Normally, I’ll carefully craft a TBR (or To-Be-Read) list for each month, themed around the overall vibe of the month. This year, I’m trying something a little different and creating larger seasonal TBRs to give myself a little more flexibility.
For July and August, I threw together a mix of summer (or summer-ish) reads from various genres—if I wasn’t careful, I’d end up reading only beach-read romances. While that’s certainly not a bad thing, I like to make sure I’m reading across genres. In one month I might pick up a cozy romance, then a historical epic, then a thriller, or even (shudder) nonfiction.
It’s already the first week of August (!!!) and I’ve enjoyed some wonderful summer reads this year, but here are the books I’m most looking forward to reading over the next month or so!
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The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson.
One-sentence summary: the guy whom our main character is in love with gets another girl in their friend group pregnant.
Why I’m excited: it’s going to be so messy!
My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney.
One-sentence summary: a woman returns home to her husband, only to discover he has a new wife—and no one remembers who she is.
Why I’m excited: I have such a soft spot for British thriller authors and I feel like they always take me on the craziest journeys.
Strangers by Belle Burden.
One-sentence summary: an ultra-wealthy woman’s memoir about her husband leaving their family abruptly and how she discovered her voice in the process.
Why I’m excited: this is our book club book for August! I can’t wait to talk about it with my girls.
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman.
One-sentence summary: after leaving her unfaithful husband, a socially awkward woman gets a fresh start in a struggling small town centered around a children’s soccer team.
Why I’m excited: my Beartown trilogy binge nearly sent me into a reading slump, but I am ready to get hurt again. Backman does such a good job of connecting you not just to characters, but their whole community. Also, it’s a little bit about soccer. I’m a sucker for anything soccer-related.
Once and Again by Rebecca Serle.
One-sentence summary: the women of the Novak family have the power to turn back time only once, and all three generations handle the pressure of that power in very different ways.
Why I’m excited: I love how Rebecca Serle does magical realism and how she focuses on types of love that aren’t romantic.
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig.
One-sentence summary: a legendary pirate queen’s story of how she rose to power in her fleet while fighting for survival, family, and power in nineteenth-century China.
Why I’m excited: it’s about a legendary pirate queen. Enough said.
Just putting this list together made me even more excited to tackle the rest of my summer TBR. I love that it includes such a wide range of genres and stories because it keeps my reading life feeling fresh—and hopefully prevents me from accidentally reading twelve beach romances in a row (tempting as that may be). Here’s hoping I can actually stick to the plan…because we all know how easily a shiny new release can derail the best of intentions.
What are you looking forward to reading this month? I want to hear!
Cheers, and happy reading!
Reminder: Everyone has their own tastes and opinions! Respectfully disagree all you want. Be mean about it, and I’ll assume your favorite character would’ve been disappointed in you. Life’s too short to argue over fictional people.
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