Is summertime just meant for reading, or what!  Even though nobody in my family has a summer break from school anymore, summer still screams for a bit of relaxation and lots of reading.

Reading!  Reading is my favorite!  (And french fries.)  I have quite a long “Books to Read” list these days.  Several of my friends ALSO have book lists going, so today we’re doing a summery, fun, book-filled blog hop!

Welcome to My Summer Book Shelf!  If you hopped over from Making the Most of Every Day, WELCOME!  I’m glad you’re here!

Today I’m sharing what I read in June and what I hope to read in July.  Whether you’re a certified bookworm like me or you’re a reluctant reader, I hope you’ll find a few books here that will pique your interest!

Books I Read* in June

*I’m counting books I listened to as “read” even though my brain still isn’t totally okay with that.  If you’re a regular reader of Out and Back you’ll know that this is an ongoing dilemma.  Anyway.

What She Knew: The Novel (audiobook) by Gilly Macmillan:  A fascinating story about a young boy’s kidnapping as told by the boy’s mom, the Chief Investigator, and the Chief Investigator’s therapist.  I really enjoy good police procedurals and psychological thrillers, and this is both.

Furiously Happy: A Funny Book about Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson.  I never fully appreciated how funny mental illness can be!  This book had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe.  Seriously!  My husband took the book away from me one night because I was laughing so hard so long!   Other parts of the book had me in tears as the author brilliantly captured the frustrations of struggling with mental illness and loving someone who struggles.  If you fall into either of those categories, you might want to read this.  I found it very helpful.  Warning:  Lots of unnecessary profanity.  You can read her (very funny!) summary of the book here.

Words in the Dust (audiobook) by Trent Reedy.  The modern-day story of an Afghan girl who is blessed with the opportunities of learning to read and getting needed medical help from the nearby American military base.  Those blessings are tempered by the restrictions she still faces as a female in post-Taliban Afghanistan.  Written by an American soldier who was stationed in Afghanistan.  The narrator of the audiobook does a beautiful job.

The Boy Born Dead: A Story of Friendship, Courage, and Triumph (audiobook) by David Ring.  I had the privilege of hearing David Ring speak several times at youth evangelism conferences when I was growing up.  This book is his biography, and it is just exquisitely told.  I highly recommend listening to this book because the narrator is one of the best I’ve heard, but you’re also going to want it in print so you can highlight passages!  David was literally born dead and has cerebral palsy as a result.  This book is the inspirational story of how God took an orphaned, abused, hopeless boy and changed his life.

Losing Control & Liking It: How To Set Your Teen (and Yourself) Free by Tim Sanford.  I highly recommend that every parent read this book, and I think they should read it before their kids start middle school.  Parents of toddlers should read this!  This book challenged me to discern what I do and do not control, revealed ways I was being manipulative, and helped me work through the whole “letting go” process in a healthy way.  My kids are 20 and 23, and I just re-read this book; parenting adult kids is tricky, and I’m finding this book just as helpful now as it was several years ago.

I also listened to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling and The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny.

Books I Hope to Read in July

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendel

You Learn by Living by Eleanor Roosevelt

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

This Day: Sabbath Poems by Wendell Berry

Please comment below and let me know what YOU are reading this month!

And then hop over HERE to see what’s on Leslie’s Summer Book Shelf!

Hooray for blog hops and for good books!  Happy reading!

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