I’m not the biggest fan of summer. It’s just too darn hot for me. I love to stay in my nice, cool house reading nice, cool books. Doing what I do, I’ve read a decent amount of books so far this year, and I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised at how good many of them have been. To that end, I’m gonna share with you some of my favorites. So here it is for your Summer Reading pleasure:
My Top Five Christmas in July Reads So Far for 2019 (in no particular order, kinda)

5. Last Girl Before Freeway (Biography)
I posted about this one a couple months ago. This Joan Rivers biography is enlightening and was used by Amy Sherman-Palladino as her inspiration for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Read the book, watch the show. Both are worth your time.

4. Nine Perfect Strangers (Fiction)
I’ve never read anything by Liane Moriarty, but this Hotel California meets Big Little Lies (Season 2 started June 9 on HBO) book sounded intriguing. Nine strangers meet at a health spa in Australia. Hijinks ensue. I was going along pretty good when the book took a pretty hard left turn that I did not see coming. That’s it for spoilers. Let’s chat once you’ve read it and see whatcha think. I might have to check out some other books by Moriarty. 

3. The Book of Essie (Fiction)
With the exception of some cooking shows and The Voice, I do not watch reality TV. And yet, something about this book intrigued me. It is set up to mimic shows like John and Kate Plus Eight or that one with the Duggers. Essie’s dad is a minister on TV and they have a reality show that follows their family around. All’s well until Essie turns up pregnant. I thought this book was very moving and once I got into it, I didn’t want to put it down. I think I read it in one day. Not what I expected and totally enjoyable.

2. Formerly Known as Food (Nonfiction)
This book was terrifying and amazing at the same time. It is terrifying that there are thousands of chemicals in our food and food packaging and it amazes me that the FDA and USDA aren’t doing more to regulate them. All the pesticides that are used on our growing food are terrifying and it is amazing that even if I plant my own vegetables, they still might not be nutritious enough because of depleted soil. I’ve read several books on this subject, so I’m not uninformed, but there were things here that I’d never considered. Written and argued well, I liked all of it (except maybe the author’s grandiose plans to fix things. I’m not sure she was realistic there). I read this one in a few days too, and I kept hoping for a happy ending, even though we are still living it. Hey – a girl can dream, right?

1. Daisy Jones and the Six (Fiction – or is it?)
This is my favorite book of this year, so far. It was written in an interview style, with different sections by Daisy and the other members of The Six, so at first I thought I’d hate it. But my friend Laurie convinced me to keep to reading and I’m glad she did. This book was magical. Ostensibly, it’s fiction, but it reads exactly like a nonfiction celebrity bio. Think Almost Famous. I love books about music when they are done well, and this one is. I couldn’t ask for anything more and I was sad when it ended. If you read one book this year, make it this one.
Ok friends, those are my picks for now. I hope you’re having a great summer so far. Keep up with that reading. You don’t want to miss out on all the great prizes, like gift cards to local restaurants, Amazon Echos, or shopping sprees at McKay’s or Parnassus Books. You’ve still got a good month left, so don’t quit now.
Happy Summer Reading…
:) Amanda