The other day I finished unpacking all of our books, which are on a big shelf in the nursery, and I was having so much fun going through all of the children's books I've accumulated over the years (and a few new ones that some of my friends were kind enough to give us as gifts recently). It made me want to put together a blog post with a list of some of the books I'm most excited about sharing with our daughter. 

So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are nine of them:

• Where the Wild Things Are:  I have a Where the Wild Things Are tattoo for a reason. This book very literally changed my life when a professor pointed out that the illustrations got larger and took over the page the more Max's imagination took over the story. I knew children's literature was special but I didn't know how sophisticated it could be until that moment, and I really think it was that class discussion that made me want to go to grad school and continue to study children's lit.
• A Sick Day for Amos McGee: One of the sweetest picture books ever. The illustrations are the cutest.
• The entire Harry Potter series: These books are so special to me and I can't wait to share them with her. Rob and I want to start reading them to her right away, is that weird? I think it might be the first story she ever hears.
• Pretty much everything by Shel Silverstein, especially Where the Sidewalk Ends: I love Shel. 
• Bee-Bim Bop and First Book of Sushi: I haven't read either of these yet but I'm ordering them after hearing about both on the bibimbap episode of Spilled Milk. Kids books about food? I mean, what could be better? I actually wrote a collection of haikus about food in grad school so these are right up my alley.
• A is for Activist: Another one I haven't read yet but can't wait to share with our daughter. 
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar: One of Rob's favorites when he was growing up. It's this kind of stuff that makes my heart want to explode--knowing that we get to pass on our favorite books, foods, traditions, etc. and just leave the rest behind. (For example I don't think I'll be reading Love You Forever to her because I think it's creepy.)
• And last but not least, Go the Fuck to Sleep...just kidding! Or am I?

These aren't all of my favorites, so I'll be sharing more later! Do you have any that I should add to my list? I'd love to hear your recommendations!

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Every summer I find myself at the library, checking out more books than I know what to do with. My graduate program at Hollins consisted of an intensive three months during the summer (then online throughout the regular school year), so from June through August I was always reading a ton and spending a lot of time between classes at the library on campus. I'm a big fan of fall and that new semester feeling, but there's just something so magical to me about a big stack of books in the summer.

Here's what I've got on my list this year:

• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri: We're reading this for my book club this month. The library actually didn't have any hard copies available so I'm listening to the audiobook, which I never really do. I like it a lot and I'm actually enjoying listening to it in the car a little at a time.
• Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson: Next month's book club pick--I want to get a jump start on it (especially since I have the other one on CD) because I have a really bad habit of waiting until it's too late to start and then I have to speed read the books before we get together, even though I always really enjoy the stories.
• Encyclical on Climate Change and Inequality: On Care for Our Common Home by Pope Francis: I saw this in a bookstore the other day and was so intrigued by it. I haven't really identified as Catholic for a long time but I do quite enjoy Pope Francis. 
• Theft by Finding by David Sedaris: I'm a huge Sedaris fan. I've been to two or three of his readings and my favorite part was always when he read excerpts from his diaries, so a whole book sounds like a dream come true.
• Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother by Beth Ann Fennelly: I haven't read any pregnancy or parenting books yet but this one was recommended to me by an Instagram friend whom I really respect and am excited to start here.
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin: It's no secret that I'm obsessed with Game of Thrones. I've been meaning to read the books and since Rob and I just started re-watching from the beginning, now is as good a time as any to pick up the first book (especially since the series will be over for good so soon!)

What's on your summer reading list?

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I'm on The Equals Record sharing the things I'm reading offline these days. Check out the full list right here.

Get the books for yourself:
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What are you reading right now?