My Summer Reading List

Ahhh summer. Freshly mowed lawns and grilled corn on the cob, warm slices of Jubilee watermelon and summer reading. Definitely summer reading. My summer memories are filled with trips to the downtown library, coming home with a stack of hardbacks crinkling under their clear dust jackets and afternoons reading in my blue bean bag chair.

And so most summers I make a reading list — one for me and for our read alouds and a list to help guide my kids as they choose books to read.  I’d love to know what’s on your list. In fact, I discovered the first author on my list after several friends recommended him over and over.

Water From My Heart ,  Charles Martin. Hoping to read through many of his others as well.

The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life, Hannah Whitehall Smith. How have I missed this gem all these years?

Love the Home You Have, Melissa Michaels. I’ve loved Melissa’s site for years and I hope this book will very practically help me feather our nest, to make our home welcoming and warm.

Pursue the Intentional Life, Jean Fleming. I hope I love this as book as I loved her classic on mothering.

Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More, Karen Swallow Prior, foreward by Eric Metaxes and the Book Award from Christianity Today. From Amazon: “The enthralling biography of the woman writer who helped end the slave trade, changed Britain’s upper classes, and taught a nation how to read.”

War of Words, Paul David Tripp. This one is gonna hurt but I need it even more as my kids grow to teens and young adults.

Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology, P.G. Wodehouse. My go-to, laugh-out-loud breath of British humor for the summer!

Emma, Jane Austen. The next best thing to Pemberly and Mr. Darcy.

The Wright Brothers, David McCullough’s latest release, already at the top of the New York Times bestseller list and since everything McCullough writes is gold and I love biographies, this is going on my list. Hoping there are enough summer days to get this one in!

 Secure in the Everlasting Arms, Elisabeth Elliot. I need something Elisabeth Elliot this summer and I haven’t read this one.

Read Alouds

I haven’t yet finished our read aloud list but we’re going to start with these:

The Penderwick’s: A Summer Tale of 4 Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy, Jeanne Birdsall. I love a classic summer adventure for kids!

Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfield. I missed this with Rachel and have been waiting to read this with Annalise since I first saw You’ve Got Mail.

All of a Kind Family, Sydney Taylor, a classic family story.

Farenheit 451, Ray Bradbury. I want to read this with my two older boys since my senior hasn’t yet read this powerful novella. Getting in the last of his read alouds before he heads to college in the fall!

What’s on your summer book list? Any favorites for you or your kids? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

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