Summer Book List 2026

Hi all, happy last day of May! We’re having some major rain event going on here through Wednesday, which I guess is good since the land around here was dry as a bone this month, but getting two to four inches of rain all at once might get a bit crazy. I hope this horse will be all right. I met this Black Beauty while walking our dog down our street yesterday. We have cows and horses along here, so I guess I’ll start taking their pictures and maybe interviewing them, lol. They like to be fed.

This past week we saw the movie Devil Wears Prada 2 at the old theater in the small town to our south. When we arrived there, a film crew was setting up on the sidewalk out front, which I think was for Heartland, which is a long-running Canadian show that often films around here. After investigating that, we got into see Prada 2, which I thought was fun and entertaining while my husband thought was a total chick flick, lol. Regardless it was great that the main cast was back for the sequel after 20 years with Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt … along with cameos by various fashion designers and Lady Gaga.

The original movie came out in 2006 and I remember seeing it with my mother-in-law who loved seeing movies at the theater. We laughed, and it was special with her. You might have heard that Anne Hathaway has secured the screen rights to the adaptation of the novel Yesteryear, (reviewed last week). I sort of see Hathaway as the goody Andy Sachs from the Prada movies, so I wonder if she can she pull off the calculating, narcissistic Natalie of Yesteryear? She’s not really the actress I envisioned for Natalie, but then I’m not sure who is … perhaps Lena Headey who was Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, lol. Then again Natalie is in her early 30s and has had six kids. So we might need another actress pick.

I seem to have skipped my June preview post in lieu of my Summer Book list, which took a while to compile. I had about 25 possible choices — involving mostly recent and new books — and then I cut those back to 15. Some stayed, while others fell off the list. AnnaBookBel is hosting the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge, which I like to do for fun, and you can also choose 15 or 10 Books of Summer depending on what you think you can get to. I plan to extend the challenge from June 1st to Sept. 15 in order to help me get to more of these. So without further adieu here is my Summer Book List of 15 below.

(The brief synopses below were cobbled together from Kirkus Reviews, the NYT, publishers’ files, and Publishers Weekly.)

• Whistler by Ann Patchett. After a chance encounter, Daphne and her former stepfather re-establish their relationship and reflect on the choices that separated them.
• Land by Maggie O’Farrell. In 1865, while documenting Ireland’s Great Hunger, a father and son stumble on an ancient sacred site, with lasting consequences.
• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout: A chance incident sparks a powerful realization in a beloved teacher’s life.
• Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage by Belle Burden: The story of a woman’s surprising divorce and her attempt to build anew.
• Under Water by Tara Menon: A woman navigates the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami as Hurricane Sandy bears down on New York City.
• Kin by Tayari Jones: About two lifelong friends from Louisiana whose worlds converge after many years apart in the face of tragedy.
• John of John by Douglas Stuart: In Scotland’s Hebrides islands, a closeted gay man returns home to an insular community, where complications and secrets await.
• Dominion by Addie E. Citchens: A Southern drama of secrets and sin, revolving around a Baptist preacher, his family, and the shocking violence that erupts around them in their Mississippi town.
• Daughters of the Sun and Moon by Lisa See: The story of three Chinese women whose unexpected friendship helps them survive despite the odds in the turmoil of post-Civil War Los Angeles.
• Good People by Patmeena Sabit: A kaleidoscope of perspectives weigh in on a young Afghan American’s suspicious death.
• Brawler: Stories by Lauren Groff: Nine stories that range from the 1950s to the present day and move across age, class, and region … that speak to the human predicament.
• Thirty Below: The Harrowing and Heroic Story of the First All-Women’s Ascent of Denali by Cassidy Randall: The true adventure tale of the 1970 summit of North America’s highest peak.
• What We Can Know by Ian McEwan: A pair of scholars look back on the present day from a future Britain radically transformed by climate change.
• True Crime: A Memoir by Patricia Cornwell: The surprising tale of the crime writer’s rise to literary fame.
• Five by Ilona Bannister: The story of five lives randomly waiting for a train to London but one will die in minutes. But first their stories. Who will it be?

What do you think? Have you read any of these, or are any on your list?

That’s all for now. I need to get started on one of these ASAP, quite a stack to manage. Have a great week and happy reading.