My inspiration list: 2022 Summer Reading Guide

Brand-new recs + tried-and-true favorites

If reading were a religion, then summertime would be its holy season. Devotees count the days like Advent candles, poring over summer reading guides and crunching the numbers on their library holds as they prepare for the biggest season of the reading year. Casual readers, who may or may not reach for a book during the rest of the year, waltz in to pick up the latest enticing page-turner to read by the pool. (No judgment, either way!)

Whether they’ll be comfortingly familiar or a brand-new kind of read for you, I’ve read and loved every book in this summer reading guide.

Everything feels wide open in summer, making it the perfect time to try something new. This summer, I’m grouping my personal reading goals into two categories: comfort and stretch. My comfort reads are new books from genres I return to often and/or from authors I’ve previously read and already trust. My stretch reads will be books that let me try something new — explore a different genre, pick up an intimidatingly long novel, or dive into a story that sounds tough and compelling when I usually reach for light and easy in my fiction.

If you’d like more ideas, please check out these wonderful bookish resources:

• Sign up for the (free) weekly Shelf Awareness newsletter with industry recommendations for brand-new books coming to shelves.

• Find a copy of BookPage at your local library and/or check out the online version to see all the buzz about new books, plus get recommendations grouped by reading theme.

• Check out Modern Mrs. Darcy world for countless book recommendations through Anne Bogel’s two podcasts, blog posts, Book Club and more (and definitely don’t miss her 2022 Summer Reading Guide!).

• Listen to the Reading Glasses podcast for 30-40 minutes of book recommendations (especially if you like genre fiction and more quirky or offbeat titles that might fly under the radar).

• Listen to my podcast, Reading Like an Adult! Each episode runs just 10-15 minutes long and includes both specific book recommendations and concrete tips for a better reading life.

2022 Summer Reading Guide

Brand-New Titles

These books are brand-new for 2022! The waitlist for your library might be longer for these titles, so if you’re trying to figure out what you should splurge on and buy from your local bookstore, please reply to this email with any questions you have about a specific read.

WOMEN’S FICTION/ROMANTIC COMEDY ~ Book Lovers by Emily Henry

A joyous reclamation of the “career-minded city woman who acts as a foil for the sweet heroine” trope, Book Lovers is the perfect summer escape to a small town. Content note: Henry’s steamiest romance to date, with a few open-door scenes (depending, as always, on your subjective definition).