Summer Reading List 2013

Summer is a great time to catch up on a growing reading list.

Goodreads makes it easy to create and keep up with my reading list all year long, but I wanted to make a special list for the summer. I'm hoping I'll read more than this, but these are my top 5 summer reads for this year.

1. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
I really enjoyed his other two books, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, so I'm looking forward to reading this one as well.

2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I know a lot of people are reading this now because it's been made into a movie, but it's been one I've been interested in for a while. One of my 13 in '13 goals is to read 5 classics and so far I've read ZERO! I need to read at least one this summer, so why not this one?

3. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
I enjoyed his other two books, so I'm sure I'll like this one too. They're usually page turners which is one of my favorite qualities in a summer read. 

4. The Best of Us by Sarah Pekkanen
I don't remember how I heard of this one, but it seems like a fun book for summer. Books about friendship always make fun summer reads.

5. Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin
I read and enjoyed Emily Giffin's other books, so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one as well. Just like the previously mentioned book, I think this one will just be a light, fun summer read. 

I also wanted to let some of my sponsor/swapper friends share their recommendations for summer reads. (Click their picture to visit their site)

 

So far this summer I've been reading The Power of Latino Leadership by Juana Bordas. It's about the unique values that Hispanics use when leading and how different groups, including Hispanics themselves, non-Latinos and "Latinos by association" can implement them into their own leadership practices to make their organization a more inclusive and open place--or a place where people will want to be in. 

 

Next up on my queue is The Carrot Principle by Chester Elton. I learned the basics of it (that people perform better when given incentives than a threat of punishment) in Business School years ago (it's an important book to businesspeople), so when I had the chance to borrow it from my coworkers I immediately took it. (The name comes from how people who train horses place carrots in front of their heads to incentivize them to perform well.)

 

And do the BBC adaptations of Emma and Persuasion count as books, too? :) If so, I've "read" those recently as well, haha.

 One of my favorite books is The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I have read it numerous times and it has helped me tremendously with relationships.

A book that I am going to read this summer is "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".  I am in the book club called "Literary Junkies" and that is the book that is on the list to read. I have heard about this book alot, mixed reviews. I think this would be a great summer read because it isn't long and even if I don't like it I have the Summer Air to cheer me up. =]

What's on your summer reading list?