All Places Summer 2022 Reading List!

We’re crossing our fingers that you all get some time this summer to get to that stack of books you’ve been collecting since last summer. But just in case you’re looking for a new addition to your beach bag collection, here’s what we are reading this summer . . . and a few other summertime indulgences.

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Shelly’s Beach Bag

Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be is the refreshing story of the life of Tunde Oyeneyin (author), and her journey from an insecure and overweight young girl to becoming an elite athlete and powerhouse as a Peloton instructor. With a rare outlook on life, “that the beauty of uncertainty is infinite possibility,” her inspiration will empower you to find your own voice and the courage to change lives.

An oldie but goodie, Kristin Hannah’s Summer Island is a brilliant and warm novel highlighting the ever-so complicated relationship between mother and daughter, one involving love, betrayal, and the not-so-simple truth of the past. If you’re at the beach, keep an eye on the sunburn—this one is hard to put down!

Molly’s Beach Bag

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I loved this book about twin sisters who grew up in the rural South and the way their lives diverge as adults.

The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper. Next on my list is this memoir by a physician who chronicles her experiences in the emergency room where she works.

Jessie’s Beach Bag

Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. This is not another time management book about how to make every hour of every day more productive. This is about how we relate to time and how we might want to do it differently if we intend to get the most out of this life. Get ready to face uncomfortable things like your own mortality and the possibility of spending more time doing absolutely nothing.

Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski. After going through a very detailed anatomy lesson (that is yet another reminder of how little women learn about their bodies growing up . . . or even as adults), Professor Nagoski delves into the damage cultural messaging has done to women’s sex lives and what we can do about it.

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Other Things We Cannot Live Without This Summer

Shelly: I love popsicles in the summer! Actually, I love them anytime, but there is nothing more reviving than a frosty treat to bring the heat down. Here are some homemade healthy options to bring out the kid in all of us!

Molly: Something I’m loving this summer: Maya Rudolph's new show, Loot. Such great writing and the cast couldn’t be more endearing.

Jessie: I’ve been living in this black linen skirt from La Ligne, which is so breezy and light it’s exactly what you want to wear on even the hottest of days (while still looking incredibly cool). It pairs perfectly with a tank or tee knotted up at the waist and a pair of flip flops.