One topic my grandmother and I discuss frequently is books. She often asks me what I’m reading and continues to be surprised that it takes me so freaking long to finish books these days. I fall asleep so quickly when I get in bed and start reading. I always joke to her that I do my best reading in the middle of the night when I wake up and can’t fall back asleep. I probably read more pages at 3a than any other time of the day.
In this post I’m sharing six books that I read (or listened to on Audible) this spring along with my summer 2021 reading list. I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a book list…ever? So many good ones out this summer. Maybe it’s because everyone was locked down for so long and these authors had a lot of time to write good books? All I know is that I’m definitely going to increase my reading frequency this summer!
BOOKS I’VE READ RECENTLY
Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez
This is the third book in The Friend Zone series. I read the second book (The Happy Ever After Playlist) last summer and adored it. While I didn’t love Life’s Too Short quite as much as The Happy Ever After Playlist, it was an easy and good read. Guess I need to go back and read book number one (The Friend Zone) now! Abby Jimenez’s books are romantic comedies that are laugh out loud funny with some poignant messaging weaved in. Warning: she does use a fair amount of profanity in her writing so don’t listen to the audio version with little ears.
The Flight Attendant by Christ Bohjalian
This thriller is so popular that it has been made into an HBO mini-series but I couldn’t finish it! Y’all, it was one of the books where the main character made SO many bad decisions that I just couldn’t keep going. I actually ended up googling the ending as I was typing this recap, haha!
Hummingbird Lane by Carolyn Brown
If you need a light, uplifting, wholesome read, Carolyn Brown’s books are the ticket. I read The Banty House last summer at my grandmother’s encouraging and Hummingbird Lane is equally as enjoyable. This is such a sweet story about friendship.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
I saw this book pop up in a few Instagram stories and it sounded different than what I typically read so I gave it a listen on Audible during some road trips. It’s historical fiction that is told from the POV of two historical characters and one present day. It was an entertaining story that kept my interest throughout the 10 hour listening time but I can’t say I’ll be adding it to any favorite book lists.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
I am going to be in the minority here but I hated this book and didn’t finish it. Again, I listened to it on Audible and just could not get hooked into the plot or the characters. I was disappointed because I really liked some of Backman’s previous books like A Man Called Ove. I’m also perplexed because I know a lot of people who enjoyed this book.
Atomic Habits by James Clear
I also listened to this one while driving back and forth to Tennessee this spring. Atomic Habits was motivating and thought provoking. The strategies for changing bad habits and creating new positive ones that were outlined in the book were clear and realistic to implement in your life (for example, my habit stacking post).
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
I actually read this one a while ago and realized that somehow I never shared it with you guys. This book came recommended by my mom and it was WONDERFUL. 10/10 recommend.
BONUS: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
I’ve already written about this book in a previous post but I had to include it in this recap as well because it’s so amazing. This book made me think so much and touched my heart deeply.
MY SUMMER 2021 READING LIST
People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry
Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read comes a sparkling new novel that will leave you with the warm, hazy afterglow usually reserved for the best vacations.
Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
In this satisfying page-turner from “the queen of beach reads” (New York Magazine), a Nantucket novelist has one final summer to protect her secrets while her loved ones on earth learn to live without their golden girl.
On a perfect June day, Vivian Howe, author of thirteen beach novels and mother of three nearly grown children, is killed in a hit-and-run car accident while jogging near her home on Nantucket. She ascends to the Beyond where she’s assigned to a Person named Martha, who allows Vivi to watch what happens below for one last summer. Vivi also is granted three “nudges” to change the outcome of events on earth, and with her daughter Willa on her third miscarriage, Carson partying until all hours, and Leo currently “off again” with his high-maintenance girlfriend, she’ll have to think carefully where to use them.
From the Beyond, Vivi watches “The Chief” Ed Kapenash investigate her death, but her greatest worry is her final book, which contains a secret from her own youth that could be disastrous for her reputation. But when hidden truths come to light, Vivi’s family will have to sort out their past and present mistakes—with or without a nudge of help from above—while Vivi finally lets them grow without her.
With all of Elin’s trademark beach scenes, mouth-watering meals, and picture-perfect homes, plus a heartfelt message—the people we lose never really leave us—Golden Girl is a beach book unlike any other.
That Summer by Jennifer Weiner
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Summer comes another deliciously twisty novel of intrigue, secrets, and the transformative power of female friendship.
Daisy Shoemaker can’t sleep. With a thriving cooking business, full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs, she should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful, her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Still, Daisy knows she’s got it good. So why is she up all night?
While Daisy tries to identify the root of her dissatisfaction, she’s also receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling, whose email address is just one punctuation mark away from her own. While Daisy’s driving carpools, Diana is chairing meetings. While Daisy’s making dinner, Diana’s making plans to reorganize corporations. Diana’s glamorous, sophisticated, single-lady life is miles away from Daisy’s simpler existence. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and become friends. But, as they get closer, we learn that their connection was not completely accidental. Who IS this other woman, and what does she want with Daisy?
From the manicured Main Line of Philadelphia to the wild landscape of the Outer Cape, written with Jennifer Weiner’s signature wit and sharp observations, That Summer is a story about surviving our pasts, confronting our futures, and the sustaining bonds of friendship.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
A gripping mystery about a woman who thinks she’s found the love of her life—until he disappears.
Before Owen Michaels disappears, he smuggles a note to his beloved wife of one year: Protect her. Despite her confusion and fear, Hannah Hall knows exactly to whom the note refers—Owen’s sixteen-year-old daughter, Bailey. Bailey, who lost her mother tragically as a child. Bailey, who wants absolutely nothing to do with her new stepmother.
As Hannah’s increasingly desperate calls to Owen go unanswered, as the FBI arrests Owen’s boss, as a US marshal and federal agents arrive at her Sausalito home unannounced, Hannah quickly realizes her husband isn’t who he said he was. And that Bailey just may hold the key to figuring out Owen’s true identity—and why he really disappeared.
Hannah and Bailey set out to discover the truth. But as they start putting together the pieces of Owen’s past, they soon realize they’re also building a new future—one neither of them could have anticipated.
With its breakneck pacing, dizzying plot twists, and evocative family drama, The Last Thing He Told Meis a riveting mystery, certain to shock you with its final, heartbreaking turn.
The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews
Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads delivers her next page-turner for the summer with The Newcomer.
In trouble and on the run…
After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya’s ex; sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister’s warnings: “If anything bad happens to me—it’s Evan. Promise me you’ll take Maya and run. Promise me.”
With a trunkful of emotional baggage…
So Letty grabs her sister’s Mercedes and hits the road with her wailing four-year-old niece Maya. Letty is determined to out-run Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a “go-bag” of cash and a big honking diamond ring—but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at The Murmuring Surf Motel.
The No Vacancy sign is flashing & the sharks are circling…
And that’s the good news. Because The Surf, as the regulars call it, is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds who regard this odd-duck newcomer with suspicion and down-right hostility. As Letty settles into the motel’s former storage room, she tries to heal Maya’s heartache and unravel the key to her sister’s shady past, all while dodging the attention of the owner’s dangerously attractive son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. Can Letty find romance as well as a room at the inn—or will Joe betray her secrets and put her behind bars? With danger closing in, it’s a race to find the truth and right the wrongs of the past.
The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
The New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners returns with a witty and effervescent novel about what happens when two people with everything on the line are thrown together by science—or is it fate? Perfect for fans of The Rosie Project and One Plus One.
Single mom Jessica Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents—who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno—Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father was never around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but working constantly to stay afloat is hard…and lonely.
But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands.
At least she thought she did, until her test shows an unheard-of 98 percent compatibility with another subject in the database: one of GeneticAlly’s founders, Dr. River Peña. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around, because she already knows Dr. Peña. The stuck-up, stubborn man is without a doubt not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him and we’ll pay you. Jess—who is barely making ends meet—is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond Match” that could launch GeneticAlly’s valuation sky-high, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.
“Laugh-out-loud, sweet, charming, and humorous” (Library Journal, starred review), The Soulmate Equation proves that the delicate balance between fate and choice can never be calculated.
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.
The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.
Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.
And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.
By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.
Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility—but also danger.
Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook find it impossible to ignore their differences. The Island of Sea Women takes place over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War, through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the women divers. Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.
“This vivid…thoughtful and empathetic” novel (The New York Times Book Review) illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge and the men take care of the children. “A wonderful ode to a truly singular group of women” (Publishers Weekly), The Island of Sea Women is a “beautiful story…about the endurance of friendship when it’s pushed to its limits, and you…will love it” (Cosmopolitan).
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
For cynical twenty-three-year-old August, moving to New York City is supposed to prove her right: that things like magic and cinematic love stories don’t exist, and the only smart way to go through life is alone. She can’t imagine how waiting tables at a 24-hour pancake diner and moving in with too many weird roommates could possibly change that. And there’s certainly no chance of her subway commute being anything more than a daily trudge through boredom and electrical failures.
But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.
Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.
Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.
QUESTIONS
What have you read and enjoyed recently? Or not enjoyed!?
What’s on your summer reading list? Have you read any of the books on mine?
Thanks for the suggestions!
I just read The Island of Sea Women recently! I love all of Lisa See’s books!
The Last Thing He Told Me is also on my list – I heard it will be made into a show so I want to read it before it airs. ?
Yes, Lisa See’s books are SO good!
I also hated Anxious People and thought I was the only one – I could not get past halfway through! What are we missing – it has a ridiculously high Goodreads rating!?!?
The mixed reviews of this book are truly perplexing. And so many people that said they didn’t like it until the end and then it’s good. I don’t want to dislike a book for 75%, you know!?
I agree with both of you! I have tried to start that book twice and can’t get even 50 pages in! I have a friend who LOVES the author. Maybe I should start with A Man Called
It’s a tough read! And I’m just not going to push through something I hate to get to a good ending!
I’m adding some of these to my list! Thanks! I love having a kindle makes it so easy to read at 3Am!
We read the flight attendant for my neighborhood book club and I hated it from the beginning. Our book club just read Verity-that you can read in one day easily!
For a fun beachy read I loved the Unhoneymooners!
Yes, the 3a Kindle reading is amazing. I don’t have to turn a light on to read and it makes usually me sleepy again! Thank you for the two book suggestions!
Hi Jen!
I also did not care for Anxious People and I love most of his books!!!
If you are for a very twisted book about motherhood try The Push. It’s pretty dark but I also couldn’t put it down.
Happy reading!
Thank you for the suggestion Jessica!
I finished Anxious People — and that’s why people love it. I was not really enjoying it until a few “unknowns” become clear, and from that point on, it was a sweet story.
Not sure why the first part is so darn slow – I nearly dropped it a few times, but I loved Ove, so stuck it out. Glad I did! 🙂
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was really good, as was Project Hail Mary. PHM is by the same author as The Martian, which is also a great read!
So many people have said the last part of the book makes up for the first part – I also wish it wasn’t so slow! Hard to read for sure!
Thank you for the book suggestions. I have not read them!
Anxious people was initially hard for me to get into and listen S some of the characters initially drove me crazy… like another comment or said, the end makes up for it, but definitely not a favorite over here.
Other books I’ve read this year that I liked where the The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, Circe, The Four Winds (depressing but still good), and The Last Flight.
Thank you for the book suggestions. I also found The Four Winds to be a bit heavy/depressing and really liked The Last Flight. I haven’t read the other two!
I also did not really love Anxious People. It was kind of ‘meh’ for me – even though I finished it. People say the ending makes up for the book but I still felt meh when I finished it and wouldn’t recommend it to others. But most of my friends gave it 5 stars, so I, too, am in the minority!
I am reading “The Last Exile” which is a debut novel set in North Korea. It’s on Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide list. Her picks are almost always a hit for me so I expect to enjoy it!
So interesting how this book tends to be a love/hate with many of the love people saying, “just wait to the end.” I don’t really want to not enjoy a book for 3/4 of it and then it gets good…you know!?
Let me know what you think about The Last Exile when you finish!
I really wanted to like The Flight Attendant but… no. The main character makes so many bad decisions it made me cringe and the ending is way too far-fetched in my opinion, I wonder how the tv series is though?
TOTALLY AGREE. It was literally cringe-worthy. I don’t think I’ll be watching the TV series based on what I read but I think it was popular.
My recent reads I would recommend: I just finished Rules for Visiting. I thought it was cute and a timely read as things are opening back up. And I really loved Fleishman is in Trouble. I found myself actually laughing out loud at how snarky it was! And Circe was a modern take on Greek mythology that I really enjoyed!
Thank you so much for these recommendations. I haven’t heard of any of these books!
Listening to books is SUCH a different experience. I’m not sure who narrated ‘anxious people’ but the author has such a unique style, I can imagine that in the wrong voice and cadence it would sound odd. Maybe you simply didn’t like the story, but if you have the desire, I’d give it another try READING the book. He has a way of writing such kooky lovable characters ~
Totally agree with you on reading v. listening. This is why I typically listen to non-fiction (and prefer it to be narrated by the author) and read fiction!
I love love love when you put these recaps/lists together! I also enjoy the books by Abby Jimenez! Just finishing up “The last thing he told me”… Very interesting book to say the least!
Yay, I’m glad so many of y’all have found this helpful and a good resource! I really love receiving book recommendations from others and talking about books so it’s fun to do these round ups!
What books has your grandmother enjoyed lately?
We read most of the same books! We share a Kindle! I’ll ask her when I’m visiting this weekend.
I loved the Midnight Library! Had to comment b/c I’m also in the middle of Atomic Habits and really enjoying it. I read Anxious People and I think I know what you mean-I hated the book for at least the first half if not 3/4, but towards the end it honestly improves. I think I see what the author was trying to do, and overall I rated it good. (I also felt pressure to finish as it was my friends Book Club read!!)
Glad to hear you’re enjoying Atomic Habits and Midnight Library was just so good! I don’t think I can keep going with Anxious People just to get to the end, haha. I would have finished if it were for a book club too!
I felt like I was in the minority with Anxious People as well. All the characters annoyed me. I listened to it on Audible as well and I was listening at 2.0 speed just to get through it. lol
So did you make it to the end? Was the ending worth reading through to get to like others said? Also, I listen to almost all of my books slightly sped up! 😉