12 Types of Books to Add Variety to Your Summer’s TBR Pile
In preperation for the upcoming summer where nothing will be the same…
As creators, we are consumers of written material. Sometimes that means reading on-line articles, books or audiobooks. However, reading the same thing most or all of the time leads to being worn out on that type of material, or maybe reading all together.
As variety is the spice of life, I thought it would be a good idea to challenge by category as we approach summer- the season most associated with reading.
Your Favorite Author’s Debute Book
This serves two purposes- for one, it shows you how far they’ve come as a writer. This will help especially if you’re starting out or are in the middle of your writing journey and haven’t made it yet.
Plus, it’s their first book which if you feel strongly enough about an author is usually on the “want to read” list. It’s fun to see how they’ve changed throughout their writing career.
A Dystopian Science Fiction
The world we are living in today is so dystopian, it can be a comfort to read about dystopian socities, if for no other reason than just to think “well, it’s not this bad”.
Books have a way of connecting to us and teaching us life lessons as well as having a main character that is relatable. Right now, reading science fiction could be a refreshing experience.
An organization or simplicity book
The world that we lived in was crazy, chaotic, and overstressful. Right now is the perfect time to read an organizational or book about simple living.
It will help to get both our space and mind in order. It also encourages us to ask the question of what things will be important moving forward.
Book of Poetry
Poetry is often short, concise and to the point. It helps writers to become more to the point and also includes some very beautiful imagery or relatable themes. A book on poetry is short enough to read on a vacation, while standing in line, on breaks or just about anywhere.
A Book On a Project or Routine You’ve Always Been Interested In
Learning is knowledge which is power. Books on the subjects we’re interested in gives new insight and often times, explains the parts we’re a little fuzzy on.
For example, I just read the Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. I had been waiting for about 2 years to get my hands on it and I bullet journaled here and there throughout the past 4 years.
Seeing photos on IG of beautiful spreads plus only having a cursory knowledge about the system often left me confused. I had a lot of “a’ha” moments while reading about the strategy and finally understood how this was way more than just a system to make a diy planner. Learning the ins and out helped me want to dive into this again.
A Biography of Someone You Admire
There is a common statement that what we admire about someone else are things that we have within us, just heavily covered. By reading, we learn about people who influenced movements, countries or even just changed the lives of those around them. We learn about small practices that they used to change those around them and the ways they challenged themselves. That in itself offers a lot of ground for us to learn and challenge ourselves from.
A Book Written By Someone In Some Way Different From You
Just as reading about someone you admire will help challenge you in your growth, so will reading a book by someone who is different. Choose whether to go small or large on this one. It can range from a simple difference in viewpoint to a completely different philosophy. The challenge comes from considering their point of view.
A favorite classic
Classics take us back in time to when we first read them. They are the pieces that have inspired countless writers, been used to learn to write from, and pieces that have stood the test of time. They still offer viewpoints that are worth considering. They are characters that are just as real now as they were back then.
A fun read
What would you read if you weren’t trying to grow? What would you read just for entertainment?
This question varies from person to person. For some, it’s a rompy beach novel, for some it’s ghost stories. For me, the answer is definitely mashup books.
Mashup books take a story or a historical figure and mash supernatural creatures into the tale. Think vampires meet the Little Women. Think Queen Elizabeth as a Demon Hunter (A.E. Moorat). My favorite mashup is Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (Seth Grahame Smith). I love thinking about what other forces could have been going around during his life and hey, if vampires hid in the cities and states, would that really be so far fetched?
Read something that you know you will enjoy It is, after all, summer.
A book of essays
The best way to study a writer’s work is to read a variety of his or her work. Essays expose us to a variety of bite sized chunks of their work. It’s a great way to study their voice, how they formulate smaller works and we get to know them better.
Essays are also written on a certain topic by various authors. These collections expose us to a variety of different viewpoints on the same subject and allow us to consider a broader scope of the topic by thinking through each viewpoint.
The book that has been on your tbr for over 6 months
If you are a serial reader, or anything like me, books hit your tbr (to be read) list on a regular basis. This can happen as often as daily. However, something happens where we get around large stacks of books where we forget tbr books and pick up the nearest things that catch our eye.
Go back to the beginning of your tbr list. What still looks interesting? Challenge yourself to read one of these books this summer.
A book set somewhere you want to visit
With travel plans being restricted and even banned at this point in history, books are the portal that will get you there. The place you want to travel could be somewhere you miss, somewhere you want to visit to cross off bucket list or even just a fictional place.
I love thinking of collecting a literary passport stamped with all of the unique places that I can not go to whether that’s because it’s a fictional place or because I lack the funds to travel.
In closing, I’d like to share a few of my personal selections for summer:
- Carrie by Stephen King
- 1984 by George Orwell
- 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life by Joyce Meyer
- When She Named Fire Anthology
- The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod (just finished)
- Kindness and Wonder (about Mr. Rogers) by Gavin Edwards
- Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson by Gavin Edwards
- Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
- Little Vampire Women by Lynn Messina and Louisa May Alcott
- We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
