As an avid Storygraph user, June is when I start getting antsy about my annual reading goal. Despite long, humid summer months stretching out ahead of me, I am counting the days and the number of books I have left until I reach my goal. That’s not to say that I only read in a hurried, stress-induced panic. On the contrary, I love taking my time and diving into a good book. But choosing the next book from my ever-growing To-Be-Read list can be tricky! If you’re in the same boat, hopefully, this list of books, which ranges from beach reads to nonfiction anthologies, will help!
For the fundraiser who can remember the name of your second-grade best friend: This person is a great fundraiser because they love making connections. They’re a sponge for soaking up information, and they can recall all the throwaway details you mentioned in a conversation last year. If this sounds like you, pick up Love in a F*cked Up World by Dean Spade! Part self-help and part toolkit, this book offers fresh insights into relationship building. Spade considers how we can love, maintain friendships, work, and organize with the people in our lives while he also unpacks traditional cultural scripts about relationships.
For the volunteer who needs to recharge after dedicating their time and energy to worthwhile causes throughout the year: Although framed by icy waters and arctic seas that are a far cry from sunny beaches and sunscreen, Katherine May’s Wintering explores how we can use periods of rest to nourish ourselves – a lesson that’s applicable year-round! If summer is a time for you to unwind and slow down from a busier schedule, then this book is a perfect companion.
For the wearer of many nonprofit hats: So often, nonprofit work requires us to shapeshift from fundraiser to communications lead, from project manager to people manager, all while juggling busy personal and home lives. If jumping around to different roles and projects excites you, you might enjoy How It All Works Out by Miriam Lacroix. This quirky novel reimagines the lives of its protagonists in different worlds and scenarios, and Lacroix’s characters repeatedly take on different roles as they search for connection, from being B-list lesbian celebrities to parenting a baby found in an alley.
For the Google Calendar obsessed: Do you love color coding your G-Cal and checking off to-do lists? Did you eagerly volunteer to plan your friend group’s summer road trip? Are you always looking ahead? If so, you’ll feel right at home in the pages of What if We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures, an anthology curated by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson with the help of authors and researchers like Jacqueline Woodson and Wendell Berry, which addresses climate change and solutions. Through essays, poems, data, and more, Johnson’s anthology shirks habitual hopelessness in favor of imagining joyous climate futures.
For that Co-Worker Who is Constantly Responding to Those Emails Even Though They’re On Vacation: We all know that person who can’t step away from their work and stays connected when they should be unplugged. Some of us might even be that person! Hopefully, breezing through The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella, where Sasha and Finn butt heads and bond as they recover from their respective burnouts at a rundown seaside resort, will encourage you to fully take time away from work this summer.
For the young person in your life who spends all of summer vacation outside: Is there a young person in your life spending her summer volunteering for organizations like Frogtown Farm, or riding their bike from Free Bikes 4 Kidz MN? Whatever activity the young people in your life are getting up to, Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Monique Gray Smith is a great addition to their summer. This edition adapts the wisdom of the original Braiding Sweetgrass book into an approachable and impactful young adult version. Informed by her background as an Indigenous scientist and botanist, Wall Kimmerer explores the reciprocal relationships of humans and all living beings and the many lessons to be found in plants and other species.
Happy reading!