Our Summer Reading List – By Moms, For Moms!

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It’s hard finding time to read when you’re a mom, so you don’t want to waste those precious free moments all to yourself on a bad book! Recently we asked all our Orange County Moms Blog Contributors what they’ve read lately and would recommend to other moms. The answers ranged from helpful parenting books to frothy romance novels to Pulitzer Prize winners and everything else in between. All have been test-read and approved by our Contributors. There is no doubt something for everyone on our summer reading list!

Allison Almond: The Billionaire’s Counterfeit Girlfriend (The Pryce Family Book 1) by Nadia Lee. She has several books out. But it’s best if you start with the beginning. I started reading her books back in early June. It takes me about 2.5 hrs to read each one. So it took me about ten days to read each of her books. The next book is due out in August.

Brenae Bradley: Oh man, I haven’t read in so long…. But I did just start a book, Teaching Kids To Think by Darlene Sweetland and Ron Stolberg. It’s about how in this instant gratification age, we’ve essentially trained kids to not have to use their brain in situations or problem solve, and how to combat that with some simple exercise type things and the science behind it. Very interesting!!

Heather Bailey: I’ve read one book in the last three months ? but it was Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I read the book before I watched the HBO show and enjoyed them both!

Heather Eftekhari:  I haven’t read much lately, but I highly recommend the following:
•Probably my favorite book all time: Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
•Fun young adult series: Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen series
•Historical Fiction: Anything from Linda Lafferty.
•Nonfiction: Erik Larson books are amazing…they read like a novel.
•Biography: Robert K. Massie books are loooong, but so detailed.
•Novels: It’s hard to go wrong with a Wallace Stegner book – the prose! Also love anything from Jhumpa Lahiri.
•For laughs: Sh*t My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern.

Heather MouldenSeeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim’s Encounter With Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi. I also just finished Chip and Joanna Gaines’s book The Magnolia Story and loved it. Such a great, light read about a couple who clearly love each other through it all. Worth the read!

Hilary Feldstein RatnerWifey 101 by Jamie Otis of The Bachelor/Married At First Sight fame. I thought it’d be a light gossipy tell-all I’d never publicly admit to reading, but it’s actually extremely honest, thought-provoking, and inspiring. She had a truly horrific childhood in a trailer park, and bares her soul about how that has affected the rest of her life. I didn’t think much of this reality tv star before to be honest, but found her life story very moving. It’s a good reminder to appreciate all the advantages you started life with and to not squander that privilege.

Jamie MortonI’m a huge Sci-Fi nerd. I would have to say The Martian by Andy Weir. I’ve read it three times and watch the movie at least once a month. LOVE it! Also just finished Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. It’s a sequel to The Shining. Good read if you like thrillers.

Jill Sambol: My summer reading is more on how to help my daughter. She developed a stutter a year ago and it comes and goes, but we are now seeking help with speech therapy. The book is really informative on what to look for and how to help a child who might have a speech delay or other issues. Childhood Speech, Language, and Listening Problems by Patricia McAleer Hamaguchi. 

Katie Addiss: I’m reading Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty. I love her books!

Maria Hoey: Recently finished Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist, and then I love A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Megan Phillips: Two great books: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. And of course The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It’s my favorite book and I liked it before it was cool.

Melissa Fisher Goldman: When I need a fun easy read I go to Stacey Ballis (who writes “foodie novels” like Recipe For Disaster). Her main character is always someone I want to be friends with. They are witty easy reads and a fun escape. On a more “book clubby” level I loved a book called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It’s written all in correspondence but amazingly it paints a beautiful story and the characters come to life.

Tracey Wise Finkelstein: I have eclectic taste. I recently read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, Pulitzer Prize winner! The other one was blockbuster author Daniel Silva’s Fallen Angel.

Viv Jones:  I haven’t finished a book in a while The one I’m reading (very slowly. Like for over a year…) is Red Rising by Pierce Brown. I like dystopian books. Before that I read The Mortal Instruments series which is six books by Cassandra Clare. (I also like fantasy books!) But my all time favourite books are the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. O. M. G. So good!!

If you liked a Contributor’s reading recommendation on this summer reading list, click on their name above to check out their bio and all the posts they’ve written for us at the Anaheim Moms Blog! Happy summer reading everyone!