July 2019 Reading List
The books on my July 2019 reading list, including The Other’s Gold, The Dearly Beloved, and The Islanders.
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My reading has taken a hit after an extremely busy month–I’m still catching up on my June reading list!
Luckily, the books I’ve managed to get through so far have been excellent. Check out the list of what I was reading last month (and continue to catch up on this month). I’ll have reviews soon.
I am hoping to finish those I had planned in June, as well as a few others. I’ll be spending some time on the lake later this month, which sometimes brings extra opportunities for reading (though the kids keep things busy as well!), so we’ll see.
This season of life just doesn’t lend itself well to long reading stretches, but those times seem to come and go. Right now, I’m embracing what this summer has brought: newly independent and extremely busy kids!
We’ve been a bit delayed around here when it comes to learning to ride bikes (not for lack of trying), but now that both of my kids have mastered it, it’s like new worlds have opened to them.
Keeping track of them and indulging their desire to ride nonstop has kept me running (and riding) as well–in a good way.
Next summer milestone to look forward to: independent swimming while I read in the shade! I don’t expect this to happen for at least a few years.
Anyway, the July reading list is short for all of the reasons mentioned above, but I am looking forward to these:
July 2019 Reading List
The Other’s Gold: A Novel
Four women become friends in college, and the independence and intensity of campus life bonds them forever. Over the years, as the women graduate and move into parenthood, each makes a terrible mistake. The book walks through each–the Accident, the Accusation, the Kiss, and the Bite–examining the shifts and evolution in the women and their friendships.
The Other’s Gold sounds right up my alley. I love books about great friendships, and something about college often makes friendships especially close and lasting. This promises to be a dramatic, twisty ride, but filled with relatable characters and relationships.
The Dearly Beloved: A Novel
The Dearly Beloved follows two couples in 1960s Greenwich Village who are chosen to jointly steward a Presbyterian church. Hailing from different backgrounds and harboring differing beliefs and motivations, the book follows the four over decades of friendship and changing times.
The description of this book reminds me a little of Wallace Stegner’s Crossing to Safety, but with a church rather than academic setting (though several reviewers mention that this is not a religious book). I’m a little uncertain whether I’m up for this “meditation on faith and reason, marriage and children, and the ways we find meaning in our lives” during this busy summer time, but the rave reviews have convinced me to give it a try.
The Islanders: A Novel
A quintessential summer read–an island setting, strangers’ lives converging for a few short months–I’ve been sinking into several audiobooks like this over the last month or two, mostly by Elin Hilderbrand.
Hilderbrand herself blurbs this one, which brings together a frustrated author, a struggling café owner, and a mother of young children, all facing their own struggles on Block Island. Like so many beachy summer novels, this promises “unexpected romance, well-meaning lies, and damaging secrets.”
What are you reading this month?
I’m years away from my kids being able to independently swim, so take heart that yours is at least in the foreseeable future! Reading poolside is about the best retreat there is 🙂
I laughed when I read your comment on The Dearly Beloved maybe not being for you right now because it sounds EXACTLY like something I’d like to be reading soon, ha ha. To every book, there is a season, right?
Enjoy your lake retreat!
It still feels far off, but I know it will come soon enough! Every year brings more independence.
You’re so right about the right seasons for books! I’m hoping that one works for me, though by the description it seems like something I might like better in the fall or winter. I guess we’ll see!
The Other’s Gold sounds great – college friendships are like no other!
I’m hoping to get my hands on The Islanders at some point this summer too!
I’m looking forward to it! I’ve been enjoying Hilderbrand’s Nantucket stories, but it will be good to try something else.