Summer Reading: Best Books To Read By The Pool

Summer days with a toddler that thinks she’s a fish mean lots of hours logged at the pool.

To me, this means I’ll finally get some much-needed time to catch up on some of the most entertaining, educational, and enriching books of 2016.  I’ve set a goal to read one book per week – altnerating educational and entertaining books each week – and while this might seem like an aggressive goal, I read quite fast, so it’s not at all out of reach.

The only other roadblock to reading this many books is the cost, since even used books cost money, so my plan is to leverage my Swagbucks earnings for Amazon gift cards to fund this little endeavor.

Unless otherwise noted, all descriptions on this reading list are taken straight from the book’s jackets, or from Amazon.com.  I would love to give you fun, awesome reviews, but as I haven’t read these yet, that would be almost impossible.

Maybe when I’m done I’ll go back and add my comments to the descriptions.

Maybe.

Until then, you’ll find me by the pool, trying to avoid being splashed by one very enthusiastic little girl, getting my tan on, and reading to my heart’s content:

Now, on to the list…

For Productivity

Launch

“”Launch” will build your business—fast. Whether you’ve already got a business or you’re itching to start one, this is a recipe for getting more traction.

Think about it—what if you could launch like Apple or the big Hollywood studios? What if your prospects eagerly counted down the days until they could buy your product? What if you could create such powerful positioning in your market that you all -but- eliminated your competition? And you could do all that no matter how humble your business or budget?

Since 1996 Jeff Walker has been creating hugely successful online launches. After bootstrapping his first Internet business from his basement, he quickly developed an underground process for launching new products and businesses with unprecedented success.

But the success-train was just getting started—once he started teaching his formula to other entrepreneurs, the results were simply breathtaking. Tiny, home-based businesses started doing launches that sold tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and even millions of dollars in sales with their launches.

“Launch” is the treasure map into that world—an almost secret world of digital entrepreneurs who create cash-on-demand paydays with their product launches and business launches.

Whether you have an existing business, or you have a service-based business and want to develop your own products so you can leverage your time and your impact, or you’re still in the planning phase—this is how you start fast. This formula is how you engineer massive success.

Now the question is this—are you going to start slow, and fade away from there? Or are you ready for a launch that will change the future of your business and your life?”

($10, Amazon.com)

The Tipping Point

“The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.”

($12, Amazon.com)

Made To Stick

“Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? InMade to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the “human scale principle,” using the “Velcro Theory of Memory,” and creating “curiosity gaps.”

($14, Amazon.com)

For Fun

China Rich Girlfriend

“On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancé willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won’t be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore’s It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia’s most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it’s like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.”

($12, Amazon.com)

Luckiest Girl Alive

“HER PERFECT LIFE IS A PERFECT LIE.

As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.

But Ani has a secret.

There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.

With a singular voice and twists you won’t see coming, Luckiest Girl Alive explores the unbearable pressure that so many women feel to “have it all” and introduces a heroine whose sharp edges and cutthroat ambition have been protecting a scandalous truth, and a heart that’s bigger than it first appears.

The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?”

($12, Amazon.com)

Mireille

“Near the end of World War II, seventeen-year-old Mireille de Jouarre flees the home of her stepfather, a Nazi collaborator and abusive drunk. She finds shelter with her childhood friend Stefan, and the two fall deeply in love. But as the fighting escalates, Mireille must escape alone to Paris, where she discovers she’s pregnant and lacking a way to provide for her child.

So begins her new life as l’Ange—the Angel. After an unlikely meeting with a wealthy aristocrat in a Parisian hotel—and her acceptance of his solicitation—Mireille becomes the most celebrated poule in all of France, eliciting huge fees and invitations to exclusive parties. At one of these events, Mireille meets Oliver Jordan, an American womanizer and film producer, and is soon launching a promising film career. As her star rises, Mireille is determined to bury her past. But her success isn’t as carefree and glittery as it seems, and when her daughter’s future is threatened, Mireille must make a deadly decision in a desperate attempt to finally choose her own path.”

($3.99, Amazon.com)

The Girls

“Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence.”

($14, Amazon.com)

The Other Typist

“Rose Baker seals men’s fates. With a few strokes of the keys that sit before her, she can send a person away for life in prison. A typist in a New York City Police Department precinct, Rose is like a high priestess. Confessions are her job. It is 1923, and while she may hear every detail about shootings, knifings, and murders, as soon as she leaves the interrogation room she is once again the weaker sex, best suited for filing and making coffee.

This is a new era for women, and New York is a confusing place for Rose. Gone are the Victorian standards of what is acceptable. All around her women bob their hair, they smoke, they go to speakeasies. Yet prudish Rose is stuck in the fading light of yesteryear, searching for the nurturing companionship that eluded her childhood. When glamorous Odalie, a new girl, joins the typing pool, despite her best intentions Rose falls under Odalie’s spell. As the two women navigate between the sparkling underworld of speakeasies by night and their work at the station by day, Rose is drawn fully into Odalie’s high-stakes world. And soon her fascination with Odalie turns into an obsession from which she may never recover.”

($14, Amazon.com)

For Marriage/Family/Parenting

Retire Inspired

“What do you think of when you hear the word retirement?
Do you see yourself spending weeks at a time with your grandchildren? Volunteering your time to a worthy cause? Traveling to remote vacation spots you’ve always wanted to visit? Those dreams simply don’t line up with the reality of many working Americans. Rather than packing their bags for a month-long escape, many retirees will be packing their lunch for an eight-hour shift. And it’s not because they want to; it’s because they’re broke! In Retire Inspired, Chris Hogan teaches that retirement isn’t an age; it’s a financial number—an amount you need to live the life in retirement that you’ve always dreamed of. Whether you’re twenty-five or fifty-five, you can start now. Chris will equip you with a plan to make your own investing decisions, set proper expectations with your family for retirement, and build a dream team of experts to get you there. You don’t have to retire broke, stressed, and working long after you want to. You can retire inspired!”

($9.99, Amazon.com)

The Millionaire Next Door…..Again

I’ve already read this book, but if you haven’t:

“Get the answers in The Millionaire Next Door, the never-before-told story about wealth in America. You’ll be surprised at what you find out….”

($10, Amazon.com)

The Love Dare

“The Love Dare, as featured in the popular new movie Fireproof (from the makers of Facing the Giants), is a 40-day challenge for husbands and wives to understand and practice unconditional love. Whether your marriage is hanging by a thread or healthy and strong, The Love Dare is a journey you need to take. It’s time to learn the keys to finding true intimacy and developing a dynamic marriage. Take the dare!”

($7, Amazon.com)

Guilt Free Motherhood

“Guilt Free Motherhood gives you the tools you need to start living a more contented, healthy and energized lifestyle today—right in the midst of motherhood.”

($6, Amazon.com)

Here I go, all 12 books are ready to go for the summer and should get me through to August.  Some are lighter reads, a couple I’ve either read before or started reading but ran out of time, so needless to say I’m quite excited about the possibility of actually reading or re-reading them and getting even more out of them!

What is on your beach read list this summer?

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