Summer reading. There was a time in my life that these two words together made me want to sneak out the window and run away to the community pool. Followed by a trip to the library for a SparkNotes version of whatever books I was supposed to be reading, of course. (If you can imagine being 14 and forced to read Mark Twain’s “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, you’ll get what I mean. WOOF).
That was then.
Wear am I now? Most likely curled up with a book, an e-reader, a magazine, or pretty much anything else I can get my hands on. To say I love books is a massive understatement. The route to escape to any place or time in the world just for a little while. The smell of old library books: paper and ink. The feeling of a page between your fingers as you dog-ear a corner to hold your place. The way the screen of an e-reader jumps just a bit when you swipe left. The ability to connect with another person about a story or idea.
It just makes me feel so dang good. And until I find a house with a room big enough to build a floor-to-ceiling library with a ladder I can stand on while my husband pushes me across the room (sigh- a gal can dream, right?), I’ll settle for sunny Summer days reading in the park.
My top picks for summer? Read on.
Very Good Lives- The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination by J.K. Rowling (image taken from jkrowling.com)
- My love for the creator of Harry Potter knows no bounds.
- This woman knows her stuff.
In 2011, when J.K. Rowling was invited to give the commencement address at Harvard, she chose to speak about two things very close to her heart. Failure + imagination; two concepts that in my opinion, go hand in hand. In her words, “having the courage to fail is as vital to a good life as any conventional measure of success. Imagining ourselves into the place of another- particularly someone less fortunate than ourselves- is a uniquely human quality to be nurtured at all costs.” In print in this book, Rowling’s words are a call to action to take risk, perhaps fail, harness the power of imagination and open ourselves up to what life has to offer.
In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from Over 100 Makers, Artists and Entrepreneurs by Grace Bonney (image taken from Design Sponge)
- Give me a book that encourages female empowerment and I will be on board all day, every day.
- If I could get all of these women in one room together, my brain would probably explode.
A collection of advice and inspiration, this book features images and interviews from female leaders from a multitude of backgrounds, ages, races, and industries. From editors (think Tavi Gevinson) to chefs (think Preeti Mistry) to stylists (think Linda Rodin) to writers (think Roxanne Gay). In the Company of Women lays out the roadmap to what can happen when women work hard and support one another.
Boys in the Trees: A Memoir by Carly Simon 
(image taken from CarlySimon.com)
- Carly Simon.
- I’ll say it again- CARLY SIMON.
This woman had an insanely remarkable life. Boys in the Trees, a New York Times bestseller, is one of those books where while reading, you keep thinking “Wait, what? Did that really happen?” It can be a little name drop-y at times, but the names belong to the likes of Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Mick Jagger and James Taylor, so frankly, I am SO OK with it. And though you may not be left with official confirmation of who “You’re So Vain” Is really about, you will be left with so much respect for the life she lived and the music she created. And clouds in your coffee, obviously.
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly (image taken from SearchforHiddenFIgures.com)
- I love a true story.
- Anyone with pencil and paper math skills good enough to launch a rocket should have a book written about them.
Full disclosure: before the Space Race, before John Glenn orbited the earth, and before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of “human computers” used pencils, slide rules, adding machines, and the power of the human brain to calculate the numbers to put them there. These human computers were mathematicians. They were women. And they were African-American. All during a time that teetered on the edge of both the feminist and civil rights movements. This New York Times bestseller highlights the careers of four women who contributed to some of NASA’s biggest successes. And I can’t think of anything more bad ass than that.
Happy reading, friends!
Love books. Wear you are now.
xx
Natalie
Natalie
You May Also Like
Andria
Can’t wait to get started! I remember you mentioning Carly’s book. And I can’t pass up a JK read!
14 . 07 . 2017natalie
I can never pass up anything JK!
15 . 07 . 2017