Grown Up Anytime Reading!

A few years ago, some friends and I were waxing nostalgic about the days when we could participate in the summer reading program with the library. As a result, we decided to put together our own grown up summer reading program. I wrote a bit about it on the blog lo those many moons ago. (Our local library now does a grown up version of the summer reading program, but we were way ahead of them.)

Structured sort of like a book club, we select agreed upon subjects/categories and then all choose our own books within those categories.

Recently, many of us got together for a game night and remembered that time, and decided rather than setting a time limit on our program, we'd just leave it open-ended, but still take the journey together, at whatever pace works for everyone individually. God, I love my friends.

Here is my stack of books, with some more information:

• 90s/Nostalgic childhood read: Boxcar Children and Animorphs. The first two of each of these series.
• How-to: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I heard about this book a lot while working at the National Writing Project, so I'm glad to finally be reading it!
• Journey: Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I've consumed Tiny Beautiful Things, which is the only way to explain my relationship with that book. I treat books as sacred things, but my copy of Tiny Beautiful Things is dog-eared and highlighted and annotated. It gives me life and inspiration. All that said, I still haven't read this one, so huzzah.
• Sci-fi/fantasy (by POC): The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. I've read her Hundred Thousand Kingdoms trilogy and I loved it. Looking forward to getting into this series.
• Book of poetry: The New Clean by Jon Sands.
• By Stephen King: The Gunslinger, the first book in the Dark Tower series. I had to find one that wasn't going to set my already overactive imagination into overdrive, and I've already read Different Seasons, so...
• Graphic novel: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. This one also worked out well, since The 5th Avenue Theatre (where I work in Marketing) is hosting the tour of the Fun Home musical next spring. I've listened to the soundtrack but I'm excited to read the source material.
• Self help: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. I know, I'm feeling a little...not pumped for this one, but it's been on my shelf for approximately a million years so in that regard I'll be glad to at least cross it off the list.
• Nonfiction in politics/international relations: The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I'm considering this on the politics side, even though it's more political history than current events. (Though that wasn't necessarily a requirement for this category.) Also I just love Doris Kearns Goodwin. I read Team of Rivals a few years ago and it was amazeballs.
• Science in astronomy/physics/etc.: Cosmos by Carl Sagan. Yay!

I have one category that is not represented here. I'm planning on reading You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson (who I know from 2 Dope Queens, an amazing and hilarious podcast she co-hosts with Jessica Williams). The book is being released on October 4, so I have to wait to add that to my stack. (Already preordered!)

More about the whole thing in this vlog!

Looking forward to getting started! Do you have other books you would recommend in these categories?