What I’ve Read Lately (Summer Picks)

I remember worrying when this lockdown started that I wouldn’t have enough to read. Then I got sucked into every stupid, streaming reality show available and quit reading all together for a month or so. Maybe it was just everything going on, but I felt like my brain was too hyped up to focus on a page. Fortunately, that’s changed again recently and I’m back to reading at a rapid pace. I’ve spent many late nights under the covers with my Kindle lately and I feel like I’ve been on a roll with finding some great books. . .

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid  There’s been so much hype around this one that I wasn’t expecting it to live up to all of it. The story starts with a young African-American woman being stopped and questioned in a grocery store while babysitting a white child. The rest of the book examines the relationships between her, the child’s family and a new love interest (with an interesting twist) and each of their intentions. (By the way, it did live up to the hype for me.)

Open Book by Jessica Simpson  I always like a celebrity memoir read by the author and the audio version of this book was a fun listen. I watched Newlyweds back in the day and remember being shocked when she and Nick divorced. It was interesting to hear the back story on their relationship, her family dynamic as she became more and more famous, and I had no idea the relationship with John Mayer was so involved or long lasting. A great listen while folding laundry. :)

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell  I just finished this book and it’s the cause of me staying up reading until 2 am for the last few nights. The mystery revolves around an apparent suicide pact between three adults that happened three decades ago and left a baby happily playing in her crib when the police arrived. Flash forward to present day and the “baby” is now grown and slowly piecing her story together after inheriting the house where the deaths happened. (This was my first Lisa Jewell book and I loved it. Tell me which one of hers I should read next.)

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel  Well if this isn’t the ultimate story of a twisted mother/daughter relationship, I don’t know what is. Rose Gold (what a name!) has been told by her mother for her entire life that she suffers from one debilitating ailment after another, while actually perfectly healthy all along. Now she’s grown and her mother is getting out of prison. . . The story starts here and is told from both of their (slightly skewed) perspectives. So good.

Becoming by Michelle Obama  I was on my library’s wait list for the audio version for many months but it was worth the wait to hear her words in her own voice. It was inspiring, as I expected; I appreciated her thoughts on how one bad teacher and/or one adult who cares enough to step in can change a young person’s life at a very early age for the better–or for the worse. She also addressed how working “part-time” with kids isn’t always the best choice as full-time results are almost always still expected. Her thoughts on politics in general were also interesting as she talks about what it really means to give your family’s life over to public service, the heartwarming and ugly parts of campaigning, and raising her children in the midst of it.

This is Not How It Ends by Rochelle B. Weinstein  This probably leans a little more toward the romance genre than I usually read, but it was such a good story and didn’t at all feel “fluffy.” It’s a tale of falling in love and later drifting apart but not necessarily for the reasons you expect. And of course, there’s a love triangle involved. This would make a great beach read.

Find more book recommendations in my Amazon store.

What’s the best book you’ve read lately?