It's hard to believe that September is just two days away – it feels like only yesterday we shared our summer reading lists with you!
Before we officially bid this sunny season adieu, I thought I'd reach out to our bloggers and find out what was the best book they each read this summer. Here are their responses!
Gina (that's me!): I read a few books these past few months – Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka; Life, Love, and What We Ate by Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi; and The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle: Final Girls and a New Hollywood Formula by Alexandra West.
However, I'd have to say my first audiobook experience really sticks out to me: In August, my husband and I flew out to South Dakota and road tripped across Keystone, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Minneapolis, MN and ended in Des Moines, IA. While out on the highway we listened to John Hodgman's Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches in our rental car. John Hodgman is perhaps best known as the PC in the Mac vs. PC commercials, or as a commentator for The Daily Show. In this book, Hodgman shapes his memoir around stories specifically about his two vacation homes – one in rural Massachusetts purchased from his parents, the other in Maine at the suggestion of his wife. His dry, deadpan humor and descriptions of the two different locations delivered by the author himself made the miles fly by.
Loribelle: My kiddies love to read Sleepy Bird by Jeremy Tankard and I love to read it aloud with them because I think it's such a HILARIOUS children’s book. It’s about a bird who refuses to go to sleep and instead tries to bother his friends to stay awake with him. At one point, one of his animal friends offer him a stuffed cat and he yells: “ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME NIGHTMARES?!” There’s sarcasm and basic humor that it makes me chuckle every time.
I also finally got around to reading Becoming Maria by Sonia Manzano and I love it. By the end of the book, I was on the edge of my seat rooting for young Sonia to get her big break. Her stories about living in the Bronx remind me a lot of my mother’s stories about living in the Bronx and Washington Heights as a young girl. It’s a great, eye-opening memoir and I love how honestly it was written from a child’s perspective.
Two people mentioned the best book they read this summer was You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld!
Morgan: I don’t normally read short stories, but this collection is making me reconsider! It was thoughtful, funny, strange, and sad, and also quick, so it feels like a perfect summer read.
Stephanie: What I enjoyed most about [You Think It, I’ll Say It] is the common thread that no matter who you are, or where you are, life is incredibly complex and an entirely unique experience for everyone, full of so many moments that you simply can’t plan for.
Brittany: The best book I read was Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. It definitely wasn’t a light summer read but it was extremely eye opening and gives you a glimpse into the dark and tragic history of the Osage Indian Nation.
Alex: My favorite book I read this summer was The Obsession by Nora Roberts; I love a good mystery I can get lost in while reading at the beach!
