Sometimes all it takes is a list to bring back those youthful feelings of having all the time in the world to read.
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When I was younger I LOVED getting the summer reading list from school. One required reading book plus a list of suggestions. I got to go to the bookstore and pick out a few new books and then I spent the summer reading, reading, reading.
I read all the time and everywhere. In fact, I read so much that I didn’t even know how to get to our local swimming pool because the second I was buckled in the car my nose was in a book. (The directions were: pull out of the driveway, go 2 blocks, make a left, go two blocks, it’s on the right. ONE TURN!!)
Anyway, as an adult I’ve always appreciated summer reading guides put together by different bookish bloggers and podcasters and bookstagrammers I follow, most especially the top notch Summer Reading Guide put together by Modern Mrs. Darcy.
Part of what makes the Modern Mrs. Darcy guide so fun is that they go all out. The guide itself is beautiful with a magazine style layout that includes not just the new releases being recommended but also backlist suggestions, (I usually get the pdf but there IS an option to get a physical copy). And they have an official “unboxing” that walks you through every single title on the list.
Last week was the unboxing and after I’d watched and decided what to add to my TBR, I found myself considering not just which books from the guide I wanted to read sooner rather than later, but making myself a more comprehensive, personalized summer reading list based on books I have on my shelf, books I’ve been meaning to read, and whatever else felt like it would fit nicely into a summer reading experience.
The end result was a list of 18 books - some new, some old - that, for one reason or another, seemed to fit my idea of what Summer Reading should look like for me in 2026.
My plan is to to kick off on Memorial Day and finish up on Labor Day (though, truth be told, I’ve already started one of the books) and see how many I actually read.
Can I actually finish 18 books this summer?
Will I be disciplined and stick to the list or get distracted by shiny new things and abandon this list entirely?
Those are my big questions going into this experiment. If you’re interested in updates, I’ll be posting them over on Instagram.
For now, here’s my summer reading lineup and a bit about why/how these books made the cut. (You can also see the whole list in one place on my Bookshop.org)
Light summer reads - on my physical TBR
These are books I already own that seemed like the right vibe for the summer. Since becoming a mom I’ve leaned heavily on audiobooks for my reading but this year I’ve been working hard to build back my physical book endurance - both for ebooks and physical books, but even more so for physical books. It’s been going really well and I’m finding myself choosing to read in a lot more moments than I was before.
Beach Read by Emily Henry
I LOVE Emily Henry and this year she does not have a new book coming out (though Big, Beautiful Life is out in paperback now if you missed that one). This is the only Emily Henry book I haven’t read yet, I happen to have a copy on my shelf (likely picked up from a Free Little Library) and the title makes it an obvious pick for a summer reading list.
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Up next is Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez. If you’re wondering how this book got moved from the shelf to the shortlist- it’s right there in the title. Again, I think I found this in a Free Little Library. I haven’t read anything by Abby Jimenez, but she often gets recommended alongside other authors I love so I think it’s time to check her out. My only hesitation is that this is book 3 in the Part of Your World series and I’m hoping that doesn’t matter.
First-time caller by B.K. Borison
I picked this up during my Mother’s Day trip to the bookstore. I’ve seen it recommended a bunch and it seems fun, so I’m going for it.
Physical Books from the Library
Is this a Cry for Help? By Emily Austin
Every year we play Book Bingo with a group of friends. We’ve got a LONG list of categories, my husband randomizes them and makes individual bingo cards for everyone, and then we get reading. It’s a really fun way to get out of your reading comfort zone, take a more whimsical approach to choosing your next book, and get that “Pizza hut prize” feeling when you get a bingo. (No, there is not an actual pizza prize, but we do get to type BINGO into our chat and that is also fun.) I don’t remember anything about this book or why I put it on my TBR but my book bingo card has “Book with a question as the title” for one of the squares, so here we go.
Fatherland by Robert Harris
I recently decided that I can’t keep adding books to my TBR unless I start taking some off. So I tried to take some off… and failed miserably. New plan: read more books from the bottom of the TBR. This book is a WW2 alternative history and it is the FIRST book I ever added to my electronic TBR (Goodreads at the time, but I’m on Fable now). I can’t bring myself to delete it, yet I’ve never read it.
There Lives a young girl in me who will not die by Tove Ditlevsen
We are planning a trip to Copenhagen and as part of my trip prep, I’ve been reading books by Danish authors. I did this before I went to Iceland and really loved the way it connected me to the place I was visiting so I’m doing it again. I just finished Tove Ditlevsen’s memoirs - The Copenhagen Trilogy - and now I’m curious about her poetry. Plus I like the idea of having a volume of poetry on my summer reading list to balance out all that light/fun/romance/fiction.
Audiobooks
Normally I listen to a lot of audiobooks. I tend to choose audiobooks over podcasts, and they keep me company while driving, doing household chores, and crafting. Summer can be a tricky time for audiobooks though, since my kids are home and there’s more activities and a more stop and go rhythm to our days, so I picked out 3 - one per month - which seems like a good goal to start with.
Whistler by Ann Patchett
I almost didn’t add this to my summer reading list because I worried it would be too literary for the season. Could I get into this story? Should I wait until fall? But Ann Patchett is great and she’s narrating this audiobook herself, so my curiosity is piqued and it’s on the list.
Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel
The premise here is that a 77 year old woman is pregnant. I think this falls into the category of Magical Realism, which I keep trying and it keeps falling short of LOVE for me. BUT this has been recommended as “great on audio” and when a book gets that recommendation sometimes I give it a chance when I wouldn’t otherwise. Plus it’s got themes of bodily autonomy, reproductive rights, motherhood… maybe I will love this one. Stay tuned.
Last night in Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez
Honestly, this was recommended as good on audio, it sounds like a fun romp, and that is a top qualifier for my summer reading apparently.
Kindle Load Up
I recently got an email from Amazon saying that support for my (ancient) kindle was about to be discontinued. So you know what I did? Checked out as many ebooks as I could, downloaded them onto that kindle, and turned the WiFi off. Now I’ve got about 20 books ready to go (I was able to use my library card AND my daughter’s). I scanned through those titles and chose a few that felt good for summer. Here they are:
Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
Does it matter that this is #2 in the series and I haven’t read #1? I hope not. It looks fun and I LOVED The Love Hypothesis, so I’m excited for this one.
Typewriter Beach by Meg Waite Clayton
I can’t remember when or how I added this to my TBR (this happens a lot… hence why my TBR is soooooo loooooong) but it got 3 things going for it:
#1 It’s got the word beach in the title
#2 It’s already loaded on my kindle
#3 I recently heard about and added a different book by Meg Waite Clayton to my TBR and so my interest in reading something by this author is temporarily high.
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
I remember my mom reading this when it came out. I’ve read tons of Judy Blume, but none of her novels for adults. I’m in my 40s now. I think it’s time.
The Rest of the list
The 6 remaining books include 5 suggestions from the Modern Mrs Darcy Summer Reading Guide and one book that’s not from the guide but IS a MMD recommendation. These are the books I’m most likely to be excited about RIGHT NOW but then detour and read something else (likely that I hear about and then turn around to read immediately) because they haven’t been stuck in my consciousness for very long. But one of the reasons that my reading life has been so good in the last few years is because I am doing a better job at curating who I take recommendations from, which makes my TBR a much better place to choose a book from than it used to be. (Well, unless Fatherland turns out to be the best book I’ve ever read. Then it turns out my TBR is a gold mine and I just don’t have time to read it all.)
Organizing Solutions for people with ADHD by Susan C Pinsky
This one hit me at the right moment. Downloaded the ebook immediately and am ready to spend some summertime getting organized. It wins the award for Most Practical Book on my summer reading list.
Main Characters by Bobby Palmer
This is a love story told from the perspective of everyone except the couple. I love a book with multiple POV (like, even As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner which a lot of people apparently find annoying/frustrating/difficult) so I’m pretty excited for this one.
Sisters of a Halved Heart by Nayantara Roy
I’m hoping this one scratches the itch of being a deeply emotional and complex family drama. I love a book that makes me cry. Will this one gut me? I mean “halved heart”?? Bring on the tears.
Dolly all the time by Annabel Monaghan
I’d have to look it up to tell you what this one is about but I had it on my TBR BEFORE I saw it in the summer reading guide so it got bumped to the top. Besides - look how summery that cover is! I think the first recommendation was for the audio version though so we’ll see how I decide to read this.
The One Day you were my husband by Rosie Walsh
My summer reading list needed some mystery & suspense. These two books fill that gap.
On the bench
It seems really unlikely at my current reading pace that I’ll be able to finish 18 books in 3ish months. But just in case I need backups (don’t we always need backups) I’ve also got my eye on these:
Heart the Lover by Lily King
I’m seeing this recommended in a lot of places right now.
Astral Library by Kate Quinn
It’s been a while since I read a Kate Quinn book. I think this is a departure from her usual historical fiction and into fantasy. But it’s about books and a library so I might LOVE IT.
In Closing
It’s a lot of books. 20 books in 15 weeks. Though I guess the goal isn’t necessarily to finish them all. It’s to have a fun list of books I’m excited about reading this season. In that case, mission accomplished. Does that mean I can get my pizza now?