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I can’t believe this is the 5th annual Mrs. LazySpoon Summer Reading Challenge and how much the book club has grown! It warms my heart to hear so many of you say you can’t wait to see my book list each year.
My summer reading challenge started as I tried to make reading for pleasure a habit. In a world of binge-worthy shows on various streaming platforms, I found it difficult to make reading a priority despite the fact that it brings me joy and has been found to reduce stress just as effectively as yoga and humour, say what?!?
So now, I challenge myself to read at least 10 books from May long weekend to Canadian Thanksgiving in October which some years I accomplish and other years I’m still making my way through the book list during my winter vacation and that’s okay!
Whether you’re here just for the book recommendations or wish to join the challenge (to read 10 books over the summer), I’m happy you found me! If you haven’t already, please join the Mrs. LazySpoon Book Club on Facebook where the most delightful group of book lovers share their reviews and recommendations of the books they’re reading while we cheer each other on through the challenge. Feel free to share the book love with your own book loving friends!
I’m excited about this year’s TBR list and enjoy curating the titles almost as much as I do reading each book. I think this year’s list is a nice balance of diversity, suspense, light-heartedness, tragedy, and love. Surprisingly, there isn’t a single historical fiction novel set during the second world war. This is very unusual for me as many of you can attest! I really do love a good romance story set in Europe during the war with a fierce female protagonist.
My book list is divided into two categories “Reading for Entertainment” and “Reading to Grow”. I’m almost always listening to a non-fiction book on Audible as I walk on the treadmill and on my commute to work so I’ve added a few of those titles here as well.
So here it is my friends, Mrs. LazySpoon’s 2023 Summer Reading List for this year’s reading challenge.
Please let me know what you think about the list in the Facebook group.
Happy Reading!
PS. Click on the image or book title to be taken directly to Amazon.
Mrs. LazySpoon’s 2023 Summer Reading List
Reading for Entertainment
Homecoming by Kate Morton
At Nora’s house, Jess discovers a true crime book chronicling a long-buried police case: the Turner Family Tragedy of 1959. It is only when Jess skims through its pages that she finds a shocking connection between her own family and this notorious event—a murder mystery that has never been satisfactorily resolved.
An epic story that spans generations, Homecoming asks what we would do for those we love, how we protect the lies we tell, and what it means to come home. Above all, it is an intricate and spellbinding novel from one of the finest writers working today. ~Amazon
The Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
Award-winning author Mary Beth Keane’s new novel takes place over the course of one week when Malcolm learns shocking news about Jess, a patron of the bar goes missing, and a blizzard hits the town of Gillam, trapping everyone in place. With a deft eye and generous spirit, Keane explores the disappointments and unexpected consolations of midlife, the many forms forgiveness can take, the complicated intimacy of small-town living, and what it means to be a family. ~Amazon
Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst
Mickey Hayward dreams of writing stories that matter. She has a flashy media job that makes her feel successful and a devoted girlfriend who takes care of her when she comes home exhausted and demoralized. It’s not all A-list parties and steamy romance, but Mickey’s on her way, and it’s far from the messy life she left behind in Maryland. Despite being overlooked and mistreated at work, it seems like she might finally get the chance to prove herself—until she finds out she’s being replaced.
Intimate, witty, and deeply sexy, Homebodies is a testament to those trying to be heard and loved in a world that refuses to make space and introduces a standout new writer. ~Amazon
Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel
With the poignant, unforgettable story of Marie and Jeanne, Danielle Daniel reaches back through the centuries to touch the very origin of the long history of violence against Indigenous women and the deliberate, equally violent disruption of First Nations cultures. ~Amazon
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
An exquisite homage to Louisa May Alcott’s timeless classic, Little Women, Hello Beautiful is a profoundly moving portrait of what is possible when we choose to love someone not in spite of who they are, but because of it. ~Amazon
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list…hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again. ~Amazon
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
Rife with the indulgent pleasures of life among New York’s one percenters, Pineapple Street is a smart, escapist novel that sparkles with wit. Full of recognizable, loveable if fallible characters (and a few appalling ones!), it’s about the peculiar unknowability of someone else’s family, the miles between the haves and have-nots and everything in between, and the insanity of first love—all wrapped in a story that is a sheer delight of a read. ~Amazon
Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls
Most folk thought Sallie Kincaid was a nobody who’d amount to nothing. Sallie had other plans.
You will fall in love with Sallie Kincaid, a feisty and fearless, terrified and damaged young woman who refuses to be corralled. ~Amazon
Verity by Colleen Hoover
Whose truth is the lie? Stay up all night reading the sensational psychological thriller that has readers obsessed, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of It Ends With Us. ~Amazon
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast. ~Amazon
Reading to Grow
The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
In an inspiring follow-up to her critically acclaimed, #1 bestselling memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today’s highly uncertain world. ~Amazon
Soundtracks by Jon Acuff
If you want to tap into the surprising power of overthinking and give your dreams more time and creativity, learn how to DJ the soundtracks that define you. If you can worry, you can wonder. If you can doubt, you can dominate. If you can spin, you can soar. ~Amazon
True Reconciliation by Jody Wilson-Raybould
Throughout the book, the author shares her voice and experience with others who tell their stories. The ultimate and achievable goal of True Reconciliation is to break down the silos we’ve created that prevent meaningful change, to be empowered to increasingly act as “inbetweeners,” and to take full advantage of this moment in our history to positively transform the country into a place we can all be proud of. ~Amazon
Life In Five Senses by Gretchen Rubin
Life in Five Senses is an absorbing, layered story of discovery filled with profound insights and practical suggestions about how to heighten our senses and use our powers of perception to live fuller, richer lives—and, ultimately, how to move through the world with more vitality and love. ~Amazon
Dear Little Girl by Shannon Steves
I am so proud of my girl, Shannon for having the courage to publish her story. In her book, Shannon shares how she has learned to manage her depression, grief and mental health by taking the reader on a recount of her life’s journey this far and sharing strategies she has used to overcome negative thoughts. Shannon hopes that sharing her story will let others know that they are not alone. ~Lisa (aka mrslazyspoon)
Check Out Previous Summer Book Lists
Mrs. LazySpoon’s 2022 Summer Reading Challenge and Book List
Mrs. LazySpoon’s 2021 Summer Reading Challenge and Book List
Mrs. LazySpoon’s 2020 Summer Reading Challenge and Book List
Mrs. LazySpoon’s 2019 Summer Reading Challenge and Book List
