Summer is just around the corner, with only a few final exams between you and beaches, plenty of sleep, and free time. Whether your summer plans involve a cool internship, travel abroad, or relaxing at home, you might finally have time to pick up a book that doesn’t have the words “organic chemistry” on the front cover. Check out some of the following suggestions!
1. Lean In – Sheryl Sandberg
If you’ll be spending the summer in an office building, this book will inspire and support you as you pave your way to the success you hope to find. Lean In is full of personal anecdotes and advice that reveal the challenges that women face in the workplace, and how to overcome them.
2. Leaving Time – Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult is well known for books like My Sister’s Keeper, which tie together complex yet relatable characters with twisting and suspenseful plots. Leaving Time is one of her most recent novels, is about a girl’s search for answer about the mysterious disappearance of her mother, a scientist who studied grief among elephants.
3. I Am Malala – Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb
Malala Yousafzai is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and known for her courageous fight for her right to education. In this autobiography, Malala tells the story of her family, her fight, and her journey, bringing together the relatable voice of a teenage girl with the remarkable story of how she stood up to the Taliban.
4. Wild – Cheryl Strayed
If you’re looking to take advantage of the warm weather this summer, look to Cheryl Strayed for inspiration. In Wild, she tells the story of her impulsive decision to hike the over a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, sharing her challenges, her accomplishments, and her funny stories.
5. In the Unlikely Event – Judy Blume
You might know Judy Blume as the author of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, but she recently wrote her first novel for adults in seventeen years. In the Unlikely Event is a story told through the voices of several members of a community that is derailed by a series of mysterious plane crashes. Blume’s expert storytelling and authentic characters are sure to make your summer reading experience a whole lot more enjoyable than mindlessly flipping through pages of an economics textbook.