My Summer 2017 Reading List

The official first day of summer is a week away, but to me summer encompasses all of June, July and August, and this seemed a fitting time to share my summer reading plans! In mid-May I made a radical decision to ban myself from requesting or checking out new releases from the library so I could focus on backlist and books I own. I'm still catching up on library books I already had out, but the rest of June and probably July will be mostly devoted to older books. The year's nearly half over and I have yet to read a 5-star book, but I know I'm going to love many of the books on my list.

I'm linking up with The Broke and the Bookish to share my list. What will you be reading this summer?

1-3. The Red Rising series by Pierce Brown: I read and absolutely loved the first two books back in 2015. "Red Rising" is definitely the book I recommend the most. But I have yet to read the trilogy-ender, "Morning Star" (blame our move from Ohio to Hawaii last year) and, after talking to a friend who I convinced to read the series and who, of course, read "Morning Star" before me, I realized I've forgotten a lot of the finer details of the first two books. So, in nearly unprecedented fashion, I am going to re-read a book! Two, actually! And then I'm finally going to dive into "Morning Star." Yay!

4. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: I ordered this a couple months ago from Book Depository because my library doesn't have it, and plus this way I get the gorgeous U.K. cover. I'm really, really looking forward to starting this well-liked sci-fi series!

5. One Summer by Bill Bryson: This book has been on my to-read list since it first came out in 2013! I love Bill Bryson anyway, and this one details a whole bunch of interesting things that happened during the summer of 1927. Fittingly, I'll be reading it during summer 90 years later!

6. The Likeness by Tana French: I read and loved "In the Woods," the first Dublin Murder Squad book, a couple years ago and I've been meaning to read book two ever since. A friend even bought a copy for me and it's just been languishing on my shelf! I'm excited to finally get to it, though. It seems to be everyone's favorite book of the series.

7. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny: Another mystery series I started and enjoyed and have neglected to continue. This will be my third book in Penny's Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in a tiny town in Quebec.

8. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie: I've been meaning to read something by Agatha Christie for at least a decade. The time has finally come! And then I'll be ready to see the movie in November.

9. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik: I read the first book in the Temeraire series (set in an alternate history during the Napoleonic Wars in which dragons are used in battle) last summer and have yet to read the next book. (Are you sensing a trend here about my relationship with series?!)

10. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole: A WWII novel told in letters is right up my alley, so why has it taken me so long to read this?! My Broke and Bookish Secret Santa bought it for me last Christmas so now I have no excuse.

11. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson: Another book I'm fully expecting to love, and another gift from my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa (ahem, the previous year).

12. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah: I read one Kristin Hannah book and hated it (it involved the military and I took exception with her portrayal) but I'm finally giving in and reading "The Nightingale." Everybody loves it, and I'm hoping to as well.

13. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers: A friend from work loaned me this time travel book (back to 1810 England) and she's about to move away, so I have to get it read before their movers come!

14. My Last Continent by Midge Raymond: I have a total soft spot for books set in cold places, and this one takes place in Antarctica! It came out last June, so it's straddling the line between being backlist and new-ish.

15. News of the World by Paulette Jiles: I discovered this book during the voting for the Goodreads Choice Awards last year and couldn't believe it slipped under my radar. It sounds like a great little historical fiction novel, and Tom Hanks is set to star in the movie version.

16. The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandra Marzano-Lesnevich: Gotta have at least one new book in the mix! Plus it meets my neverending goal of trying to read more non-fiction.