The past two books I read were pretty disappointing. I’ve always loved reading and climbing into bed with a great book at the end of a long day brings me so much joy, so it was a bit of a bummer to find myself paging through two books in a row that left a lot to be desired.
I want to be sure the same thing that happened to me doesn’t happen to you, so today I’m sharing 10 books I’ve read in the past that I loved! I tried to include a mix of breezy beach reads, thrilling page-turners and a few more thought-provoking novels. Hopefully a couple of them will jump out at you and make it onto your summer reading list!
10 Books For Your Summer Reading List
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
“They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose…
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.” – Amazon.com
- The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
“At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that is not meant to be read…
My darling Cecilia,
If you’re reading this, then I’ve died…
Imagine your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not only the life you have built together, but the lives of others as well. And then imagine that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive…
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything—and not just for her. There are other women who barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they, too, are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.” – Amazon.com
- Defending Jacob by William Landay
“Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney for two decades. He is respected. Admired in the courtroom. Happy at home with the loves of his life: his wife, Laurie, and their teenage son, Jacob.
Then Andy’s quiet suburb is stunned by a shocking crime: a young boy stabbed to death in a leafy park. And an even greater shock: The accused is Andy’s own son—shy, awkward, mysterious Jacob.
Andy believes in Jacob’s innocence. Any parent would. But the pressure mounts. Damning evidence. Doubt. A faltering marriage. The neighbors’ contempt. A murder trial that threatens to obliterate Andy’s family.” – Amazon.com
- The Violets of March by Sarah Jio
“A heartbroken woman stumbled upon a diary and steps into the life of its anonymous author.
In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after.
Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily’s good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.” – Amazon.com
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
“Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew.” – Amazon.com
- Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
“Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family’s apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France’s past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl’s ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d’Hiv’, to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah’s past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.” – Amazon.com
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
“EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting onday she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?” Amazon.com
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
“It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.” – Amazon.com
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
“The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, The Kite Runner is a beautifully crafted novel set in a country that is in the process of being destroyed. It is about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.
A sweeping story of family, love, and friendship told against the devastating backdrop of the history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful novel that has become a beloved, one-of-a-kind classic.” – Amazon.com
- Absolute Power by David Baldacci
“In a heavily guarded mansion in a posh Virginia suburb, a man and a woman start to make love, trapping Luther Whitney, a career break-in artist, behind a secret wall. Then the passion turns deadly, and Luther is running into the night. Because what he has just seen is a brutal murder involving Alan Richmond, the president of the United States, the man with…Absolute Power.” – Amazon.com
Questions of the Day
- What book should I add to my summer reading list?
- What was the last great book you read?
- What is the next book you have on your reading list?
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I’ve heard so many great things about The Girl on the Train and need to add it to my list of books to read! I’m currently reading Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling. I’m also reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (This is not the type of stuff I typically gravitate towards for pleasure reading but I need help putting my infant to sleep. lol)
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child was a great book!!! Very looong but also helpful. It was the only baby sleep-related book that made me feel a little more normal!
Why Not Me? was a great read! I enjoyed it so much that I borrowed her first book from the library. I was a little disappointed because it didn’t read as well as her 2nd book.
I’m the opposite. I preferred Kaling’s 1st book over her 2nd. I also hated “The Girl on the Train”…I had to keep reading it to find out but it was predictable and not written well (my opinion obviously).
I am currently reading My Year with Eleanor and extremely recommend it to everyone. Uplifting, motivating and funny. What more could you want in a book?
I have also read Sarah’s key, highly recommend! Great story but it is also an eye opener to that time in history.
You know, as much as I appreciate book recommendations, I think it would have been great to hear what you actually thought about these books rather than just the copy and pasted Amazon description – something I’m sure almost all of your readers could find for ourselves! Just a little respectful feedback to consider for the future 🙂
Hi CM! Thanks for the feedback! I’ve actually blogged about almost all (if not all) of these books over the course of the past few years so this was more of just a highlight/roundup post with all of the books in one place. I do like the idea of sharing a little more about my thoughts on the books along with a description though and will keep that in mind for the future!
Maybe you could add in links to your past book reviews!! I think that would definitely help also!!
I’m not sure I care about whether or not the reviews are your own words…but as someone who is in the academic world, I would recommend making it more obvious that those words aren’t yours(like putting quotations around direct quotes). Just important/respectful to give credit where credit is due.
On a different note, that’s a great list! Thanks!
I’ll do that right now! Good tip, Ashley!
Thanks for the kind respone! I hope I didn’t come across too critical…just more of a growing edge type suggestion. =)
Awesome list! My goal is to get a library card for the summer so I can stop my chronic Amazon book purchases! Thanks for putting this list together!
Ooo thank you! I’m always looking for book recommendations, especially for summer! Some of those I haven’t read yet and will definitely pick up.
Some I’ve read recently: in a dark, dark wood ( quick read, good and exciting!), and the illegal (amazing – Canada reads winner).
The last great book I read was In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware. It was a really interesting thriller that I couldn’t put down. Now I’m just getting started reading Brooklyn by Colm Toibin.
Great list! I recently read Lilac Girls and LOVED IT. I can’t recommend it enough. Since you enjoy podcasts, have you thought about Audible (amazon service for audio books)? It’s about $14/month and you get 1 audio book a month for that. They have an app so it’s super easy to listen to from your phone just like podcasts.
I also just wrote a post about 4 books to read before they’re made into movies. You should check it out! http://www.lushbreak.com/?p=589
Love your blog, it was my first I started reading 5 or so years ago!
Just finished Orphan Train by Christine Baker Kline. Would definitely recommend!
I loved that book as well! Definitely a good read.
Absolute Power is also a great movie! =)
I’ll be reading these, thank you! I have read Me Before You and really enjoyed it. One Plus One by JoJo Moyes is also really good! “Brooklyn” By Colm Toibin was one of the best written books I’ve read in a long time. I highly recommend it. Also “Wonder” By Raquel J. palacio, and “Funny in Farsi” By Firoozeh Dumas. That one will make you laugh out loud.
I have read almost all of these and will definitely be checking out the ones I haven’t for summer reads 🙂
Recently I read The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman, which was amazing (& so heartbreaking!) and (my guilty pleasure) November 9 by Colleen Hoover and LOVED then both.
The two blogs where I get my best reading recommendations are Everyday Reading and Modern Mrs. Darcy. Anne Bogel (Modern Mrs Darcy) has a fantastic podcast where she recommends books to one reader each show (It’s called What Should I read Next?). I’d highly recommend both of these bloggers’ summer reading guides!! I am currently really enjoying The Nest by Cynthia Sweeney. I also recently enjoyed Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, I think you would like Kate Morton’s books – I am loving those these days…and another favourite series is the Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny. Thanks for the round up! There were a few books on here I hadn’t heard of!
Oooh! Thanks for the tip! Those blogs sound right up my alley.
I keep recommending to all my friends The Good Girl by Mary Kubica – if you haven’t read it it’s great. It’s also based in Chicago which makes it a fun read too ?
Awesome recommendations! The Kite Runner is awesome 🙂
Thanks for posting!! I’ve actually been thinking lately that I really need a good book to read especially with summer/lazy days by the pool approaching. It takes me a while to find something since I have also fallen into that trap of reading a bad book- it usually takes me weeks to get back into reading again after a disappointment like that! Since I’ve read and loved half the books on your list I feel good about the recommendations for the books I haven’t read yet!!
If you like WWII era fiction you must read The Storyteller by Jodi Piccoult and The Nightingale (From a woman’s perspective). I LOVED both of them and could not put them down.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I started reading Defending Jacob a few weeks ago and for some reason I couldn’t get into it! I like the premise, but I’m not a fan of the writing style. I’ll definitely be adding these other books to my list though! Right now I’m reading The Silent Wife and it’s been pretty good so far..hoping for a twisty ending because right now it seems kind of predictable!
I loveeeeeee reading!
I heard they’re making a movie out of Me Before You, so I’m trying to read it before the movie comes out!
I had to read The Immortal Life of Henriette Lacks for a recent Anatomy class and it was actually so interesting! Also, Liane Moriarty is amazing. I haven’t read The Husband’s Secret, but I recently read Big Little Lies and was BLOWN AWAY. I wrote a review on it here!
I’ve also read The Girl On The Train… I love these suspenseful page-turners!
If you haven’t read Big Little Lies, you have to! And anything by Jodi Picault usually amazes me. I’m reading Keeping Faith right now, about a 7 year old girl who can supposedly talk to God, and how her mother tries to protect her from prying eyes. So good!
xoxo
Danielle
Afloat On A Full Sea
Great list! I’m always adding to my must-read list! I love Chill Factor by Sandra Brown…its one of my favorite mystery books! I couldnt put it down!
I’m hoping to finish re-reading all the harry potter books (I’m on book 4) and then move on to some lighter fun reads 😀
I read two of Harlan Coben’s books in a matter of days. I found myself opening my kindle app on my iPhone at long stoplights… That’s how hooked I was ! He writes mystery/suspense books… I read Fool Me Once and Gone for Good. They both sucked me in.
“Defending Jacob” was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I’m making my family read it too! Thanks for these other suggestions. Reading by the beach is such a summer favorite of mine.
Agree! I looooved Defending Jacob and I found myself thinking about it (and the ending — WOW) days later.
I am putting Defending Jacob on my list after reading your posts about it! Great list, several of these are already my faves. Also, of topic but in reference to your last (I think) post where you mentioned doing a food photography course- I totally have noticed your food photog skills lately. You are doing awesome!
Thank you Courtney! That means a lot. I’m definitely trying… it’s something I really have to work on, so I appreciate your comment!
Some of these I’ve read, so many I still have to!!
Thank you so much for this! I am a teacher and usually only read during the summer. I was just thinking the other day I need to start reserving some books from the library (I’m old school, I know)
I just bookmarked this page so I can come back to it…I’m always looking for good books and find myself staring at my shelf wondering what to read next! On another note, if you haven’t read any Jodi Picoult yet (I saw another reader mentioned her), you need to! One of my all time favorite authors.
I second Jodi Picoult as one of my favorite authors – all of her books are great. I would also highly recommend Replay by Ken Grimwood and A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Thanks for the recommendations, Julie!
Yes to A Man Called Ove! So So good!
I absolutely loved A Man Called Ove. Such a beautiful story about love.
The Husband’s Secret was one of my favorites too! Good recommendations. I need to read Girl On the Train.
Hey Julie! I rarely comment but I saw your snapchat about The Girl With All The Gifts being disappointing — I think it’s one of my all-time faves! Paula (eat watch run) recommended it to me and I could not believe how much I loved it. I was shocked to see you weren’t a fan. Anyway, some good picks here. I read Defending Jacob a little while ago (on your rec) and I still can’t stop thinking about it.
I would agree with Julie, I found that book to drag so much through the whole middle story. The beginning was great and the ended was a nice change from what we are use to reading. But I really had to power through to get there. I think this book is so popular because there is such a following to shows like The Walking Dead and such a strong fan base.
YES! I really, really loved the beginning! I thought it was going to be amazing but the middle of the book was honestly boring for me and hard to get through!
Innnnteresting. Welp, I guess we can’t all can’t love them all 🙂 I didn’t love Me Before You and I am definitely in the minority there.
Oh man! I really didn’t like it AT ALL! I loved the beginning but I just couldn’t get into it in the middle of the book with all the Hungries stuff… It has great reviews on Amazon, so I think a lot of people love it like you do! 🙂 I just had a hard time with that one!
I am reading Defending Jacob right now and so far enjoying it! Me Before You is releasing the movie this summer and I can’t wait to see it. I really loved the book.
I recently read and loved Eligible, by Curtis Sittenfeld. Really, I’d recommend anything by Curtis Sittenfeld–Prep is one of my all-time favorite books!
The Secret Life of Violet Grant – I just finished this historical novel and couldn’t put it down!!
Also, I’d recommend the Nightingale and At the Water’s Edge (by Water for Elephants’ author Sara Gruen).
Love finding new books, thank you for sharing!!
I second Secret Life of Violet Grant! The other two books in the quasi-series were equally great — Tiny Little Thing and Along the Infinite Sea. Author is Beatriz Williams.
The Violets of March is a great read! She’s Cime Undone is one of my favorite books of all time.
We have similar tastes in books. You might also like Angela’s Ashes and The Devil All the Time. And if you are looking for a good murder mystery, the Robert Gailbraith (aka J.K. Rowling) Cormoran Strike Novels are fabulous.
I’ve read the Kite Runner, so good! It really sucked me in. Have you seen the film adaptation? I was surprisingly pleased with it too.
I didn’t realize there was a movie! I will have to look for it!
You definitely should check it out! It’s a tear-jerker. 😉
There’s a movie!?! Will definitely have to check that out!
The last great book was All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage. It was a bit of a thriller but mostly about familiar dynamics and how events shape us. Highly recommend! I’m also currently reading Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. It’s set in London during World War Two. I’m about halfway through right now and it’s really, really good!
Me Before You was great (I’m going to ask my mom to see the movie with me since I don’t think my husband is interested). I also enjoyed Girl On the Train (even though the characters for on my nerves and I figured things out early on) and The Husband’s Secret. I want to read The Book Thief since I just finished another WWII/Nazi Germany themed novel – All The Light We Cannot See. It was long and took me forever to read, but I’m glad I finished. It had a lot of great imagery. Now I’m reading Room and plan to add a few of these to my list!
Great books Julie. I’ve read all but two and I think you’re going to enjoy! I do have one suggestion for you on The Girl on the Train. Listen to it on audio if you have the opportunity. My book club read the book and the few of us who listened had a much better time both understanding and appreciating the book. There are three main female characters and the book skips back and forth in time. To have a voice to associate to a character made it much easier.
I highly recommend That Night by Chevy Stevens – it was one of the best books that I have read in a very long time.
Firefly Lane or Night Road by Kristen Hannah, they’re fantastic! I am planning to read the Husband’s Secret! Thanks for this post!
Ah! People have been recommending Firefly Lane to me for years! I have to read that one!
I usually comment on the Sadie posts as I have a vizsla too (2 years old, will he ever grow up?!). But I have to say Firefly Lane is one of my top 10 favorite books!! The story of friendship is beautiful. Cannot sing it’s praises enough!
Oh man! I was pumped for this post because I’m in desperate need of new books… but I’ve actually already read ALL of these! (Whaaaat!?) Except Me Before You, which I already have on my iPad and am starting tonight. High five for similar book tastes Julie! Haha
I am reading Defending Jacob right now! Does it start out kinda slow? I heard so many good things, but am having trouble getting into it! 🙂 Thanks for other recommendations!
It started a little slow but picks up like crazy when you get to the trial! I think the last half of the book is crazy intense! And the ending is insane.
I just finished the nightingale and it was one of the best books I’ve read in awhile. Highly recommend it!
I loved The Girl on the Train! I listened to the audiobook last summer and actually just re-listened to it and I cannot wait for the movie in October. I liked The Husband’s Secret except that I guessed the secret really early on. I’d recommend to you The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson. Or anything by Gillian Flynn, but those are not light reads!
I’ve been reading lots of disappointing books lately, too. Since I have a long work commute (30 minutes one way, 30 minutes back), I started listening to eBooks, and I listened to The Lovely Bones a few weeks ago. The book, itself, was great, but the author read it, herself, and it was just so monotone. It was hard to tell the characters apart. Frustrating. It needs to be redone wtih Saorise Ronan, who played Susie Salmon in the movie.
But Me Before you was amazing, and its sequel wasn’t terrible (but not as good). Also, I joined a book club at my library, and we first read “The Night Circus,” which was amazing (magical and romantic), and now we’re reading “Ready player One,” which is a futuristic novel about a world obsessed with 80’s culture. So far so good. 🙂
I’ve got a Goodreads goal to read 45 books this year, and I’m over halfway there. I think I need to up my goal.
I loved The Night Circus!
Beks – one of my new favorite books of all time is Ready Player One. I read it a couple years ago and was swept away! I told my husband, who read it with me, “this would be a great movie but they could never make it a movie, because it would be way too expensive, just for all the rights they would need to acquire, let alone the CGI! they’d have to have deep pockets!” And then, lo and behold, Warner Bros bought the rights, and signed on Steven Spielberg to direct. So it’s happening. I can’t wait! I didn’t include it in my recommendations in my own comment below, because I thought I remembered seeing somewhere on here that Julie wasn’t huge into sci fi (maybe I’m mis-remembering), but it’s one of my absolute faves! I’ve read it 3 times in the last few years! 🙂
Could you give the author of The Night Circus? I found a few on goodreads.
Great post. More great recommendations in the comments. I’ve been reading all kids books with my 2nd grader to really kick start her reading. Going to take time for myself and reading this summer. Starting with a gift I received, Jenna Wolf’s book Thinner in 30. Then I’ll be coming back to this post for all the good reads listed.
This looks like a great list!! Can’t wait to add some of these to my reading list this summer!
Great list!
I just started After You (the sequel to Me Before You). It’s pretty good so far!
AH! I didn’t know this existed!
I read The Husband’s Secret based on your recommendation and loved it! I also bought the Me Before You but haven’t had a chance to read it. Thanks for your honest opinions for recommendations.
I LOVED Me Before You. I’m so psyched for the movie… and you betta believe I’ll be dragging Alex there with me. 😉
Thanks for these! I ADORED “Girl on the Train” and “The Book Thief” and the rest of these sound great. I’m looking forward to reading for pleasure a little more this summer, since my life has been overtaken by school books lately!
Was crying like a little baby after reading Me Before You, based on your recommendation a few months ago on your blog! I am SO excited for this movie, because A) I loved the book and B) Emilia Clarke is one of my favorite young actresses and I think she was an unexpected casting choice but likely a perfect one. Thanks for sharing this list, Julie! Have been trying to incorporate “for fun” reading back into my life, which can be really hard after you read so much academia with science-y stuff for your day job (hello training life!), but necessary 🙂