the Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anothony Doerr
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- All the Wonderful and Ugly Things by Brynn Greenwood
- Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King (not horror FYI)
- The Lake House by Kate Morton
- State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
- The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
- Before We Visit the Goddess by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
- The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian
- The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
- The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
- Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld
- Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks
- A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
Fiction Series
- Will Trent Series by Karin Slaughter
- The Cormoran Strikes Series by Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling)
- Queen of the Tearling Series by Erika Johansen
- Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
- The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
Non-Fiction
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Paul Kalanithi
- The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
- The Universe Has Your Back by Gabby Bernstein
- Sum It Up: A Thousand and Ninety-Eight Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective by Pat Summitt
- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
- The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel
I hope you find this helpful!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the books here if you’ve read them in the comments section. Also, let me know if you have anything to add to the list!
Suggestions on where to find relatively affordable but good quality bathing suits?
The Nightengale, All the Light We Cannot See, and A Man Called Ove are three of the best books I’ve read the past couple of years. All were absolutely amazing!
I think you need to be asking for questions about where to buy a bathing suit, not books
OOO lots of great books! Read many of them and you can’t go wrong. I’m currently reading the Jodi Picoult one and wow, it’s intense. It’s hard to put down, really emotional and unfair with timely content. You should enjoy it!
You’ll love Karin Slaughter! My mom’s favorite author and series!
I heard VS is possibly bringing swim back next year? Let’s hope because there is literally nowhere else to buy affordable swim suits. I’ve also heard good things about small great things. Can’t wait to hear how you like it!
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover was SO good.
I loooooooved eligible! Read the entire 500 page book in less than three days because it was so great 🙂
When Breath Becomes Air was wonderful! He’s a lovely writer, and the story is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.
Have The Goldfinch and All the Light we Cannot See but haven’t read them yet – both came highly recommended. Same for the Neopolitan novels, which I’m dying to read.
I’ve read all of Game of Thrones to date, and while they’re generally good, they’re incredibly dense and long and can drag. There were POV characters whose chapters I would dread, but if you’re a fan of the TV show, at least the first few fill in some back story and you can see where the show took a different direction.
Enjoy the retreat and poolside reading!
Just finished The Nightingale and loved it! All the Light We can Not see is also great. Another book I would suggest is the Rosie Project, it was hilarious! Not sure what it is, but I am not at all a fan of Jodi Picoult books; I have only finished one of her books and that was because it was one of the only ones at the beach house we were staying at, the rest I start but can never get through. Have not read A Man Called Ove, but did recently watch the movie (Swedish foreign film)and it was great!
I LOVE swimwear from Athleta. They stay in place so well, are pretty without being too revealing and have lots of mix and match options. I used to be a VS swimwear girl too but switched to Athleta a few years back. I’ve had the same 4 suits for 3 years…they’ve gone on multiple beach vacations and I have a pool in my backyard so they get a lot of use and are still in great shape!
Agree with Christy!! I’m guilty of never buying new bathing suits. I wore my last VS bikinis to where the tush was so stretched out, I used a hair tie to keep it together. Last summer, I found two bikinis from Athleta that I LOVE. They fit amazing.
As for the books, All the Light We Cannot See is amazing (I actually preferred this WWII story over the Nightingale), as is When Breath Becomes Air. Get ready to cry behind your sunglasses, girl!
I highly recommend “Eligible” and “A Dog’s Purpose”. I just picked up “First Comes Love” from the library yesterday and started it last night. So far so good…After this one I am going to try to dive into more murder mystery books. Love lists like this!
Loved The Nightingale and Small Great Things! 11/22/63 was really good. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Hulu did a mini series based on the book. I haven’t seen it yet, but it looks good.
I’ve found new with tags VS swimsuits on eBay for good deals. Temporary fix though! I also really like JCrew’s swimwear line. The pieces dry really quickly and seem to hold up well.
Target actually has some cute swimsuits this year and they’re having a BOBO 50% off sale right now! They’re cheap enough that if they don’t last for years, who cares. Super jealous of your upcoming vacay! Looks amazing!
Thanks so much for compiling this list! I am always looking for new books to read (and have read several of these too!). I’ve found GoodReads really helpful for suggesting books that I’d like, and it’s fun to see what my friends/family are reading too.
I LOVE the Tearling series. SO good. Very dark for YA dystopian series….don’t go into it thinking it will be near Hunger Games or Divergent. I have heard a lot of good things about Nightingale and it is next on my list!
The Good Girl is SUCH a good one, you won’t want to put it down! It’s a crazy story that keeps you on edge, similar to Gone Girl or Girl on the Train. I’m adding some of your recommendations to my list too 🙂
Small Great Things is excellent! It will not disappoint.
I have read:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anothony Doerr (loved)
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (loved, I ended up with it at a book exchange and would never have picked it to read but was so glad I did!)
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (liked)
11/22/63 by Stephen King (loved)
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (interesting read, didn’t LOVE it like some people did)
I actually bought a swimsuit that I love at Tommy Bahama of all places, I was in there shopping for my dad and their swimwear caught my eye. I’ve also bought several suits from Old Navy, they hold up pretty well for the price.
LOVED all the light we cannot see and the nightingale ! When breath becomes air was good too. as was the goldfinch. i am currently reading the nest and so far so good ! i love good book suggestions !
Oh my goodness I’m in the same boat. I have no idea where to get swimsuits from now that Victoria Secret discontinued their line. I’ve been getting swimsuits from them since I can remember. If would interested in hearing your new go to spot if you find one!
I’m listening to the audio book for Small Great Things right now and really like it! I know they’re kind of formulaic, but I like Jodi Picoult books – that said, I have not enjoyed her last few, so I was happy to find a good one again! I noticed the Happiness Project on your list – I LOVE that book (and her book, Better than Before). I’ve read it and listened to it multiple times and feel like I always get something new from it. Happy reading!
The nightingale is amazing! – one of my favorite books! enjoy! I just read the Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty and it is really good as well!
The Astronauts Wives Club was a TV series one summer. It was really good. I may have to read that one!
I’m currently reading “Love Warrior” and recommend it! Also, loved “the Good Girl!”
For non-fiction check out “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace”. I read it a couple years ago and to this day I recommend it to everyone. From the title you can tell that it’s not a “happy” story but it’s real life.
I agree with a few others- can we have a themed post about where we buy bathing suits??? I have a honeymoon in August and more worried about that than any of my wedding planning!
I rarely read fiction books so my recommendation is for my latest (mom-fiction) read: Grit by Angela Duckworth. I loved this book as I’m facinated by the motivations of myself and others. I kept screenshotting pages for reference and kept sharing nuggets with my husband and team at work.
I had heard VS was done with swimwear but as I was just there yesterday I can say that they did have suits in their stores.
Everything But Water is my go to for swimwear!
I started reading Small Great Things when I was pregnant and quickly put it down! Anyone who reads the first few chapters will understand! I think I will pick it up again after I finish my current book – The Girls by Emma Cline (too soon to recommend)
Addition to your Non-Fiction list:
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan – just fascinating, a page turner!
Have a beautiful retreat!
I’ve read a few from this list and The Nightingale, A Man Called Ove, and When Breath Becomes Air are truly some of the best books I’ve ever read. Life changing!
Go to Athleta for the bathing suit!
Let’s not talk about the insane stockpile I bought before VS swim closed up ??
I am jealous!
Currently reading “Dog Medicine”. It’s an easy read and I think you’d enjoy it! Memoir of a mid-20s woman, who becomes severely depressed, then finds some salvation in a rescue pup (who just might be a golden) 🙂