RAD Summer Reads // 2019
Summer is the sweetest time for reading— it stays light out longer, our calendars are more free, we have beach trips and poolside weekends and flights to new places… and we need good books more than ever. There are a million summer reading guides out there (some awesome and some not so much!) but I thought it would be fun to share a handful of my all-time favorites that I think make for excellent summer reading. All books included here were 4 or 5-star reads for me, so they come with my highest praise! (Affiliate links are included too, but they won’t cost you a cent more.)
If you want to print out the list and track your reading this summer, click the button below to grab the PDF (with a handy bookmark too!)
Be sure to use #radsummerreads on Instagram if you read any of these (and tag @alltheradreads!) — can’t wait to see what you grab and what you love! Happy summer reading, friends!
Young Adult
Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith (read my review)
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (read my review)
The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas (read my review)
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (read my review)
Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott (read my review)
Thrillers + Mystery
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh (read my review)
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (read my review)
No One Knows by J.T. Ellison (read my review)
You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott (read my review)
The Dry by Jane Harper (read my review)
new Fiction
(published in 2018-2019)
The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory (read my review)
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (read my review)
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah (read my review)
I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos (read my review)
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (read my review)
not as new fiction
(published before 2018)
A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner (read my review)
The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson (read my review)
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (read my review)
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (read my review)
This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel (read my review)
Memoir
Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl (read my review)
The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner (read my review)
Running Home by Katie Arnold (read my review)
Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber (read my review)
Educated by Tara Westover (read my review)
Faith
The Struggle Is Real: Getting Better at Life, Stronger in Faith, and Free from the Stuff Keeping You Stuck by Nicole Unice (read my review)
Remember God by Annie F. Downs (read my review)
Everybody Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People by Bob Goff (read my review)
Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life by Jen Hatmaker (read my review)
The Ministry of Ordinary Places: Waking Up to God’s Goodness Around You by Shannan Martin (read my review)
if you’ve never read wendell berry or are newer to his body of work, here’s a guide on which book to start with (as well as a complete list of all of this works across genres)