Books I wish to Read (and hopefully finish) this summer!

Whether i achieve this goal or not, is entirely up to fate

So recently, the amazing

Alicia

from Reads With Alicia asked me to put together a list of books i am planning to read for her Summer collab (you can check that out here!). The problem was, though, that i ended with a lot more books than i anticipated. So i thought why not just make another expanded post on the subject on my own!

Consider this a sort of companion post with the one from Alicia (the reason why i have left some of the descriptions as is. Why mess with perfection?).

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

I’ve been meaning to reread this classic for a long time, actually.

I remember reading it as a young teenager when I was just getting used to reading books and it had an immense impact on me.

I am going to try and read this again after so many years to see if it still hits the same!

Also, the vibes in this book are perfect for summer as it does take place in summer, if i remember correctly!

Moby-Dick - Herman Melville

This one is actually a buddy read with the wonderful

Mariella Hunt

so i figured i should add this here. I am very intimated by this tome but also excited!

You could say that this book has been my… white whale?

I’ll see myself out, thank you very much.

The Princess Bride - William Goldman

Yup, this is a big one. I love the film and it’s a masterpiece, so I figured why not read the book too? I had it sitting on my shelf for so long! Plus, this is another book that gives me major summer vibes.

Fact: I have already started this one!

Sense And Sensibility - Jane Austen

Is it even a good summer without some Jane Austen? I don’t even need to explain myself with this one, honestly. I will say however, that i have read quite a bit of this one before. I unfortunately had to abandon it because… i got distracted. Don’t just me! I am making up for it this summer.

One Golden Summer - Carley Fortune

I recently came across this book in audiobook format and the title, the cover (more painting covers, please!) and the summary had me wanting more. Plus the title obviously makes it a necessary addition to summer reads.

In case you’re wondering what the book is about, it’s about a photographer who develops a crush on a dude after visiting some area she was in as a teen and rediscovering her childhood crush.

I feel like it will have a lot of good summer vibes with some heart and nostalgia and i am always up for that!

People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry

I have been meaning to read Emily Henry for quite a while now and i thought there is no better time than the summer.

For me, summer is somehow indicative of romance.

I don’t know why but to me, it feels like the best time to read romance novels.

The Virginian - Owen Wister

So… There is a genre that almost always seems to escape me. And this summer, I feel like I should really immerse myself in that genre since so much of it feels like summer to me. That genre, of course, is westerns.

I have always been fascinated by westerns but for some reason, have not really watched or read much of it. I plan to change that by watching and reading as much of the genre as I can. The sweltering heat, the dusty plains, all of it has the hallmarks of the kind of summer I always experience, so why not? This summer is hopefully my Western era.

As far as the story goes, i am not really sure. All i know is that it is the first novelized western (figured why not start from the beginning?) and i will be reading a lot more, unless my mood changes. It often does that.

The Martian - Andy Weir:

This one doesn’t have anything to do with summer per se, but it’s definitely one i’ve been meaning to read for quite a while. Hopefully i get to it before the summer ends!

Daisy jones & and the six - Taylor Jenkins Reids

Another one that i just picked ‘cause I want to get to it sooner than later. I have been a fan of TJR for quite a while now despite only reading one book by her (Evelyn Hugo), so i figure it’s time i actually read something else by her! Hopefully this one doesn’t kill my soul and leave its corpse in the river like Evelyn Hugo did, though.

The Hobbit + The Lord Of The Rings - J.R.R Tolkien

The only book from Tolkien that i have read is the hobbit, and for some reason, i am severely in the mood for some fantasy this summer. I figure i should start with the grand daddy of fantasy because, why not? Also, epic adventure in the mountains definitely screams summer! (that is how i am justifying it being on the list)

Drowning - T.J Newman

I read her book falling a few years ago and have been a fan ever since. I did not know she came out with another book (let alone 2) so now I got a new favorite author I can read from and say “i finished all his books!” for the first time (ignore the fact that it's only 3 books so far).

Her brand of writing is very similar to experiencing an exciting 80s or 90s high octane thriller on paper (or audio, as I did). That is the best way I can describe her writing, honestly. And falling gave me major summer vibes so I am hoping that drowning does the same!

James bond 007 - Ian Flemming

Another one of those books that I just want to read because I am in the mood for them. Not sure if they will have summer vibes but I am just really in the mood for some James Bond lately so I will be reading them for the first time ever!

A History of Hitler’s Empire, 2nd Edition - Thomas Childers, The Great Courses

As my newsletter has recently changed from just talking about literature to all things academic, i’ve been getting more and more into history. One such history that always fascinates the hell out of me is that of World War 2 (please, God, don’t let there be a sequel). More importantly, Hitler and his Empire.

It’s actually my cousin who got me into it by showing me historical documentaries and making me watch so many World War 2 movies (mostly from Germany for some reason). So now i am kinda obsessed.

The reason I picked this one is that despite my knowledge on the subject, I still want to be able to point to some sources when I talk about it here (and I will talk about it here). This Lecture will serve me as an introductory source to base all my other research on the topic on.

The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich - William L. Shirer

After that Introductory Lecture, this is what I plan on tackling. It’s quite a long read, clocking in at about 800 pages or so, but I hope I can read it over the course of this summer. It might just take me the whole summer though.

William S. Shirer seems like quite a credible source for me as he witnessed the Rise and the Fall himself. He documented everything and uses some very primary resources such as diary entries of several Nazi officials, top secret documents that prove a lot of things about the regime, and so on. I hope to gain quite a lot of understanding from this read.

The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction - William Doyle

Just like with the WW2 Lecture from The Great Courses, This one also serves as an introductory source for me. I am already quite deep into my research but it is mostly based on Youtube so I plan on tackling this sooner than later so I can just have a cursory view of the events.

The French Revolution -Ian Davidson

Again, just like my WW2 Project, I will start with this much longer book on the Revolution once I am finished with the Introduction one. Hopefully it provides some context for things i am still not sure of.

The Story of Philosophy - Will Durant

After reading some Albert Camus (which I am still in the process of), i will jump straight into this one. It feels like quite an interesting read in and of itself. I am beyond excited for this one as I am hoping to gain some kind of framework for reading philosophy. I will probably review this one here as well.

The Talented Mr. Ripley - Patricia Highsmith

This one I want to read for the Classical Book Club. I have already seen the film with Matt Damon in it and absolutely love it!

I know the book will have some cool summer vibes and murder plots which I am all in for!

Death on The Nile - Agatha Christie

I haven’t read much of Agatha Christie, despite loving the few novels I have read from her. And Then There Were None is one of my absolute favorite mystery novels ever, and what better way to spend the summer than some seaside mystery! Something about the novel makes me think that the hot and humid sun will have a big role in the mystery itself!

Disclaimer:

As you can gather from this list, it’s quite ambitious. As much as I would like to knock all of these out in the summer, I probably will not do that. On top of that, my mood constantly shifts from one vibe to another as I have always been a mood reader at heart. So I would like to put out a disclaimer that while I will try my damndest to stay on track and finish at least 5 from this list, and keep it just as it is, I probably won’t do both of those. It is bound to change up over the summer and so is my mood!