A midsummer reading challenge

and four books to add to yours

As someone who still owns a holographic Book It!®️ button from the ‘90s, I think a lot about summer reading challenges.¹

But at the end of the summer I don’t necessarily wish I had read more books — mostly I just wish I would have spent more time reading outside (instead of in my bed as I fall asleep, inevitably waking up in the middle of the night with a Kindle on my face).

So, I decided to make my own reading challenge.

As for reading a book at a bar, well, “read a book alone at a bar” has been part of my new year’s resolution at least twice. I made the switch to this low stakes goal after it became clear that my more traditional resolutions — get organized, drink more water, text people back in a timely manner — were just never going to happen. But so far “read a book alone at a bar” has been just as difficult for me as “get organized.”

Why, exactly, do I want to be a person who reads a book alone at a bar? I don’t even really like bars. Maybe I think it will make me look mysterious? If you see me reading a book at a bar, pretend I look mysterious.

If you, too, wish you were simultaneously more mysterious and outdoorsy, please join me in this endeavor. Where else should we read?²

Here are four books I wish I’d read on a blanket under a tree while drinking an iced coffee:

Leave Your Mess At Home by Tolani Akinola

I had a revelation while reading this book that I don’t read to escape reality or to get lost in a thrilling plot — I read because I wish every person was walking around with some kind of status update visible above their head. What’s happening in their life? What was last night’s family dinner like? How is their relationship with their mom? In that sense, this book was incredibly satisfying. Loved it.

Returns and Exchanges by Kayle Rae Whitaker

How did we get book recommendations in 2017? I don’t remember, but I do remember that wherever it was, everyone was talking about “The Animators” by Kayla Rae Whitaker. Her long-anticipated (at least for me) next book, “Returns and Exchanges” came out this year, almost ten years later. I’ve seen four people talking about it and each one has said “why is no one talking about this book?” Count me as number five: I flew through this book about the messy family behind a grocery store chain. In a way, it reminded me of the book “Long Island Compromise:” a sweeping timeline, a family business, and a handful of flawed but ambitious siblings.

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

I’m beyond jealous of anyone who gets to read this book for the first time outside on a perfect summer day. Let me start by telling you all the out-of-character ways this book has made me behave: I finished it earlier this spring on Kindle and immediately restarted it again as an audiobook. I’ve never done that before — I don’t think I’ve ever even reread a book at all. Then I walked to my neighborhood bookstore and bought it in print. I’m not a person who gets obsessed with a book or a character, but I found myself seeking out fan-created mood boards and merch and fan fiction. When I heard there was an extra chapter in the Target version of the book, I went to the store to read it. This epic romance that starts with a childhood shared interest (think “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” or “Deep Cuts”) has a sci-fi element that you would think would turn someone deeply anti sci-fi (me) off, but not even a space opera could tear me away.

Loved One by Aisha Muharrar

I read this last August on the beach, therefore, it’s always going to be a summer book for me — despite my inability to remember if any of it takes place then. (It does involve traveling to at least two European countries, and everyone knows Europe only exists in summer.) Aisha was a writer on shows like “Hacks” and “Parks and Rec,” which makes me think that more television writers should write novels; there are scenes from “Loved One” that still play out in my head like I saw them on a screen.

1. I don’t do it for the pizza, though. (Something they don’t tell you about having kids: they want pizza so often that pizza ceases to be special.)

2. Forget ,y earlier comment, should I take this idea all the way and throw a pizza party???