The End of Summer Semester

Summer semester is supposed to end on August 6. Last week, I got a notification from one instructor that we were almost finished, and if I was ready, just submit my final paper. So, I did. More than 6 days early.

Over the weekend, I got a notification from another instructor telling me that if I am happy with my grade on the midterm exam, I don’t need to take the final, since the lowest grade will be dropped. I weighed this thought, and figured that I couldn’t make it worse.

I’m working on my reading list for Fall semester, but I am really finished with Summer. I know the grades for 2 of my classes, and I should know the third by Monday.

Fingers crossed!

Red Hot Romance for July

Red Hot Romance for July

The books discussed in the above linked article look like they will be great fun to read. I have a few of them and I follow several of the authors that are listed. I may have to schedule some fun reading in this summer, just to include some of these. It’s a short list, so it should be doable.

 It Happened One Summer
by Tessa Bailey

 While We Were Dating
by Jasmine Guillory

 Isn’t It Bromantic?
by Lyssa Kay Adams

 Heartbreak for Hire
by Sonia Hartl

 Incense and Sensibility
by Sonali Dev

 Too Good to Be Real
by Melonie Johnson

Devil in Disguise
by Lisa Kleypas

Last Guard
by Nalini Singh

Summer Semester

I realized that financial aid might cover my summer semester, so I looked into it and found that it does! So, I signed up for 2 classes that were different enough that I wouldn’t get confused. Then, I found out how much financial aid would cover, and that there are multiple start dates for summer classes. So, I am taking 9 units over the summer.

The problem is, the classes are jammed into 5 or 8 week classes, so they go at a quick pace. I’m having no problem with the class that isn’t reading novels, but for one class, I am expected to keep up with reading 5 novels in 5 weeks. We are about to start week 4 of class. I have finished 3 of the novels, and almost half of the fourth novel. I see the light at the end of the tunnel!

For the second class, we are just starting week 2. I have week 2’s assignments completed and I have started on week 3’s assignments, plus the midterm project. It’s going along well, so far. I hope the pace stays about the same.

The third class doesn’t start until after the first one ends, so I won’t know how that goes until it goes.

The 30 Best Books to Read This Summer – 2019

The 30 Best Books to Read This Summer from List of lists

Here are some books that didn’t make it all the way to be posted last summer.  I haven’t heard of most of them, but maybe I’ll get to them someday.

The Paper Wasp by Lauren Acampora (June 11)

The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung (June 18)

Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers (June 18)

The Dry Heart by Natalia Ginzburg (June 25)
Delayed Rays of a Star by Amanda Lee Koe (July 9)
Dapper Dan: Made in Harlem by Daniel R. Day (July 9)

What Do We Need Men For?: A Modest Proposal by E. Jean Carroll (July 16)

Coventry: Essays by Rachel Cusk (August 20)

Doxology by Nell Zink (August 27)

Hot books of summer 2020

Hot books of summer 2020

The above linked article shows books that will be released this summer. I have several on my TBR list already, including Jasmine Guillory’s new book, and Jennifer Weiner’s. I also absolutely have to read the prequel to Hunger Games. I am so excited for these three, and a few others on the list.

All Adults Here
by Emma Straub

Release date: May 5

Big Summer
by Jennifer Weiner

Release date: May 5

The Jane Austen Society
by Natalie Jenner

Release date: May 26

The Vanishing Half
by Brit Bennett

Release date: June 2

Mexican Gothic
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Release date: June 30

The Only Good Indians
by Stephen Graham Jones

Release date: July 14

Luster
by Raven Leilani

Release date: August 4

The Comeback
by Ella Berman

Release date: August 11

MYSTERY & THRILLER

Death in Her Hands
by Ottessa Moshfegh

Release date: June 23

Home Before Dark
by Riley Sager

Release date: June 30

The Shadows
by Alex North

Release date: July 7

His & Hers
by Alice Feeney

Release date: July 28

The Guest List
by Lucy Foley

Release date: June 2

FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION

Devolution
by Max Brooks

Release date: June 16

Axiom’s End
by Lindsay Ellis

Release date: July 21

The Year of the Witching
by Alexis Henderson

Release date: July 21

Afterland
by Lauren Beukes

Release date: July 28

The Mother Code
by Carole Stivers

Release date: August 25

NONFICTION

The Hilarious World of Depression
by John Moe

Release date: May 5

Hollywood Park
by Mikel Jollett

Release date: May 26

Notes on a Silencing: A Memoir
by Lacy Crawford

Release date: July 14

The Fixed Stars
by Molly Wizenberg

Release date: August 4

YOUNG ADULT

Clap When You Land
by Elizabeth Acevedo

Release date: May 5

 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games 0)
by Suzanne Collins

Release date: May 19

Loveless
by Alice Oseman

Release date: July 9

Where Dreams Descend
by Janella Angeles

Release date: August 25

ROMANCE

Beach Read
by Emily Henry

Release date: May 19

Something to Talk About
by Meryl Wilsner

Release date: May 26

Party of Two
by Jasmine Guillory

Release date: June 23

One to Watch
by Kate Stayman-London

Summer Books Preview 2019

Summer Books Preview

List of lists

These are books from the articles linked above.  They are from summer 2019, and I didn’t get to most of them.  I have gotten to some, though, and I agree that they are great books!

SPOTLIGHT AUTHORS

City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Wedding Party, by Jasmine Guillory

The Nickel Boys, by Colson Whitehead

Is There Still Sex in the City?, by Candace Bushnell

Inland, by Téa Obreht

BREEZY READS

Very Nice, by Marcy Dermansky

How Could She, by Lauren Mechling

Reasons to Be Cheerful, by Nina Stibbe

The Lager Queen of Minnesota, by J. Ryan Stradal

Bunny, by Mona Awad

Going Dutch, by James Gregor

Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes

FAMILY SAGAS

The Travelers, by Regina Porter

Mrs. Everything, by Jennifer Weiner

In West Mills, by De’Shawn Charles Winslow

Fleishman Is in Trouble, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong

Mostly Dead Things, by Kristen Arnett

Patsy, by Nicole Dennis-Benn

REAL-WORLD STORIES

Three Women, by Lisa Taddeo

Chaos, by Tom O’Neill with Dan Piepenbring

The Yellow House, by Sarah M. Broom

The Tenth Muse, by Catherine Chung

MIND-BENDING NOVELS

Recursion, by Blake Crouch

FKA USA, by Reed King

The Warehouse, by Rob Hart

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

The History of Living Forever, by Jake Wolff

CRIME MASTERS AND THRILLERS

Never Have I Ever, by Joshilyn Jackson

The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone, by Felicity McLean

Girl in the Rearview Mirror, by Kelsey Rae Dimberg

The Whisper Man, by Alex North

Lady in the Lake, by Laura Lippman

Big Sky, by Kate Atkinson

The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware

The Hottest Books of Summer 2019

The Hottest Books of Summer has more books listed.  It was found on the List of lists.  

Here are the books discussed in the article, even though it’s late.  It’s a wonderful list.
FICTION

MYSTERY & THRILLER

FANTASY

NONFICTION

YOUNG ADULT

SCIENCE FICTION

ROMANCE

32 Books You Need to Read This Summer (2019)

32 Books You Need to Read This Summer  has a few books that didn’t show up multiple times on the List of lists.  

I am posting this late, since all of these came out six months ago, or more.  It’s still a decent list, even though I edited it down.

Mostly Dead Things, Kristen Arnett (June 4)

Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed, Matthew Futterman (June 4)

This Land Is Our Land: An Immigrant’s Manifesto, Suketu Mehta (June 4)

The Plaza: The Secret Life of America’s Most Famous Hotel, Julie Satow (June 4)

In West Mills, De’Shawn Charles Winslow (June 4)

Siege: Trump Under Fire, Michael Wolff (June 4)

Recursion, Blake Crouch (June 11)

Time After Time, Lisa Grunwald (June 11)

The Porpoise, Mark Haddon (June 18)

A Death in the Rainforest: How a Language and a Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea, Don Kulick (June 18)

A Philosophy of Ruin, Nicholas Mancusi (June 18)

Big Sky: A Jackson Brodie Novel, Kate Atkinson (June 25)

The Gone DeadChanelle Benz (June 25)

Talking to Robots: Tales from Our Human-Robot FuturesDavid Ewing Duncan (July 16)

The Wedding Party, Jasmine Guillory (July 16)

Speaking of Summer, Kalisha Buckhanon (July 30)

Chances Are…, Richard Russo (July 30)

A Particular Kind of Black Man, Tope Folarin (August 6)

The Remainder, Alia Trabucco Zerán (translated by Sophie Hughes) (August 6)

The Yellow House, Sarah M. Broom (August 13)

The Memory Police, Yoko Ogawa (translated by Stephen Snyder) (August 13)

How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi (August 20)

The Girl Who Lived Twice: A Lisbeth Salander Novel, David Lagercrantz (August 27)

Books for Your Next Vacation

Books for your next vacation

This list came out last year.  It’s a decent list of books that are vacation friendly.
The ones I’ve read have been quick reads.

1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

2. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

4. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

5. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

6. Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates

7. On the Road by Jack Kerouac

8. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

9. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

10. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

11. The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

12. On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

13. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

16. Verity by Colleen Hoover

17. The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

18. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

20. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

21. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

22. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

23. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

24. The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

26. The End of Everything by Megan Abb

Inland by Téa Obreht

historical fiction

List of Lists

Inland

Inland by Téa Obreht
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I spent a lot of this book confused about how the two stories were linked. It didn’t become truly clear until the last two chapters, but I suspected part of it. I did enjoy the story, but Nora’s part was more clear. I was a little fuzzy most of the story about the rest of it.


It was definitely worth reading, but definitely wasn’t what I was expecting.


View all my reviews