Summer Reading: Fiction & Memoir

Summer is officially here and with the warm weather comes travel, relaxation and reading! There is nothing quite like laying in the sun, or in the shade under a tree with a good book. Here are a few of my favorite books for your summer reading list:

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan. Bonjour Tristesse translation in English is, Hello Sadness. Bonjour Tristesse is a coming of age story about a girl who is on holiday in a beautiful villa outside of Paris. As you read this story, you will feel the warmth of the sun and the sand between your toes while simultaneously feeling the stress and anxiety of adolescence.

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. Salvage the Bones was the first book I read of Jesmyn Ward’s and it was nothing short of a masterpiece. A tale of race, love and natural disaster, this book keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. Simply put, this book should be on everyone’s reading list. Like Salvage the Bones, Ward hits it out of the park with another narrative about race, addiction, love, family, sickness and mysticism. Jesmyn Ward is one of the best literary writers of our time, so don’t wait any longer and check her out today!

An Abbreviated Life by Ariel Leve. An Abbreviated Life is a fast paced memoir that absorbs your attention from start to finish. Leve talks about her development with an impulsive and attention seeking mother, and a father who is beloved but absent. This memoir makes you think about psychological abuse and how it can literally damage your brain. This memoir is fascinating and complex.

Motherhood by Sheila Heti. Motherhood takes you on one woman’s journey as she questions whether or not to have a child. Heti questions and analyzes so much more than the conversation of children through a poetic, humor filled, complex narrative. After reading Motherhood, I believe that every woman should read this book no matter if your a mom, single, past child bearing years, trying to have a child or questioning the big picture all together.