The Books We're Hoping to Read Before Summer Ends

We're not ready to let summer go quite yet!

Fall is on the horizon. We can already smell the campfires, the football games, and the pumpkin spice. But we’re just not ready to let go of summer yet. We’ve got a little over a month left and we still have some books we want to tackle before school and other obligations cut into our reading time.

So today, we’re sharing a list of books that we’re hoping to read before summer ends. Will we actually get to read all of these books by then? You’ll just have to stay tuned and find out. 😄

SARAH WANTS TO READ:

I’m prioritizing anything that feels like summer, or that feel lighter and easier to digest, because as soon as Labor Day is over, give me all the FALL things and the more serious novels I’ve been putting off. Not included in the list below is the final two books in the Falling for Summer series I’ve been reading over the past couple of months.

SLOW DANCE by Rainbow Rowell
I have heard such good things about this story - and it sounds like it’s got some childhood friends to lovers (my favorite!) alongside some friendship and family complications.

They were just friends. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha—Shiloh would go to go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change. Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed.

Now Shiloh’s thirty-three, when she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there and whether she hopes he will be. Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it.

GOOD MATERIAL by Dolly Alderton
I got this from BOTM a few months back and just keep staring at it on my shelves because I’ve heard such mixed reviews. But, I’m determined to either read it, or DNF it before summer ends.

Andy loves Jen. Jen loved Andy. And he can't work out why she stopped. Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of his ruined relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him. But Andy still has a lot to learn, not least his ex-girlfriend's side of the story…

LITTLE MONSTERS by Adrienne Brodeur
This one has a beach on the cover so it feels like something I should read during the summer months, right? That’s about as far as I’ve thought into this one.

Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were small and they have been haunted by her absence ever since. Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them mostly on his own in his remote home on Cape Cod, where the attachment between Ken and Abby deepened into something complicated—and as adults their relationship is strained. Now, years later, the siblings’ lives are still deeply entwined.

As the novel opens, Adam is approaching his seventieth birthday, has always managed his bipolar disorder with medication, but he’s determined to make one last scientific breakthrough and so he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children. Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harboring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family—Steph, who doesn’t make her connection known.

THE MOST by Jessica Anthony
This one is either going to be right up my alley, or a total miss, but I’m intrigued by it regardless. Plus at just 144 pages, I love a short novel I can get into and out of quickly.

It’s November 3, 1957. As Sputnik 2 launches into space, carrying Laika, the doomed Soviet dog, a couple begin their day. Virgil Beckett, an insurance salesman, isn’t particularly happy in his job but he fulfills the role. Kathleen Beckett, once a promising tennis champion with a key shot up her sleeve, is now a mother and homemaker. On this unseasonably warm Sunday, Kathleen decides not to join her family at church. Instead, she unearths her old, red bathing suit and descends into the deserted swimming pool of their apartment complex in Newark, Delaware. And then she won’t come out.

THE DAYS I LOVED YOU MOST by Amy Neff
This one, a BOTM add-on, sounds absolutely lovely and heartbreaking and romantic and everything in between.

In the summer of 1941, on the New England shores where they were raised, Evelyn and Joseph fell in love. Now, more than sixty years later, with a lifetime between them, they have gathered their three grown children to share the staggering news: she has received a heartbreaking diagnosis, and he can't live without her. So in one year's time they will end their love story on their own terms.

Over the next year, the couple retraces their past—all the joys and regrets that brought them to this moment. Spanning the twentieth century from World War II to 9/11 and beyond, The Days I Loved You Most is a timeless tale of unwavering devotion -- a moving tribute to the enduring power of love and a reminder that even in the darkest moments, there is always hope and beauty to be found.

TODAY TONIGHT FOREVER by Madeline Kay Sneed
This was a random pickup when I was at an indie bookstore in Chattanooga but it’s also giving off “read me in the summer” vibes so I’m gonna!

When thirty-three-year-old Athena Matthias is asked, yet again, to be a bridesmaid, she’s not exactly enthusiastic about the idea. Still reeling from a messy divorce from her wife, she’s never felt less inclined to celebrate love. But Athena can't say no, especially to one of her oldest friends, and at least it's a destination wedding, which means three days of sun and sand.

As the wedding weekend commences on the gorgeous beaches of Watercolor, Florida, for the first time in ages, Athena finds herself surrounded by people who know and love her. But just as Athena begins to feel herself opening up again, an unexpected guest from the past throws the entire wedding party into chaos.

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MIA WANTS TO READ:

All of the books on this list are physical books that are collecting dust in my closet and I really want to read them ASAP. Then I can make room for new books, wee!

BY ANY OTHER NAME by Jodi Picoult (Available on Aug 20, 2024)
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I really love this beautiful cover. But I’m also intrigued because I’ve read several of Picoult’s other books and I think I have a love-hate relationship with her as an author. Some of her books I really love and others I can’t stand. There’s no middle ground!

This book is historical fiction with dual timelines. Timeline 1: 1581 in England. Emilia is a wannabe playwright but doesn’t have a voice of her own as a woman. She wants to secretly find a way to bring her work to the stage and pay a man to use his name. Timeline 2: Present day. Melina has written a play inspired by her ancestor, Emilia, and realizes that the playing field is still not level for women in the theater.

THE LIFE WE BURY by Allen Eskens
This book was a gift from a friend. She sent it to me years ago and I keep meaning to read it and I keep putting it off but I can’t seem to let it go because it sounds so interesting. So, this summer is the time to finally read it.

This story is a mystery about college student Joe Talbert. He needs to complete a writing assignment for an English class and his task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject and there he meets Carl Iverson. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder. And after talking to Carl, Joe’s life will never be the same.

RAISING PASSIONATE JESUS FOLLOWERS by Phil and Diane Comer
My faith is something that is very important to me (you can read more about it here, if you’re interested). And it’s something that I’ve tried to impart to my kids, but I don’t always feel well equipped to teach something that I’ve resisted almost all of my life until the past few years. So, I’m hoping this book will help me to… help them.

This book says it will equip parents with biblically-based guidelines and real-life ideas that you can turn to at each stage of your child’s development to help shepherd your children into a vibrant faith. I need all the help I can get, so I’m really looking forward to reading this one.

WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY by Michiko Aoyama
I actually picked up this book last summer at Barnes & Noble and it’s another book with a really pretty cover that I’ve been meaning to read.

This one is about a librarian who is somehow able to sense exactly what each library visitor is searching for and provide them with just the right book recommendation. The blurb says this book is about the magic of libraries and the discovery of connection. Everything about that just makes me swoon. It gives me the same vibes as BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, which I loved.

SEVERANCE by Ling Ma
I bought this book from Sarah’s Pangobooks shop because I like to “annoy” her by buying books that I know she’d gladly send to me for free if I asked. But I never ask. Teehee. But I bought it because I love science fiction and this book sounds right up my alley. It’s won so many awards and people seem to love it and I need to know what the hype is all about!

Candace is a creature of habit and stays sequestered in a Manhattan office tower. So she barely notices when a biblical plague sweeps New York. It spreads, people flee, chaos ensues. Candace remains, alone, but will she be alone forever? Not if a group of survivors has anything to say about it!

SOLITO by Javier Zamora
Ever since I read AMERICAN DIRT by Jeanine Cummins, I’ve wanted more books around the same topic - people who risk their lives leaving other countries to come to the U.S. I bought this book when I was wandering around Target one day and I am desperate to read it.

This one is a memoir about Javier and his harrowing migration from El Salvador to the U.S. at the age of nine. He had to make a 3,000 mile journey to reunite with his mother and father, whom he barely remembers. And he encounters much danger along his journey and must persevere to finally be in his parents’ arms again. I can’t even imagine making this trip as an adult, let alone as a child and I have to know more about Javier’s life.