Summer Reading 2015

Books are made, in part, for summer. Warm summer nights at the park or in my backyard, beach days, flights, and vacations; the lush, green, sunny days of summer beg for a book to be brought into its midst. This year, I kept my Summer Reading List shorter than usual. My goal is to enjoy these books and NOT be deadline driven, do more research on the format/style of each text and incorporate additional resources into my reading experience (documentaries by the authors, interviews, movies, etc). So, without further delay, here are the books on my Summer Reading List 2015!

1. Jesus Is___. by Judah Smith: I read a lot of religious books for personal encouragement and to help teach at To Be Praised Ministries and the Young Women’s Bible Class. This book, Jesus Is___, has really brought out such large theological principles such as authentic friendship, the sin in self-righteousness and grace. While I’ve already gotten knee deep in this book, I wanted to add it to my list because I plan on reading it and doing a review along with the follow-up book, Life is _____.
2. Paper Towns by John Green: I chose this book because I absolutely loved The Fault In Our Stars & Looking For Alaska. Green’s approach to young adult literature is artful and compelling. In each book, Green steps into the vulnerabilities and desires of teenagers and augments them, projecting them onto much larger canvases that make every reader, regardless of their age, question who and what they are. After every John Green book, honestly, I’ve never been quite the same. Paper Town is also in production to become a movie, check the trailer here.
3. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson: This book, winner of the Newbery Award and National Book Award, ties together three things I love: poetry, history, and African-American culture. I remember walking through bookstores with my mother during the summer months as a child; I would do anything to get her to buy more than one book! I’m confident Brown Girl Dreaming will speak to my inner brown girl who dreamt of writing books for other brown girls.
4. NW by Zadie Smith: I have never read a book by Zadie Smith before. I know, I deserve severe punishment. I’ve had her on my Amazon Wish List for years and never had “time” to do the research I wanted to do prior to reading one of her books. So this year, I decided to watch a few interviews and conversations curated by Smith to get a feel for what issues compel her to write. While walking through the bookstore, I turned around and there, this book was staring back at me. It felt like fate so I picked it up. I’m very excited to read NW and unpack the social complexities of urban life and the relationship between self and city and others.

If you’re reading anything this summer, I’d love to know what it is! If you’re interested in reading one/some of these books, comment or email me. If not, check back in for a review of each book as well as additional info about the authors. 

Happy reading & happy summer sunshine!

#ErikaKimberlyreads