What I'm Reading This Summer

Maybe we won't have as much free time this summer as we did in 2020 (too soon?), but we still manage to find extra time during those long, hot days. One covid-friendly pastime that I intend to continue in the summer of 2021 is reading. Here are a few of the books I'll be reading for the first time, re-reading, or picking up where I left off. Follow along to see what I recommend!

PURE: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free

Linda Kay Klein

I read this gem for the first time in 2020, and have since recommended it to countless friends and family members. If you grew up within an evangelical community, love someone who grew up in an evangelical community, or just like reading killer non-fiction exposés -- this one is definitely for you. Linda Kay Klein has compiled testimonies from a variety of women across ten years of study, and has devoted her life to uncovering and dismantling the system that instilled religious trauma to countless women.

Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life

Emily Nagoski, Ph. D.

Images, statistics, instruction manuals, questionnaires, cultural and anatomical lessons -- this book has it all! I recently picked up this book, and I can't put it down. I haven't even finished it, and I've already sent the Amazon link to all my friends with vaginas (though friends without vaginas could certainly learn a thing or two). This book is a New York Times Bestseller for a reason. Best of all, Nagoski has kept the anti-readers in the loop with a "tl;dr" (too long; didn't read) summary at the end of each chapter. Thank you, Nagoski!

The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

Michael A. Singer

Another Bestseller, this book came highly recommended, and so far it doesn't disappoint. Right out of the gate, Singer asks the deep question "Who are you really?". The answer, as the reader soon discovers, isn't as simple as once believed. At 181 pages, this book is has the potential to be a quick read, though the weighty and philosophical material encourages a more thoughtful pace. Singer does a great job of breaking down the material into easy-to-digest examples, and plenty of opportunities for application.

How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain: The New Science of Transformation

Andrew Newberg, MD, and Mark Robert Waldman

This book is right up my alley. A lovely blend of spirituality and science, this book analyzes the experience of elightenment through cognition and neuroscience. These men conducted brain-scan studies on mystics, mediums, meditators, and more, comparing the results and synthesizing the data. Despite how that sounds, it isn't too difficult for the lay-person to understand, and the interesting research keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Definitely more sceintific, and a different taste from the books mentioned before, this book is one that I find exciting. Plus, it reminds me of a time before I entered the harsh reality of student debt.

The Overstory: A Novel

Richard Powers

At 502 pages, Overstory is the heftiest read on this list -- for good reason. It's not often that I read something truly different, but this novel is an exception. Laid out into four main sections, each expands the world ten-fold and shows it to you through a brand new lens. Moving and breathtaking, I am in love with this book already. Described in the back-of-book synopsis as an "impassioned work of activism and resistance", trees are the star of this novel -- even the pages are 100% recycled paper.

How To Cure A Ghost

Fariha Róisín

A collection of beautiful poems, this little book has been on my list. Identity, self-healing, oppression, and womanhood are just a few of the powerful themes that are woven through these poems. As you can tell from the cover, powerful and breathtaking imagery enhances the pages of this collection. Illustrator Monica Ramos brings Róisín's poems to life, making this a perfect choice for poetry- and art-lovers alike. I can't wait to get started on this one.