Summer has officially wrapped and it was definitely one to remember. It was one of the most interesting Summers of our lives full of more downs than ups but a consistent point of joy for me was all of the books that I had time to read. As I’ve mentioned here before, reading is one of the only things that can really leave me feeling refreshed after a stressful workday, month, season, year.
My personal book taste is a bit eclectic with a mix of light fictional reads and more educational autobiographies and this Summer’s reading list reflects exactly that. Below is a recap of what I read in the order in which I enjoyed them.
1| Clap When You Land: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
As I recapped earlier in the Summer, this was one of my favorite books that I’ve read of all-time. While it was super easy to read with its poetic style writing, the story was actually pretty heavy, which gave it a bit of depth than your average beach read. The story documents two sisters during the aftermath of their father’s death. However, the two sisters didn’t know the other existed until this point in their lives. One lives in New York City and the other in the Dominican Republic. It is a beautiful story of sisterhood and family that will certainly widen your perspective on life itself.
2| Happy & You Know It: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This was a Book of the Month pick that I was really happy with! I was 100% hooked with the New York City setting and the idea of following the moms of the Upper East Side was intriguing. It gave me major Odd Mom Out vibes (if you are a long-time Bravo fan like me 😂). The book was equal parts NYC luxury lifestyle and scandal, which is basically my favorite kind of book/TV show/movie/etc. The first chapter pulls you in with a flash-forward to something later in the story and I swear to god I didn’t see the ending coming AT ALL!
3| To Pixar and Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
As many of you know, I’m a social media strategist for entertainment brands by day, which is the original reason that book caught my eye. Not to mention that I’m an absolute Disney geek so anything Pixar is always exciting to me. This book was definitely a dense one that took me a bit to get through but I really loved the first-person perspective from Lawrence Levy, the first CFO of Pixar, as he shared the story of Pixar. As someone who has an entrepreneurial spirit, I loved the stories of building Pixar from the ground up, and as someone who works in the entertainment industry every day, I enjoyed the specifics of how Pixar was perceived by the larger industry. Of course, this spurred a mega-marathon of every Pixar movie on Disney+.
4| Becoming: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Okay, I know this one is controversial because many say that this is one of their all-time favorite books and they re-read it often. However, I really felt that it didn’t reveal anything that I didn’t already know from the years of the Obamas being in the mainstream media. I am definitely more in-tune with the news than the average person, which may be why I wasn’t too surprised with most of what was shared in this book. That aside, of course, every chapter and word of this book was extremely well-written and I definitely enjoyed the storytelling starting with Michelle growing up in the South Side of Chicago to her and Barack’s last day in office.
5| The Guest List: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This was another Book of the Month pick, which I was at first very disappointed with because I thought it was extremely slow (despite finishing it in a weekend). It documents the days leading up to a celebrity wedding on a private island off the shore of Ireland. As someone who always loves a good over-the-top wedding, I enjoyed the little wedding planning details (the historic venue, the rehearsal dinner, the exclusive guest list, etc.), however, I wasn’t really sold on the book until the last 40 or so pages when the action really transpired. Yes, there is a murder involved. 😱
6| The Jetsetters: ⭐️
Oy this one was just sad for me to read. It was on Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club list so I had really high hopes for it but was ultimately really disappointed. This is a story of a family that has a ton of secrets that all come to a head on a family vacation in the Mediterranean. I read this at the very beginning of the Summer and it promised all of the vacation vibes that I was desperately needing. Until I found out that it was all happening aboard a huge cruise ship. Beyond the cruise ship vibes that gave me a little claustrophobia (not great for someone in quarantine), I generally found the story sad. The story alternates perspectives from different family members but it always comes back to Charlotte, the mother, which inspired me to spend a bit more time than usual with my own mom and grandmother this Summer.
