20 Books I Want to Read This Summer

Let me just tell you from the start, I never do this. I never plan books I want to read in advance. I've never made a list of books for the upcoming weeks or months or year. I've always read as I wanted to, grabbing whatever struck my fancy at any given moment.

But.

I'm giving it a try. Why not, right? 

These are all books that are sitting on my bookshelf and have been for some time, which means I really need to buckle down and dive in or they'll just keep sitting there while others cycle through. It's time to give them a shot. They struck my fancy at some point, if they've ended up here in stacks on top of the shelves that are too full to fit another page, so I'm committing to giving them a go this summer.

Here are the 20 books I want to read this summer (hold me to it!):

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

3. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

4. Emma by Jane Austen

5. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

6. Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

7. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

8. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

9. The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together by Twyla Tharp

10. Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott

11. Cooked by Michael Pollan

12. Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

13. Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett

14. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

15. The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr

16. On Writing by Stephen King

17. Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis by George Sayer

18. Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C.S. Lewis by Abigail Santamaria

19. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

20. Zealot by Reza Aslan

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What about you? What are you reading this summer?

Also-- another plug for the Book of the Month Club because I'm just so obsessed with it-- go here and use the code "SUMMER50" for 50% off a 3-month subscription!