2017 Summer Reading List!
Behold my summer 2017 reading list!
I unapologetically love any sort of beachy, light, chick-lit read. Not trashy romance and not in the Fifty Shades genre, but contemporary books focused on friendship, coming of age, love, etc. I’m really not into historical fiction and you won’t find any huge literary works of art here. I occasionally enjoy some nonfiction, memoirs, and really love self-help books. I don’t like to read much about sickness, death – you know, real life things! But if you love some good chick-lit, I’m your girl.
Many of you ask in the comments HOW I find time to read. When I have any sort of downtime, I am more inclined to read than do anything else. Especially in the summer! And I always read at night before bed. Always.
Here’s the thing: I am the type of reader who LOVES to get lost in the story. If I am so lost in that story, I will stay up half the night reading the book, no matter what I have to do the next day. I’d rather suffer from exhaustion than put my book down. I love stories that give me an escape, which sounds funny since I really love my own life. But I’ve always been that way. You totally get me if you’ve felt like the characters in your favorite books are friends.
Yes, I do have a goodreads account but I’ve been horrible at updating it since I had Max! I usually include the book I’m reading here on the blog.
P.S. there are mostly amazon affiliate links below! Thanks so much for reading this corner of the interwebs.
My 2017 Summer Reading List:
1. The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand. Elin is probably my favorite author and my dreams came true last year when I got to develop recipes for her book! Also some of my other faves by Elin: The Blue Bistro, The Island, Silver Girl, The Beach Club.
2. The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green.
3. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. Super interested in reading this book by the author of Girl on the Train.
4. Secrets of Summer by Nancy Thayer. I love books by Nancy Thayer because they are perfect summer beach reads. Light and easy to read and easy to escape into as well.
5. Option B by Sheryl Sandberg. I have yet to read this, but always love Sheryl Sandberg’s words. So much.
6. The New Old Me by Meredith Maran. Sounds good to me.
7. Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank. This sounds like exactly what I love to read. Some forbidden, old love!
8. Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. I keep hearing amazing things about this book. I must read it.
9. Bear Town by Fredrik Backman. Not a book I’d normally choose, but growing up in a hockey family, this really intrigues me. Also, sort of gives me the original Friday Night Lights vibes from the synopsis.
10. The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker. I want to read this for the creativity of the storyline alone.
11. And We’re Off by by Dana Schwartz. I normally don’t go for Young Adult novels, but I am so excited about this mother-daughter storyline.
12. The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews. Hopeful for another fun easy beach read in this one. I really loved Save the Date by this author too!
13. The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder. The title on this one sold me alone. I hope it’s a great one!
14. The Life She was Given by Ellen Marie Wiseman. This is a later summer release but one I’m really interested in reading. However, I always find that with books like these, I’m really just hoping for another Water for Elephants, one of my all-time faves.
15. The Light in Summer by Mary McNear. I haven’t read anything by this author yet, but I’m so easily sold by a cover like this.
16. One S’more Summer by Beth Merlin. This book just SOUNDS fun to me. I hope it is!
17. Forks, Knives and Spoons by Leah DeCesare. Very into the idea of reading this book for the 80s and 90s references alone, ha! The reviews are great so hoping it will be a win.
18. The Good Widow. This sounds captivating! Like I won’t be able to put it down.
Some authors + books I have loved & mentioned before:
Renée Carlino (Swear on This Life, Sweet Thing )
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Maybe in Another Life)
Bethany Chase (The One That Got Away, Results May Vary)
Colleen Hoover (It Ends With Us, November 9, Maybe Someday )
Liane Moriarty (The Husband’s Secret, Big Little Lies)
Kristin Hannah (Firefly Lane, True Colors)
Emily Giffin (Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Where We Belong)
Rainbow Rowell (Attachments, Fangirl)
Sarah Pekkanen (The Best of Us, Catching Air)
and I’m sure I will add the ones I forgot to this list as we go!
I’d love to know all the books you are loving right now and what has caught your eye for this summer. Leave ’em below!
78 Comments on “2017 Summer Reading List!”
I finished reading Into the Water yesterday. I enjoyed it and I know many people gave it middle of the road ratings more than likely because they expected it to be like The Girl on the Train. My advice would be to not do that because this book is written entirely different than TGOTT. Full of plot twists to the very end. Thanks for sharing your list, I am looking for my next read already.
thanks for sharing!! so good to know kristin!
I didn’t like Into the Water because I thought there were too many narrators and I never really “cared” about any of them. A bit disappointed.
i’ve read a lot of other reviews saying that!
The Royal We! I may or may not have read it twice since it came out in 2015, but it is a fantastic summer/beach read. Thoughtfully written and unexpectedly funny with tons of heart.
i have heard this but have yet to read it. maybe i will finally do it!
Yes! I just started it this week and it’s SO GOOD! You would absolutely love it Jessica.
agreed! I loved The Royal We!
This is also getting optioned for a movie by Lauren Graham and Mae Whitman… at least I think so… This is on my list.
Ah, Jess, you are hilarious. I am not quite on the same street as you for lit, but we are in nearby neighborhoods–and I totally love to get wrapped in a book with characters that feel like my BFFS. My guilty secret is my undying love for Teen fiction. Yup, it’s just so dang good!
haha thanks girl!!
I finished Option B last week. I read it hoping for some wise words from Sheryl as I find myself in a similar situation…younger widow while still raising a teenage son. She has had a few more months to process her loss than me, but my biggest take away from her words was she leads a very privileged life because of her career & wealth that very few widows can relate to. Statistics/research and name dropping overshadowed how I might build resilience and find joy while dealing with the loss of my husband. I would have found greater joy reading a trashy summer novel!
ahhh so interesting to hear this. so sorry you are even going through this chrissy, i seriously cannot imagine. from what it sounds like i would probably feel the same way!
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Beartown!! Amazing. Prepare yourself for a Friday night lights meets Missoula heartbreak. I love hockey but this couldn’t be about any small town and the sport that sustains it.
Into the water- very good. DONT go in expecting GOTT
awesome!!!
The Weekenders was great, if you’re looking for a light beachy read it will definitely serve you well. I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading other people’s reading lists and am so glad you shared this one, I’ll add the new Elin Hildebrand to my list!
thanks jules!!
Have you read Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave ? So so good and she has a new one coming out soon Hello Sunshine , I feel like she is definitely your style .
i have not! i will definitely add these to my list. thanks dorre!
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All of the books on your reading list, I have been eyeing as well. I am a sucker for all the chick lit books. Elin HIlderbrand has become a favorite of mine., I had the Blue Bistro in my head for weeks after reading it. I love Jennifer Weiner’s books and I read Meg Cabot a few years ago and loved her style too. I have been eyeing Secrets of Summer for a couple weeks. I also saw a few books that are about to become movies that I want to read. I am that person that loves to read the book and THEN see the movie. I have a picture of the people in my head and I love to see them come to life.
i was the same way with the blue bistro!!
I always look forward to your Summer Reading list. Definitely adding a few of these to my list as well!
thanks ryan!
This is great! I was looking for recommendations just the other day. I will definitely be adding some of these to my list!
Xo,
Caroline
http://www.theprettylittlesecretblog.com
thank you caroline!
Elin is my favorite author too, and I always save her new summer book for my week at the jersey shore, and her winter book for my winter break from work! I’m going to load up my kindle with a bunch of your recs for my vacation! Thank you! Some books I’ve read recently that I bet you’d like:
Maybe in Another Life by Tayler Reid Jenkins
The Wicked City by Beatriz Williams
My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
a bunch of Sara Dessen YA books
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
On my to read list:
It Happens in the Hamptons by Holly Peterson
The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes
Your Perfect Life by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
thanks grace! i have had crazy rich asians on my list forever!
If you haven’t read the Crazy Rich Asians series (the first book plus China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems) you are MISSING OUT!
i’ve heard this!! i think i’m going to do it this summer!
At what point in the book does “Crazy Rich Asians” get to the “OMG I LOVE THIS BOOK” stage? I’ve heard so many people loved it but I read about 1/3 of it and just could not get into it so I quit.
Oh, I also wanted to recommend The Hate U Give, and The Serpent King!
awesome, thanks!
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Summer reading and summer reading lists are my favorite! So many books so little time. I keep thinking how I’d love to just take a couple days off “of life” and lay in my hammock on our farm and do nothing but READ, or I wouldn’t be mad if my reading vacation as at the beach either. ;) I’ve just read 3 mediocre books in a row (why does it happen in streaks like that?!?) so am ready for some knock my flip flops off books (aka the new Elin Hildebrand book, it’s not summer til I’ve read the new EH book!), so definitely adding many of these to my list. The last good one I read was “The Year I Turned 40”, it was a great chick lit read that I think you’d enjoy. Currently reading “Crazy Rich Asians”, only about 1/4 in and am still not sure my feelings on it yet.
interesting! have you read any more of crazy rich asians and what do you think??
I read about 50 more pages and still just could not get into it so I quit. It’s not horrible or the worst book ever or anything but there are just so many characters (none of which I found relatable or particularly likeable) and so many different stories/timelines/locations going at once that I felt like I needed a flow chart to keep track of. Maybe it got better and more enjoyable once all of that was established in the 2nd half of the book but all it did was make the stack of books on my nightstand that grab me from the first chapter seemed much more appealing than wasting more time on it. I may go back to it later because I really do want to see what all the hype is about but for now it’s in my “life’s too short to finish books that I don’t like” pile. :)
OMG I think we might be reading BFFs! Some of the books on your list I already had on mine, but I definitely added a few more.
I also love and can recommend:
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (seriously I read this with a huge grin on my face the entire time because of how cute it was)
Paris for One and Other Stories by JoJo Moyes
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice)
The Lakeshore Chronicles series by Susan Wiggs
The Fool’s Gold series by Susan Mallery
and anything by Sarah Addison Allen
Happy summer reading!!
oh my gosh, i read the hating game earlier this year and LOVED it!!! Eligible is also on my list. thanks sharon!
This looks like a GREAT list and we (Ink Monster and I know Beth is too) are SO excited to be a part of it with your inclusion of One S’more Summer! We hope you love it! :)
thanks! i am so excited to read it!
All the missing girls by Megan Miranda, finished it last week, it was really good!
thanks emily!
Agreed totally on the beachy, light, chick-lit read! Reading should so be an escape to get away from that real life stuff like you said “sickness, death”. Plus I mean if its beach I’m end. Throw in good love story and I’m ready! Haha!
agree! :)
So I read Taylor Jenkins-Reid’s Maybe in Another Life and loved it, but then I read Forever, Interrupted and didn’t really like it. Anyone else? Worth reading anything else of hers?
i don’t think i read forever, interrupted yet!
Felt like you’re a kindred spirit in terms of reading. I too will not put the book down – or I will and shut off the light only to have the book bouncing around my head and will need to turn the light BACK ON and start reading again.
I was psyched to see this list… have been trying to figure out what I’m going to read – for some reason, no lists or other beach readers had been catching my attention… Here I think there are at least 4-5 to read. Thank you so much!
K
i do the SAME thing!! can’t tell you how many times i’ve tried to sleep but sit back up to read!
I also love Lianne Moriarty and Rainbow Rowell. If you haven’t read ‘Carry On’ by her – which expands on the fanfiction series written within ‘Fangirl’ – I highly recommend. Quality summertime teenage angst right there.
i haven’t read it! i wasn’t sure if i’d be interested in it. you sold me!
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I recently finished Into the Water, it definitely kept me guessing the whole time, it was a lot different from Girl on the Train, but I liked it. Right now I’m almost done with All the Missing Girls, it was a really good mystery and was laid out in a really interesting way, I highly reccomend it. I’ll definitely have to check out some of the other titles on your list!
thanks taylor!
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Thank you so much! I hope you like One S’more Summer!!!
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People We Hate at The Wedding has shown up on several Book Lists. I received it last week and am about 1/3 of the way into the book. I like it a lot but was hoping for more humor. The title is brilliant, characters are descriptive and it has a good plot line thus far. It just feels like the author missed a chance to sprinkle in some funnier bits (David Sedaris-style!) or dive further into the ‘feels.’
Adding all of these to my waitlist at the library! I always love your picks and am always ready for a new book from Elin.
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Anything by Jen Lancaster is hilarious! She writes laugh out loud anecdotes about her life.
Two books to recommend:
1. I’m almost finished with The Sea of Tranquility (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16151178-the-sea-of-tranquility), and based on the types of books you seem to enjoy, I think you’d really like it! 4.3 stars on goodreads isn’t an easy rating to get, either. I’ve really loved reading it – never want to put it down, get up early in the morning before work to read, stay up late reading… definitely recommend.
2. The Hating Game. (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25883848-the-hating-game) Would be a super easy summer read, but it’s also well-written and I flew through it because I didn’t want to ever put it down. Modern, fun, smart chick lit. I absolutely loved it.
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What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty is super sweet❤️
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I have read your blog for a LONG time, but never commented. I LOVE to read and my tastes vary widely! Last year, I read the Winter Street books b/c I’m always looking for a good cozy winter read when it’s snowy outside and such. However, I’ve never gotten into beach reads (as I don’t actually like summer much because – I’ve been told – I’m a vampire who only likes dreary gray weather), but I saw you rave about Elin Hilderbrand here and loved the Winter Street books so much that I’ve spent most of my summer reading everything she’s written that I can get my hands on. I’ll say I read Here’s to Us first and it’s by far my favorite! Elin writes food so well, but it’s so cool that you got to develop some of the recipes! I’ve also loved The Blue Bistro, The Beach Club, Silver Girl, and literally everything I’ve read by her. I just started Barefoot and The Island is next in the queue. Thanks for making me fall in love with these books!
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I just read The Identicals while on Spring Break and absolutely loved it! I think I read it within 24 hours! It was my first Elin Hilderbrand book and I am hoping to read many more this summer. I would not have picked one of her books without your previous recommendations, so thank you!
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