Summer 2020 Reading List

Alexa Burban
Jun 22, 2020
7 min read

Happy Summer! This past weekend marked the beginning of the new season. Book lovers know this time to be the peak season for reading during your time off school and holidays from work while sitting by the pool or just sitting around your air-conditioned home. I especially look forward to this time as it gives me the opportunity to read some books that I’ve had on my “Want To Read” list on Goodreads for quite some time.

I wanted to share with you my Summer 2020 reading list to inspire some of you to explore some books that you may haven’t had the chance to read or forgot about. While quite a few of the books on my list are not newly released, it’s nice to look back over the last few years and pick up a book that you may have overlooked or just didn’t have the time to commit to! I inserted blurbs straight from Goodreads for each of the books I mentioned so you don’t have to search for them yourselves!

Becoming - Michelle Obama - published November 2018

Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Politics, Feminism, History

I have had this book on my list since it was announced that Mrs. Obama was releasing a memoir. I am a huge fan of the Obamas and I miss their constant presence within the media VERY much. During Barack’s presidential term, I admired Michelle for her strong and supportive presence beside her husband as well as her initiative to take on projects of her own. I received her book as a gift a little over a year ago and have been looking forward to divulging into the experiences, trials, and tribulations that have shaped her into one of the most inspiring women I know.

“In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.” - Goodreads

The Happy Ever After Playlist - Abby Jimenez - published April 2020

Romance, Contemporary, Fiction

I have been counting down the weeks until this book was released! I absolutely adored Jimenez’s debut novel The Friend Zone and couldn’t wait to hear the story behind one of the couples she had mentioned in her debut novel. I would strongly suggest you read The Friend Zone before you read The Happy Ever After Playlist, as the events in her second book occur two years after the end of The Friend Zone.

(Warning: You’re about to see spoilers for The Friend Zone… NOW!)

“Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can't seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a 'take me home' look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's owner reaches out. He's a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back. Well, Sloan's not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can't deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There's no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?” - Goodreads

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism - Robin DiAngelo - published June 2018

Nonfiction, Race, Social Movements, Politics

While this book was released in 2018, it has grown in popularity since the murder of George Floyd and protests that began a few weeks ago. Since then, conversations about ways in which white people and non-Black individuals need to educate themselves on the issue and do our part to be anti-racist have taken place all over social media. I have seen this particular novel circulating quite a bit on social media, making appearances on lists of resources that white and non-Black people should refer to in order to further educate ourselves. These issues did not just appear overnight. Systemic and institutional racism has existed for a very long time, however, the media spotlight is currently highlighting this issue given the current political climate. Take this opportunity to read either this book or another that has caught your eye to make a change in your thoughts and actions, and use the knowledge you obtained and share it with those around you. I look forward to further educating myself with this book and I would love to hear some of the books you would recommend among similar topics!

“The New York Times best-selling book exploring the counterproductive reactions white people have when their assumptions about race are challenged, and how these reactions maintain racial inequality.

Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, anti-racist educator Robin DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what can be done to engage more constructively.” - Goodreads

Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood - Trevor Noah - November 2016

Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir

At the beginning of the year, I wanted to implement a new routine into my life that I thought would benefit me in some way. Since then, I have watched The Daily Show with Trevor Noah/The Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noah every weeknight while I get ready for bed. I try my best to stay up to date with what is happening in the world through Twitter or watching the evening news with my parents (whenever I can). I have an interest in the events unfolding in the US, but I have found watching shows like The View or sometimes CNN can be quite stressful and anxiety-inducing. Trevor Noah has a real talent in his way of speaking about current events by using humour as a way of “softening the blow.” His shows are informative and lighthearted all the same. Since I have been watching his show for the last six months, I wanted to learn more about Trevor, his immigration story, and the events that have shaped him into who he is today. I have a friend who praised his book as her father’s family was born in South Africa (similar to Trevor’s) and the way Trevor speaks about his mother, my friend felt closer to her grandmother as the two women sounded very similar. I can’t wait to start this one!

“The memoir of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed.

Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.” - Goodreads