Summer Reading in Review: Quantity and Quality

This summer, I read a whole lot of books. Many of them were short and sweet, quite a few were graphic novels, and most were worth the time and energy. Not all, definitely, but I found quite a few diamonds in the rough on the library and bookstore shelves.

I have great memories of reading many of the books on this list. 

I finished most of the Nickel Boys as I paced along the river's shore in a Virginia state park. No Visible Bruises took most of the summer, but I took my time due to the subject matter. I listened to The Lost Gutenberg  as I walked to and from the library under darkening skies. I wanted to savor The Testaments, but instead spent much of a blistering summer weekend in Gilead, curled up in my favorite chair. I paused How to Be a Good Creature when Tess starting showing signs of old age.

I read more titles this summer than in years past, but the total pages is probably close to my average — this summer I consumed a generous amount of juvenile fiction, picture books, and other short books. (Please note: "picture books" are not the same as "graphic novels." Which you know. But it bears repeating.)  

The list below includes a mix of print books ðŸ“–, audiobooks ðŸŽ§, e-books ðŸ“², library loans ðŸ¤“, graphic novels ðŸ–¼, and juvenile fiction and non-fiction ðŸ‘§.


  1. I Could Pee on This Too 📲
  2. Fortunately the Milk 📖👧
  3. Sorry I Barfed on Your Bed (and other heartwarming letters from Kitty) 📲
  4. Only Human 📲
  5. Rupert Can Dance 📖🤓👧
  6. Mr. Putter and Tabby Smell the Roses 📖🤓👧
  7. Sheets 📖🤓🖼
  8. The Testaments 📖
  9. Mr. Putter and Tabby Hit the Slopes 📖🤓👧
  10. You wouldn’t want to be sick in the 16th Century 📖🤓👧
  11. No Visible Bruises 📖
  12. The Ghost Studies 📲
  13. Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page 📲👧
  14. The Nickel Boys 🎧
  15. Summer Hours at the Robbers Library 📖
  16. Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery - the graphic novel adaptation 📖🤓🖼
  17. The Someone New 📖👧
  18. The Psychology of Time Travel 📲
  19. Waking Gods 📲
  20. Behind the Scenes at the Museum 📖
  21. Never Split the Difference 🎧
  22. Vincent 📖🤓🖼
  23. The Confessions of Max Tivoli 📲
  24. The Baltimore Book of the Dead 📖🤓
  25. City of Ghosts 📲 🤓
  26. Anything is Possible 📖
  27. Martina the Beautiful Cockroach 📖🤓👧
  28. Probable Paws (Mystic Notch Book 5) 📲
  29. Severance 📖
  30. The Last Dragon 📖🤓 🖼
  31. Maneater Vol. 1 📖🤓 🖼
  32. Underground Airlines 📲
  33. Ghosted 📲 🤓
  34. The Lost Gutenberg 🎧
  35. Nine Perfect Strangers 📖
  36. Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love And What to Skip on Literature’s 50 Greatest Hits 📖🤓
  37. Storm of Locusts 📲
  38. The Lost Man 📲
  39. How to be a Good Creature 🎧
  40. Dogs of War 📖🤓🖼
  41. Where’d You Go, Bernadette 📖
  42. The Lemoncholy Life of Annie Aster 📲
  43. The One Hundred Nights of Hero 📖🤓🖼

I have quite a few "favorite" books this year. I can't decide between Storm of Locusts, Underground Airlines, No Visible Bruises, The Testaments, and the Themis Files books.

 What did you read this summer? Share your list in the comments below, or email me your list and I'll share it with our group.

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