So what’s everyone reading?

Y’all. This is a big week for me. I mean, for Harry and Meghan. It’s the big wedding and in true wedding form, you have some relatives that have decided now is a good time to act crazy banana pants. Royalty. They’re just like us.

Except with easier access to tiaras.

The sad truth is I probably won’t even get to watch the wedding until Monday morning because Caroline has a soccer tournament in College Station this weekend and we’ll be busy with that. But I have big plans to park myself on my couch Monday morning with a cup of coffee and watch all the various recordings I have already scheduled on my DVR. And if you’re wondering if I’ve watched the Lifetime movie about Harry and Meghan then you must be new here. I’ve watched it twice and can’t promise I won’t watch it a third time. Is it a little cheesy? OF COURSE IT IS. Do I mind? Not in the slightest.

But here’s what I really want to discuss today.

Books.

There is something about summertime that makes me want to read more than usual. I guess it’s because summer promises a little more downtime than we have during the school year or maybe it’s a habit I developed back in the days of yore when Netflix didn’t exist and summer television viewing was an abysmal wasteland of reruns. Whatever the case, I am in the process of working on my summer list of books to read. I’ve been helped significantly by two recent posts from Modern Mrs. Darcy: this post of the 20 books everyone will be talking about this summer and her 2018 summer reading guide post. I’ve already put a few of these on my list, but here’s what I’ve read in the last two weeks and it’s not even summer yet. It’s like I’m an overachiever.

1. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis – I feel like everyone’s talking about this book right now and I totally understand why. I found it motivating and I am typically not one to be motivated by a book. I think because it reads more like you’re talking to a good friend.

2. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan – This is the most recent book in the Crazy Rich Asians series. I haven’t loved any of them as much as I loved the original, but they are all a fun, easy read and perfect for the beach.

3. Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Levin – I downloaded this on my Kindle and finished it in two days. It was a green light pick from Jamie Golden on the Pop Cast and so I felt like I could count on it to be good and it didn’t disappoint. The writing is so good, the characters are likable and relatable, and the story sucked me in.

I just started Love and Ruin by Paula McClain because I am powerless to resist any novel set during World War II. And I have Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza waiting for me next.

I’ll also definitely read When Life Gives You Lululemons by Lauren Weisberger and Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams as soon as they are released this summer.

But I would love to hear what you’ve read recently or what you plan to read. I love a good love story, a memoir, things that are light and funny except that I also love novels set in World War II so go figure. And yet somehow every time I read a novel set in World War II it’s like a fresh surprise that the book tends to be on the sad side. You would think I might figure that out.

I don’t like scary and I’m not big into thrillers unless it’s very light on the thrill part of that equation. And, obviously, I enjoy anything that has to do with the royal family.

I’ll eventually compile a whole list of what I plan to read this summer (Disclaimer: it’s always likely to change on a whim if say Gulley calls me and says, “You HAVE to read this book I just finished!”) and I’ll post little mini-reviews from time to time of what I liked and what I didn’t necessarily enjoy. Although, additional disclaimer, I’m not really good at giving books a bad review because now that I write books myself I realize that it’s like bleeding over your keyboard and who am I to judge someone else’s art?

So maybe I’ll just share what I really like and mention that others just weren’t my cup of tea but I’m sure somewhere they are being loved and enjoyed. It’s not exactly the The New York Times book review, but it seems about right for what usually goes on around here.