I have a lot to write about, but I am behind, per the usual, so permit me to sweep past London and seeing my family and my birthday and move into Summer Reading. I’ll get back to all of that soon enough, but right now I have a roadblock about vacation recap and want to talk about reading. So here we go.

I set lofty goals for myself this year to read 52 books, or a book a week. I love reading, but running a food blog, and having a full time job, and exercising and cooking and having a husband and friends and a family and a 30 mile commute and a healthy love of a handful of television programs all get in the way of that. One way I motivate myself is to set goals obsessively. I find that if I have something to work towards I do better than just saying “I’d like to read more.”

I have read 11 books this year. I am 13 books behind schedule. Yikes! Luckily, summer time is my peak of reading. And I have a 30 mile commute that I can use to listen to books on tape. And beach days will come. When I was young, summer was synonymous with reading late into the night, much later than I normally could even keep my eyes open, whipping through Harry Potter and The Egypt Game and anything by Ronald Dahl. Summer days were reading by the pool, by the ocean, in the living room as the rain came down and the cable went out. Something about warm weather and long nights translates my wants to reading a good book.

I want to use the summer to catch up, so I’ve done some re-arranging on Good Reads so I have a clear list of what’s next. Here’s what I am trying to get through this summer:

1. 99 Days by Katie Cotugno – I am about half way done with this now, and I am having a hard time putting it down. A perfect summer read about summer love, loss, and how to be yourself and know that screwing up is ok, even when it’s not.

2. Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin – I am listening to this one, you guys, and guess what? It’s read by Ed Herrmann, who I know lovingly from Gilmore Girls. He passed away at the end of 2014, and having 35 hours to go with him is like a secret treasure that I am keeping close to my heart.

3. Divergent by Veronica Roth – I have had this on my “to read” list for months and months, and I just gotta do it. Plus, let’s be real, I bet that I’ll read it, love it, and breeze through all the books in the series.

4. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman – I love Alice, and I’ve been wanting to read this since it came out. History, magic, and women = all I need in a book.

5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt – I’ve been reading this book for months and months, but it’s too big to lug around. I want to finish it, so some late evenings on the couch (or late evenings in the sun on Zuma Beach) seem like the perfect place to get.it.done.

6. You Were Never in Chicago by Neil Steinberg – A book on this history of Chicago as told by a young man who spent years as a journalist there. My whole family lives in Chicago, so I feel like it’d be good for me to read this nonfiction pick. Plus, Nikki rated it four stars, so it must be good.

7. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding – Confession time, you guys. I’ve never seen or read Bridget Jones. It’s one of those things I am certain I’ll love, but haven’t had the time to devote to it. Like in the summer of 2007 when I decided it was time to love Counting Crows. I was right. 2015: the Summer of Bridget Jones.

8. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel – Hollywood Stars. The Great Lakes. Haunting. That’s enough for me. My Goodreads community liked it.

So there you go, eight books I’m looking forward to this summer. What are you guys reading and loving? Have you read any of the above books? Get at your girl, and let me know what’s up!

xo