My 2023 Summer Reading List
Putting together my summer book list is one of my favorite ways to kick off summer. Check out what I’ll be reading (hopefully outside) this summer, and pop in your email address below and I’ll send it right to your inbox!
Once the Summer Reading Guide is out in the world, one of my favorite beginning-of-summer traditions is making a list of the books that I’m planning to read over the summer (2022 list here, 2021 list here, 2020 list here, 2019 list here, 2018 list here, 2017 list here, and 2016 list here).
Do I ever read them all? Not even CLOSE.
But it’s a fun place to start. Here is my summer book list of 11 books I’ll hopefully get to during these warmer months:
My 2023 Summer Reading List
The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents by Lisa Damour Ph.D.
I have heard SO MANY raves about this book and since our house is getting a real live teenager this summer, it feels like the perfect time to read it.
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by
I love a good historical fiction title and this one is getting SO MUCH buzz. Hazel is a teenager when she and her five-year-old sister, Flora, are evacuated from London during WWII and they make up an imaginary land together, until Flora disappears. Twenty years later, still feeling guilty, Hazel receives a package – a book about the imaginary world she created for her sister. Does this mean Flora is still alive?
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by
I’ve had this book sitting in my audio queue for months and I can’t wait to get to it this summer. I feel like it’s going to be a good book to follow up Empire of Pain – another sweeping non-fiction narrative about powerful people in America.
Talking at Night by
This one was on Modern Mrs Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide and immediately caught my eye! Will and Rosie are the epitome of opposites attract, but they fall in love in high school and it looks like they’re meant to be. Until tragedy strikes and it seems their love story is going to be cut short. This is set over many years and I can’t wait to read it (it doesn’t come out until late June).
Dial A for Aunties by
I listened to Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers this spring (and included it on this year’s Summer Reading Guide) and I’ve heard that this book by the same author is just as delightfully funny and wacky, about a girl who accidentally kills her blind date and then, when her mother finds out, brings in all the aunties to help dispose of the body. I’m definitely planning on listening to it!
Divine Rivals by
After I mentioned Lovely War recently, so many people have told me I’ll love this new book that includes Greek gods – I actually started this one yesterday on our drive back from Las Vegas and it’s excellent. Two rival journalists fall in love as they take on the warring gods and, you know, the fate of all mankind.
Famous for a Living by
After reading her book Meet Me in the Margins, I knew I wanted to read more of her books and this new one about a social media influencer felt like an obvious choice! Cat Cranwell is a beloved influencer with millions of followers until a partnership goes very wrong and she takes up her uncle on an offer to work at a national park in Montana.
Maame by Jessica George
Analese from the Everyday Reading team mentioned this book earlier this year in a post about what we were all reading and her rave review about this book made me add it immediately to my TBR! The main character is in her 20s and the primary caretaker for her father who has Parkinson’s, until her mother returns from Ghana and Maddie finally has a chance to live the life she’s dreamed of. But, naturally, it’s not going to be what she expected.
The Violin Conspiracy by
I love a good mystery novel in the summer and this one really caught my eye – it’s about a Black musician becoming a star in the world of classical music who discovers that his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin is actually a nearly priceless Stradivarius. And then that violin is stolen, with a ransom note for $5 million left behind.
Miss Newbury’s List by
I read her first book earlier this spring and I can’t wait to dive into her new release – this has definitely been my year of regency romance, so I couldn’t skip this one! It’s the story about a woman preparing for her marriage to a virtual stranger and the list of things she wants to do before her wedding day.
Homecoming by Kate Morton
It’s been too long since I read a Kate Morton novel (I’ve read several of them and always found them wildly enjoyable)! This one combines a police-stumping murder in Australia in the late 50s and a journalist in present day London looking for a story to work on. When said journalist is called back to Australia to visit her ailing grandmother, she discovers a true crime book about the case and realizes that her family is connected to this story.
What are you planning reading this summer? Do you make a summer book list? I’d love to hear!
And if you’d like a printable copy of this summer book list that you can take to your library or screenshot on your phone for easy access, just pop in your email address below and it’ll come right to your inbox!
I’m very intrigued by Fever in the Heartland. I wasn’t familiar with the (true) story at all but now it’s on my list. Will you let us know what you think once you finish it?
Yes!
If you’re looking for a book recommendation, I’d suggest checking out my book ‘Sound Is Not Enough: The Art of Captioning for Universal Access’. This book is a must-read for business executives, media producers, event organizers, employers, and educators who want to create inclusive experiences for the 466 million deaf people worldwide. As a deaf female B2B accessibility consultant, I provide a unique perspective on the importance of optimal captioning and communication access. ‘Sound Is Not Enough’ offers valuable insights and practical strategies for making content accessible to everyone. You can learn more about it here: https://audio-accessibility.com/book/
Just wanted you to know how much I enjoy your posts! I have been following you for a while, and realize I take your hard work for granted. Thank you for putting out amazing reads for kids and adults. I appreciate your true opinion on books find your choices cover books I may have missed along the way. As a recently retired teacher of 35 years, your knowledge of children’s lit is stellar.
Have a wonderful summer! I can’t wait to dive into your summer reading list.
That is so kind of you – thank you so much!
What is it about Australian mystery/domestic thriller writers?! Kate Morton, Sally Hepworth, and Jane Harper are all auto-reads for me.
I actually love a good biography in the midst of all the thrillers I read during the summer. Last summer I listened to a 40-hour biography on Vincent Van Gogh that was excellent, and this summer I’m planning to listen to the much-shorter Leonardo da Vinci biography by Walter Isaacson.
I’m also on a huge Greek myth kick this summer. Costanza Castai’s debut Clytemnestra was excellent, and Natalie Hayne’s Stone Blind was hilarious. I’m currently listening to Stephen Fry’s Troy and will follow that up with Jennifer Sant’s Elektra.
I’ve also read several Kate Morton novels and enjoyed most but her last, The Clockmaker’s Daughter, was such a disappointment that I don’t know if I want to read the new one.
Are Melissa Ferguson’s books chaste, closed door or open door romances??
I’ve only read one of them, but it was chaste.
I have several of these books on my summer TBR also, but darn it, new shiny book covers keep distracting me. I’ll read a new to me author and enjoy the book and then go down the rabbit hole for the author’s backlist. The problems we readers have!
Miss Newbury’s list was so good. Perfect regency romance book for the summer!
yay!!
Hi, I just ran across your blog on clean romance books and was really happy! Are any of these books clean romance too?.
Famous for a Living and Miss Newbery’s List are!
Thanks!!
If regency period books are your current thing, you will love A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting! Strong Sanditon or Bridgerton vibes but without anything higher than PG content.