Thursday, June 2, 2011

Summer Reading List

If you've been around long then you know that during the spring I get the itch. This weird, crazy reading-list-making itch enters my body. I can't stop it. I just have to go along with it. I think it really all goes back to summer reading programs I participated in as a child. I LOVED writing down my books I read over the summer. (Most were Baby-Sitters Club!)

Well...the itch is not aware that I have a full-fledged toddler. It has no idea that I am too busy to read this many books. And yet, I feel compelled to make a book list. (Several are from my list that didn't get completed last year.) Maybe I'll get at least a FEW of these books read. (Many of these need to be read because they've been on my bookshelf or my Kindle for so long!) I decided that I needed to try to limit my list to 30-ish books (my original was around 65!). I'm well aware I may not finish half of these. (Those already finished I've marked off.) I also have my eye on a few others. So here goes:
1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Would you believe I've never read this before?!?

The Great Gatsby

2. Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad (Don't judge me.)

Sweet Little Lies: An L.A. Candy Novel
3. The Potty Boot Camp by Suzanne Riffel. Obviously, this one is a must-read for me this summer.

THE POTTY BOOT CAMP: Basic Training For Toddlers
4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I want to see the movie but I like to read books prior to movies.

 
The Lovely Bones


5. Inconceivable by Carolyn and Sean Savage. I saw them on Dateline and I cannot believe what they had to go through.

Inconceivable: A Medical Mistake, the Baby We Couldn't Keep, and Our Choice to Deliver the Ultimate Gift
6. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I've owned this one since I taught middle school. :) It was on our approved list for teaching in the 8th grade. Thought I might try to get around to it this summer!

The Egypt Game
7. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly. Again, I love to see books made into movies, but I'd rather read the book first.

The Lincoln Lawyer
8. Heaven is for Real by Thomas Nelson. This one keeps popping up everywhere. I think my sister even commented the other day that she's reading it. It's been on my radar for a while.

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back
9. What Southern Women Know about Faith by Ronda Rich. There was a book blog-hop recently and this was another that was frequently mentioned.

What Southern Women Know about Faith: Kitchen Table Stories and Back Porch Comfort
10. Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson. I bet I read this more than once in my parenthood, huh?

Bringing Up Boys
11. Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman. I feel certain that this is about their daughter who passed away in a horrible accident at their home. If I'm not mistaken, the oldest son didn't see her in the driveway. I cannot fathom the pain this family went through. We love Steven Curtis Chapman!

Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope
12. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Yet another one that I've seen all over the blogs!

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are
13. Room by Emma Donoghue. This has popped up a time or two as well on others' blogs.

Room: A Novel
14. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Just because I need another classic. I've never read this one either!

Jane Eyre (Optimized for Kindle)
15. The Shack by William P. Young. This is sitting on my shelf AND on my ipod. Think I can walk and listen to it this summer?

The Shack
16. Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. After her first book (The Glass Castle), I thought I'd try another.

Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel
17. Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress. This is totally a "judging the book by its cover" moment.

Georgia Bottoms: A Novel
18. Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal. If you're a female and you're in your late twenties/early thirties, I'm willing to bet you read these as a kid. I know that my best friend and I did! Can't wait for this! Sounds like a trashy beach read to me!

Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later (Sweet Valley High)
19. Bossypants by Tina Fey.

Bossypants
20. The Toddler Years by Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi Murkoff, and Sandee Hathaway. Because we're already into the toddler years. Meltdowns and all.

What to Expect The Toddler Years
21. Rules of Vengeance by Christopher Reich. The follow-up to one of my Book Club reads. Looking forward to the second in this spy-novel series!

Rules of Vengeance
22. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larson. Yet another that I probably should've read a while back because I kept hearing about it!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
23. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. For Anna. And Bess.

Pride And Prejudice

24. London Bridges by James Patterson

London Bridges (Alex Cross)

25. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood)

26. The Soloist by Steve Lopez. I borrowed this one months and months ago from a friend. I need to read and return!

The Soloist

27. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Same as the one above!

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
 
28. Potty Training Boys the Easy Way by Caroline Fertleman and Simone Cave. Another self-explanatory book!

Potty Training Boys the Easy Way: Helping Your Son Learn Quickly--Even If He's a Late Starter

I know you think I'm crazy! Maybe I'll astound you this summer with my reading! I hope all of my children turn out to be big readers. The summer is the best time for reading!


1 comment:

Miranda said...

Wha...how have you never read Gatsby? I am quite literally sitting here with my mouth agape in wonder over this.

And for Dragon Tattoo? Be prepared for it to move slowly at first. And be prepared to be bogged down in inane and ridiculously unnecessary details. It was translated (posthumously, I think) into English.