A Summer Reading List for YOU

I love to read.  I am always in the middle of at least 2 or 3 different books.

My nightstand is always littered with a variety of fiction and non-fiction choices.  I’m not married to any one genre or author.  I enjoy everything from young adult fiction to lengthy biographies and from mysteries to self-help.  I’ll read just about anything but lately I’ve been drawn to the classics and those books with a timeless quality.

There’s just something magical about them…the characters, the adventure, the settings….I love it all!  And I believe they make the BEST summer reading.  In fact, the other day someone was asking me what was on my summer reading list and it got me to thinking….what would be on my “perfect” summer reading list…so I put together a list of what I think are the top 10 best books for summer reading.

(The rest of this post contains affiliate links to buy books.  Not that you have to buy anything at all, libraries are fantastic also!)

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett:

“She made herself stronger by fighting with the wind.” —Frances Hodgson Burnett

I read this book for the first time in 5th grade…and then spent the next several years watching every movie ever made from this novel.  I love it.  It reminds me of being little…and of mystery…and of summers spent reading on the trampoline…and of course for the desire to own my own little “bit of earth”.

 

A Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett:

“I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren’t pretty, or smart, or young. They’re still princesses.” —Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little Princess

I can’t put The Secret Garden on my list and leave off A Little Princess….I love them both equally….when I read A Little Princess I am 12 again…and I remember how to pretend.  This book is like magic.

 

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne:

“The earth does not want new continents, but new men.” —Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 

I read this book for the first time last summer and LOVED every second of it.  Really loved it…For some reason I always thought of it as like a “man’s book” but not so…I found myself wanting to board the Nautilus and roam the seas undetected for awhile myself.  (Plus when you finish reading it you can watch the old Kirk Douglass version of the movie on Netflix!)

 

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson:

“Sir, with no intention to take offence, I deny your right to put words into my mouth.”  —Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island

This is another classic that I thought was only for teenage boys and only have fallen in love with recently.  (And not just because of the Muppet movie version of the novel :). )  I thoroughly enjoyed following Jim Hawkins on his adventure and loved how Long John Silver exited the novel!  It is a totally fun read.  (I only wish that I got to read it this summer while laying on the beach!)

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie:

“Some of us, in the words of the divine Greta Garbo, want to be alone.”  —Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express

Love this book.  I have no idea how many times I’ve read it.  It’s just plain entertaining.  It’s a classic murder mystery that is an easy read that is perfect for summer.

And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie:

“It had come about ex­act­ly in the way things hap­pened in books.”  —Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None

I know….two Agatha Christie books on my summer reading list but I love them both.  They make perfect pool side reading.  Mystery , intrigue, easy to read, not too involved.  I read this book for the first time in high school and about a million times since.

Rebecca
by Daphne Du Maurier:

“If only there could be an invention that bottled up a memory, like scent.  And it never faded, and it never got stale.  And then, when one wanted it, the bottle could be uncorked, and it would be like living the moment all over again.”  —Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca

My grandma tried to talk me into reading this book….and I didn’t want to….and then my book club decided to read it…and I didn’t want to.  But then I finally started reading it and couldn’t stop!  It wasn’t the book I was expecting…I want to tell you more but I can’t…and I want to talk about the ending but don’t want to spoil the book.  Just read it!  (And then send me an email so we can talk about it!)

To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee:

“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”—Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird

I actually should have this book as #1 on my summer reading list.  This is one of my all time favorite books and a book that just feels like summer to me.  I love love love this book.  It will always be on any top 10 list of mine.

Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte:

“Reader, I married him.”  —Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

This novel isn’t typical of books that I enjoy reading.  At all.  But there is something so charming and quietly mysterious about this book that I cant help but love it for a breezy, outdoor, summer read.

O Pioneers
by Willa Cather:

“It’s by understanding me, and the boys, and mother, that you have helped me. I except that is the only way one person ever really can help another.”—Willa Cather, O Pioneers

I have no idea why I decided to read this book.  None.  But I fell in love with it and read the entire book in two sittings.  Alexandra may be one of my favorite heroines.  The words, the story, the setting and the pace make for excellent August night reading on the porch.

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Now, that is my top ten list for summer reading for this summer.  Next year I may be on a non-fiction kick and the list will be completely different.  But as for me, this year, if I find that quiet minute to read in the backyard while the kids splash in the sprinklers you will find one of the books listed above in my happy little hands.

-liZ