June 2019 Reading List
Books on my June 2019 reading list, including The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, The Lightest Object in the Universe, After the End, If You Want to Make God Laugh, and Never Have I Ever.
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As usual, the end of the school year and beginning of summer has flattened me. I’m burnt out and not able to focus very well on heavier books.
Enter: summer reading! The perfect antidote to all the stress.
I’ve lightened my reading load, both content and numbers-wise, and I think I have some great reads ahead of me. I love a good heavy read, but right now I just need some fun reading that isn’t too much work.
A couple of these are trusted authors that have provided some lighter (but still smart) reading in the past.
A couple of the books don’t exactly fall into the “light” category, but I think they’ll be page-turnery enough to satisfy the easy-reading need.
All of the books below are releases coming up in June and July. Reviews will come soon, in plenty of time for you to add these to your own summer reading lists!
Looking for new books out now? Check out my May reviews!
June 2019 Reading List
Never Have I Ever: A Novel
I’ve grown to appreciate the sly Southern wit that Joshilyn Jackson brings to her writing. It’s always fun–and slightly funny, even when the story or topics are grim. So I’m looking forward to this new novel, her first foray into domestic suspense. And what makes it even better is that a book club is at it’s center! A woman appears at the club and threatens to derail Amy’s perfect life by revealing secrets she’d rather leave buried. This feels like true summer reading and I know Jackson is up to the task of delivering a gripping story with interesting and quirky characters.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Abbi Waxman is another author I’ve enjoyed recently (The Garden of Small Beginnings). Like Joshilyn Jackson, she has a way of infusing humor and levity into stories that have more serious undertones. This one follows Nina, an introvert, bookworm, and trivia buff who discovers she has a large family she never knew about–and they all want to meet her. That and an unexpected romance with her trivia rival may pull Nina out of her shell. Promising to be a “quirky and charming” read, this may not be my usual fare, but I think it will be right up my exhausted-in-June alley.
If You Want to Make God Laugh
The story of three women in post-Apartheid South Africa–one poor and pregnant, one a rich socialite, and one a disgraced former nun. An abandoned baby brings them all together and prompts explorations of family, love, and identity.
This is Marais’s sophomore novel, after her well-received Hum If You Don’t Know the Words. Her debut has been on my TBR for a while, but I’ll be reading this one first. I’ve seen raves about both from other bloggers and am looking forward to a great read.
After the End
Young parents Max and Pip must make an impossible decision when their three-year-old son’s brain tumor damages his brain beyond repair. He can no longer walk, talk, or communicate, and there will be no change. When the two don’t agree on what to do, the court must decide.
This book promises to be both heartbreaking and satisfying in the way it addresses the question of what would happen with either decision (think Sliding Doors). Any parent making a choice in such a situation would second-guess themselves and wonder what would have happened if they decided differently. It’s also personal to Mackintosh–normally a thriller writer–who had to make a similar decision over a decade ago.
The Lightest Object in the Universe: A Novel
I admit to a weakness for dystopian novels–particularly ones that seem plausible today and are told on a small, personal scale (like The Age of Miracles or Into the Forest). This one imagines a collapse of the global economy and electrical grid (not unusual dystopic premises), but asks the question: what do you do if, when the fall comes, you and your loved ones are separated? Carson is on the east coast and is desperate to make his way to Beatrix, on the west coast.
I’ve seen mixed reviews, but I’m intrigued by the premise and the description of this as a hopeful story about the power of community in desperate times.
What are you reading in June?
I can’t wait to read Joshilyn Jackson’s new book! I’ve only read The Almost Sisters by her, but it’s one of my all-time favorite reads. After The End sounds a bit too intense for me as a new mom, but it’s one I’d like to read eventually. I didn’t realize until you pointed it out that she’s the thriller writer I like ha!
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill looks cute and summer-y!
Never Have I Ever and The Lightest Object in the Universe both sound good. The second one is new to me.
I’m reading The Body Lies, the new novel from Jo Baker. She wrote Longbourn, which I absolutely loved. So far, this is really good. She’s writes marvelous literary fiction but this one is a mystery so I wasn’t sure if she could pull it off, but she does. It’s still got the literary quality, but the tension is there as well.
I’ve got If You Want to Make God Laugh and am looking forward to it. I read her debut and didn’t like it, but I liked her writing so hopeful this one will be more my taste.