Our Hot Summer Reading List For 2019!

The Summer season is officially in full swing and we have an exciting 2019 reading list for you! As you enjoy the great outdoor weather and go into vacation-mode, we hope you'll get a chance to read one (or a few!) of these terrific reads.

 

 

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by William H. McRaven

As a Navy Seal, Admiral William H. McRaven learned valuable lessons which helped him to overcome many challenges while in the Navy and also throughout his life. In 2014, Admiral McRaven delivered the commencement address to the graduates of the University of Texas at Austin explaining that anyone can use these lessons to change things for the better. One of his first lessons to that graduating class - make your bed every morning. His speech went viral with over 10 million views. In this book, McRaven builds upon the core values laid out in that momentous speech. The book provides encouragement, wisdom and practical advice that will inspire anyone who reads this to achieve more, even in the toughest of times.

 

 

The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West by David McCullough

The Pioneers who settled the Northwest Territory overcame enormous hardships - with their courage and determination they rose to establish a community built on ideals that would later come to define our nation. With his magnetic story-telling, Pulitzer-Prize winning author and historian David McCullough showcases a quintessential time in American history.  For the history buff, this is sure to be a fascinating read.

 

The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning

This gripping novel is a story about refugees who fled to China during WWII. Once in Shanghai a friendship forms between two young girls; but the war’s toll tears them apart. Years later Alexandra moves to be near her grandparents in Australia where she comes to learn about her past, and family mysteries that have been kept a secret for more than 50 years. Alexandra faces her grandparents’ past by traveling to Shanghai where she is forced to question what she knows about her family as well as herself.

 

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

If you’re looking for a fun romance novel, this is it. Olive and Ami are identical twins - Olive seems to never have luck on her side while everything always works out for her sister Ami. Ami even managed to finance her entire upcoming wedding and honeymoon by winning a slew of contests. But then everyone in the wedding party gets food poisoning except Olive and the groom’s brother Ethan. Now a free trip is up for grabs and it’s been decided that Olive and Ethan will go - the problem is Olive and Ethan consider themselves enemies. Putting their hatred aside, Olive and Ethan head for Hawaii determined to avoid each other the entire trip. But when they have to pretend to be the loving newlyweds, Olive feels that luck may have turned in her favor.

 

Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand

Elin Hilderbrand proves once again that she is queen of the summer novel. Every summer, the Levin siblings spend time at their grandmother’s historic home in Nantucket but during the tumultuous summer of 1969, they all experience the upheaval and drama of a time when everything changed.

 

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

Joanna Teale is an ornithologist who is recovering from a double blow: her mother's death and her own battle with breast cancer. She returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. When a mysterious child appears claiming to be an alien from a distant planet Jo seeks help from the egg man down the street, Gabriel Nash. The more time the three of them spend together, the more questions Jo and Gabriel have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? Join in on their journey and see how their fates will be left to the stars.

 

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. For Tara Westover, her first time in a classroom was at the age of 17. Tara was born in the mountains of Idaho to survivalists parents. In preparation for the end of the world, she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and salvaged in her father's junkyard. Lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents. This memoir gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.

 

When You Read This: A Novel by Mary Adkins

This is a book for those who love a good captivating romantic comedy. Smith Simonyi has worked with Iris Massey for four years when Iris is taken by a terminal illness at only 33. Her last request to Smith was that he publish a book from her blog posts. Smith tackles the task of fulfilling Iris’s last wish but he must first get the approval of Iris’ big sister Jade, a chef who’s been knocked sideways by her loss. This story is told in a series of e-mails, blog posts, online therapy submissions, text messages, legal correspondence, home-rental bookings, and other snippets of their virtual lives. A fun book that reminds us that endings mean new beginnings.

 

The Flatshare: A Novel by Beth O'Leary

If the idea of living with a complete stranger sounds a little unnerving wait till you hear that these strangers share a bed and yet have never met. When Tiffy Moore needs an affordable place to live fast and Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash they find themselves in the perfect situation. Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the whole place to herself the rest of the time. As the two begin to exchange very simple, ordinary notes that are left around the apartment their lives slowly start to intertwine without them meaning to.

 

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

It’s 1961 in New Bremen, Minnesota. Frank Drum is like any other thirteen-year-old except that his life is about to be forever changed by that summer. This novel is the story of the murder of a beautiful young woman, a beloved daughter and sister. At heart, it’s the story of what that tragedy does to a young boy, his family, and ultimately the fabric of the small town in which he lives. Told from Frank’s perspective forty years after that fateful summer, this is a moving account of a boy standing at the door of his young manhood, trying to understand a world that seems to be falling apart around him. It is an unforgettable novel about discovering the terrible price of wisdom.

Do you have any favorite summer reads? If so, share it with us in the comments below. Thanks for reading, we look forward to hearing from you!