July Reading List

With Summer in full swing and my school-age children at home, I find I have to work even harder at squeezing in those precious reading moments. Often they happen for just five minutes at the end of a busy day, or poolside while my boys splash and play. Here's  what I have queued up for July.

 I had the pleasure of attending a keynote address by Kathryn Ireland (and getting to meet her afterward) in May, and I came home with all of her books. I figure July is the perfect time to delve into Summers In France. Kathryn is hysterically funny in person, and has the perfect laid back vibe. This book is part interior design, part cookbook, and part personal scrapbook. I can't wait to infuse a little bit of Kathryn's spirit into my summer this year.
 

I read The Four Agreements(skimmed it really) when it came out years ago. I caught myself taking something personally recently that I knew wasn't personal...and I thought "hmm, maybe I need to re-read that book." So, here it is--loaded on my kindle. I guess I better not skim it this time.

Anna Godbersen is a fantastic young adult writer. I got turned onto her writing last summer with her The Luxe series. I was looking for something interesting yet not too heavy, and Godbersen was the perfect fit. Her first series was set in New York City at the turn of the last century. Plenty of intrigue but nothing so heavy that I was carrying it with me for days. You know the books I'm talking about... This series is set in the roaring 20s and Beautiful Days is book 2.

This one I think might be a bit heavy, but not in that awful "someone kidnapped my child" way that I just can't take at this stage of my life. My sister-in-law, who has excellent taste in literature, gives it her highest recommendation and I'm a total sucker for the Italian coast *and* a beautiful book cover. So, I was a goner when Beautiful Ruins came recommended. 

 

I always have a book on Interior Design in rotation, and Sister Parish Design: On Decorating is currently on my nightstand. Sister Parish was a total trailblazer and I devoured her autobiography when it came out years ago. Really looking forward to giving this one a good read!

So, tell me...what are reading this month?