Summer reading is different from the reading I do during the semester as an English grad student. There are no rules and no time restraints. And I love it. Here’s what I’m reading this summer.

Finished:

• A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
  • Written after Lewis’s wife Joy passed away after 3 years of marriage, this book is a life-changer. And though I’ve studied him in other contexts, both religious and literary, it’s so good to see someone like Lewis in such a raw way.
• Yes Please by Amy Poehler
  • You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. Amy is the queen of the world.
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling
  • For a junk read, I can’t complain. Mindy Kaling is honest and funny in this book, and I love her as an actress and a public figure. But I wouldn’t read it again.
• 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker
  • Another life-changer, especially for those in busy families. It sent my mom into a flurry of good choices.
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  • Intense and a little crazy. But I can’t wait to watch the movie.

In Progress:

• The Once and Future King by T. H. White
• The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

On Deck:

• And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
• Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• How to Tell a Story and Other Essays by Mark Twain