2019 Summer Reading List: Mine.

Earlier this week I tossed eleven books your way that I think you should read this summer. But earlier still, I started polling the social media interwebs to figure out what you’re reading that I should consider adding to my list.

I read a lot all year long, but I tend to be more disciplined in the curation of my reading stack during the summer. That may be because of the pressure that comes along with figuring out which books get packed in the suitcase for vacation (so. much. pressure!). But I suspect it has more to do with the fact that summer is the only time I actually share my reading list in advance. I realize that if my list consists only of Amish romance novels (a simply fantastic genre), you might question the breadth of my topics, though you would never question the depth of that particular one (Ezra’s heart pines for you, Hettie June. Might thee consider his love?).

I was grateful for the plentiful suggestions that my informal poll brought forth. My “suggested by friends” book list is now clocking in at 50+ titles. This summer, I plan to check off the following 15:

All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment (Hanna Anderson)

Being a Christian: How Jesus Redeems All of Life (Jason Allen)

Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People (Vanessa Van Edwards) (pro tip: the Kindle version is currently $4.99)

Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution (Diane McWhorter)

Developing Female Leaders: Navigate the Minefields and Release the Potential of Women in Your Church (Kadi Cole) I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about this book since its release earlier this year. I can’t wait to dig in!

The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy (Jon Gordon and Ken Blanchard)

Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise (Horst Schulze) I’ve long been a fan of Schulze, co-founder of the Ritz-Carlton. I’m excited that his first book has officially dropped.

How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie) Between this and Captivate (above), one would think that I need to be nicer to people. 🙁 Still, I’ve never read this classic, but plan to remedy that.

Men We Reaped: A Memoir (Jesmyn Ward) Last summer I stumbled across an article in Time by Ms. Ward. I was captivated by her writing style, and immediately added a couple of her books to my Amazon wish list.

The Customer Service Revolution: Overthrow Conventional Business, Inspire Employees, and Change the World (John R. DiJulius III)

The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery (Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile) I reckon it’s time for me to rip off the band aid and dig deeper on this Enneagram craze. As a classic nine, I wanted to make everyone happy and read their suggested title, but this one won out.

The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Savior (Charles Spurgeon)

What the Dog Saw: and Other Adventures (Malcolm Gladwell) This is the one Gladwell title I don’t have on my shelf. And since he has a new book coming out this fall, I need to catch up.

What’s So Funny? My Hilarious Life (Tim Conway) The world lost one of her best comedic minds recently. I’ve had this one on my wish list for a while. It’s time. (pro tip: the Kindle version is currently $1.99)

Wide Welcome: How the Unsettling Presence of Newcomers Can Save the Church (Jessica Krey Duckworth)

What do you have on to your list for the summer? I’d love to know about it.

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