Summertime Reads, Movies, Favorites, and Travel

Hooray! Summertime is officially here! There is so much to love about this season: the sunshine, ice cream, warm weather, easy-going days, vacationing, dining on the patio, the scent of sunscreen, flip flops, fresh fruits and vegetables, extended daylight and so on. I am excited about the summer movie releases, beach days, travel, and other fun things.

One of my favorite things about summertime is the extra time I have to read. I made a list of books I intend to read over the next few months, both fiction and non-fiction, and a few other things I am excited about for summer.

*This post contains affiliate links (see my disclosure here)

In My Reading Stack

Non-Fiction

The Gospel of Trees

• A friend recommended this beautiful memoir that chronicles a woman’s upbringing as a missionary’s daughter serving in Haiti. I am close to finishing this great read.

 

Brazen

• Another friend suggested this one. From the publisher: “There are so many moments in life when we choose to silence our intuition, abandon our own voice, and play small because we wonder, deep down: “Do I know who I really am? Is who I really am enough?” It’s courageous work to learn to live from our essential identity–loved, worthy, whole. But what if God is calling us to shamelessly recover the woman he created us to be? What if God is urging us to be–for the first time in our lives–brazen?”

 

The Light of the World

• Another memoir, this time about love and loss. It has fabulous reviews.

 

The Artist’s Way

• Many writer friends recommend this book, and I love it so far. The book takes the reader on a twelve-work journey of discovering creativity within one’s self.

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Fiction

Tangerine

• The Modern Mrs. Darcy writes “This is one of the buzziest books of spring, both for the stories in and surrounding the book. The author’s agent plucked this one from the slush pile, sold it for a rumored price of nearly a million dollars, and Scarlett Johansson is already slated to star in the film adaptation. I read this in just two days because I wanted to know what happens next. If you love domestic noir, give this a try. (If you have had your fill of that genre, this book is not going to change your mind.) The story unfolded like a Hitchcock movie in my mind.”

 

The Thinnest Air

• This book looks to be an entertaining thriller!

 

The Art Forger

• I downloaded this mystery book for free via Amazon Prime Reading and can’t wait to read it!

 

The Things We Wish Were True

• This page-turner is about how Sycamore Glen looks like the perfect all-American suburban neighborhood, but a near-tragedy at their local swimming pool sets in motion a chain of events that brings the neighborhood’s long-buried secrets to life.

 

Sleep Tight

• Another mystery I look forward to reading. From the publisher: “When Olivia Brookes calls the police to report that her husband and children are missing, she believes she will never see them again. She has reason to fear the worst; this isn’t the first tragedy that Olivia has experienced. Now, two years later, Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas is called in to investigate this family again, but this time it’s Olivia who has disappeared.”

Current Summer Faves

• Metal Straws ~ My son ordered these for me a while back, and because we have a plastic problem, I am only using these straws. I carry one in my purse as does my daughter. I love drinking cold drinks out of the straw 😀For further reading, here is an article about going “strawless.”

 

• Corn on the Cob ~ I love fresh corn! What tastes even better than plain corn is Elotes. Here is another recipe if you’re craving it and corn isn’t in season. Yum! 😋

 

• Farmer’s Market ~ I don’t often get to the local farmer’s market during the three other seasons, but make it a point to go when the summer fruits and veggies are fresh. Thankfully, I live in CA where produce grows abundantly.

 

• Iced Coffee ~ This is a newer favorite of mine. I came across this mint mojito iced coffee recipe and knew it was a must try!

Summer Travel

• Greensboro, N.C.: My husband is traveling there for business and asked me to tag along.

 

• Washington D.C: I’m going to visit my daughter who lives in the D.C. Metro area. We planned quite a few things to do including afternoon tea, a baseball game, a concert, a museum or two, the National Cathedral, and some fine dining. 😊

 

• Europe: My husband and I are headed to Spain, France, and Italy to celebrate our anniversary 💗 We have been planning this trip for months and can’t wait to go!

Summer Movies

I love going to the movie theater no matter what the season. Here are a few I hope to see this summer:

• Ocean’s Eight

 

• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

 

• Mission Impossible- Fallout

 

• Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

 

• Eighth Grade

 

*This is a list of all the 2018 summer movie releases.

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What are things you have on your summer list? What are you reading? Watching? Making? Visiting? I would love to know.

 

THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND FOR BEING HERE.  WISHING EACH OF YOU A LOVELY SUMMER!