Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week the theme is a Summer freebie, and i have chosen to focus on the Top 5 book I recommend for your summer reading list, and the Top 5 books I have on my summer reading list!
However, before I get into my TTT, I want to take a moment to show my respect and profound sadness over last night’s bombing at the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena. I had a highly unusual evening last night; I was at my local Target when a fire started inside the store. I was among the hundreds of people safely evacuated; the inside of the store has sustained major water, fire and smoke damage and will be closed for the foreseeable future. I came home slightly shaky, feeling like I missed a close call, only to look down at my phone and see a Washington Post alert about the Manchester bombing. That quickly put things in perspective.
I have a 9-year-old who loves Ariana Grande, and to hear one of the first two named victims was an 8 year-old child separated from her family is heartbreaking. My thoughts are with all those affected by the tragedy.
There was some good news hiding amongst the headlines this morning, which I would also like to highlight. A group of 82 girls who were kidnapped from their school by Boko Haram in the town of Chibok , Nigeria back in 2014, have recently been freed. This is only a small number of girls kidnapped by Boko Haram, but it is heartening to see some of the girls reunited with their families. I can’t imagine their ordeal, and I hope they are on the path towards healing and recovery.
Top 5 Books For YOUR Summer
Reading List
Young Adult: I like quick reads in the summer, but they don’t necessarily have to be light and fluffy. The Hate U Give is a thought-provoking story that I can’t help but continue to mention on my blog! It is THAT good! And I am definitely not alone, THUG has spent the past 11 weeks at the top of the NY Times YA Hardcover Bestseller List.
Mystery: Maisie Dobbs has been my summer go-to for fun mysteries over the past two years, and I typically read two or three of them each summer. This is an easy series to binge-read, but I have enjoyed taking my time with it. The series starts in post-WWI England, with flashbacks to Maisie’s life before and during the war.
Psychological Thriller: If you haven’t read All The Missing Girls yet, this was my favorite book from Summer 2016. If you are already an established Megan Miranda fan, The Perfect Stranger is a great choice for your beach or pool tote.
Award Winner: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has been getting a lot of renewed attention recently, which is extremely well-deserved! If you enjoyed that book or the Hulu series, I highly recommend checking out some of her other novels! The Blind Assassin won the Man Booker Prize in 2000 and is a fascinating novel that also contains a “story within a story” called…The Blind Assassin.
Dysfunctional families: I’m currently in the middle of reading Commonwealth right now, but I am far enough along to definitely recommend this as a fun summer read! The summer scenes with both the Cousins and Keating kids hanging out in Virginia are quite unforgettable!
Top 5 Books on MY Summer Reading List
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
What reading plans do you have for this summer?
4thhouseontheleft 
I’m going on a cruise in just over a month and am frantically creating a list of books I need to load up on my Kindle to take with me. The Hate U Give and When Dimple Met Rishi are both at the top of that — can’t wait to get started on them! These are EXCELLENT suggestions, thanks for sharing!
I’m going to be joining the 20 books of summer event hosted by Cathy at 746books. Starts on June 1 and I havent even thought what will be on my list yet
I’m going to YALC at the end of July, so June and July will be dedicated to reading books by the authors who are going to be there, and trying to make a dent in some of the books I’ve acquired there over the past two years!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/23/top-ten-tuesday-108/
Oooh, you got some good books on this list! I really want to read The Hate U Give, When Dimple Met Rishi, and the Upside of Unrequited. I hope you have the chance to read all the books on your list this summer and that you enjoy them!
~ Lefty @ The Left-Handed Book Lover
My TTT!
I’m glad there’s some good news today along with the bad. Yikes! Such a scary world we live in. I’m glad we have books to retreat into 🙂
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
The Upside of Unrequited is everywhere today and I had to add it to my TBR!
🙂 So many of these books look or are fabulous!
What a lovely list! I just finished the Upside of Unrequited and I was glued, GLUED, to it! I hope you enjoy!
I’ve heard great things about All the Missing Girls. I’d like to read more mysteries/thrillers this summer so maybe I’ll give this one a shot.
I’ve heard some great things about The Upside of Unrequited and The Hate U Give. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! ❤
I am currently reading Upside of The Unrequited and it’s really great so far. I have added All the Missing Girls to my TBR – looks like fun!
I hear great things about The Hate U Give. The Upside of Unrequited was a great read!