This fun summer reading challenge for adults makes reading fun and easy for busy adults who want to read more genres and formats in the summer. It’s the most simplified version of a reading challenge: novices can tackle a reasonable amount of beach reading during lazy, hazy days, and the most avid readers can maintain a seasonal reading mood when so many new books are vying for their attention.
You can also download a free printable PDF bingo card and Instagram story templates to track and share your progress. Let’s “dive in!”
3-Month Summer Reading Challenge for Adults
In creating this reading challenge, I had two very different types of readers in mind:
- Those who want to read but life gets in the way
- Those who read avidly and want to be sure to incorporate seasonal reading into their TBR
These are the two most common types of readers I hear from, so this challenge is designed to help both types reach their summer reading goals for adults with these summer lifestyle tips.
This Summer Reading Challenge has three seasonal prompts to read just one book each month:
- June: a book set in the summer
- July: a book set at the beach
- August: an “escape” book
June: A Book Set in Summer
In June, read a book set in the summer season. To get you started, my top three picks are:
28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand: (romance) This #1 New York Times bestseller is about two people who decide to have a “same time next year” meeting that lasts each Labor Day weekend. Naturally, this becomes more complicated with age, marriage, and kids. Many of Hilderbrand’s readers consider this to be the best Elin Hilderbrand novel. Since it’s a few years old, grab it from the library’s Libby app and add it to your Kindle!
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle: (magical realism) This New York Times bestseller follows Katy’s solo “vacation” to the Amalfi Coast of Italy after the death of her beloved mother. There, she meets a woman who doesn’t just look like her mother but appears to be her mother at age 30. This changes the course of Katy’s grief and her life. Plus, there’s a twist you won’t see coming. The best format for this one is audio, as it’s beautifully narrated by TV mom, Lauren Graham.
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez: (romance) This #1 New York Times bestseller and GMA Book Club pick is perfect to pack in your beach tote. A not-too-spicy romance novel for fans of Colleen Hoover, it offers a stellar couple who are “fake dating” to break their curse, as well as a great supporting cast of quirky friends and family, all coping with real-life issues. This author never disappoints me!
MORE BOOK PICKS
July: A Beach Read
Summer reading for adults wouldn’t be complete without a book set at the beach. My top three picks are:
Beach Read by Emily Henry: (romance) This New York Times bestseller is the story of two different writers. As they spend three summer months at neighboring beach houses, they challenge each other to beat their writer’s block by writing something different. Meanwhile, they must also cope with painful pasts and the fact that they are falling for each other. It’s the book that catapulted the author to fame!
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han: (romance) This dramatic teen series and BookTok sensation is set at a beach house where two friendly families have stayed for years. As the protagonist comes of age, she is involved in a love triangle with the brothers of the other family and their mother’s illness. The Amazon Prime adaptation is also fantastic and perfect for binge-watching with an iced coffee in summer.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren: (romance) This instant New York Times bestseller is an enemies-to-lovers trope about what happens when the maid of honor attends the Hawaiian honeymoon in place of the bride and groom with her sworn enemy — the best man. If you like romantic comedy movies from the late 1990s and early 2000s, you will adore this book from your cozy patio on a sunny morning.
August: An Escape Book
In the final month of your summer bucket list, it’s important for readers to have an escape read from the “real” world before things like back-to-school start back up. My top three picks are:
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas: (fantasy romance) This mega-bestselling fantasy series contains some of the most widely read books in the past decade, thanks to BookTok and Bookstagram. It begins as a loose re-telling of Beauty and the Beast in a mystical faerie land, and it’s as good as everyone says it is!
The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand: (thriller) This New York Times bestseller is about a “death at a wedding” on Nantucket. As you try to figure out whether the death was an accident or murder (and if so, whodunnit?), you learn that all the major players have secrets, making them darker than their glossy exteriors. It’s also a 2024 Netflix adaptation to watch.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: (historical fiction) This New York Times bestseller is the popular old Hollywood tale of the life of a famed actress and her seven husbands. But that’s only the beginning. It offers the salaciousness of Hollywood gossip, pop culture, secrets, and guilty pleasures. It’s one of those books everyone loves.
Instagram Story Template Digital Reading Tracker
Save the Instagram story template to your mobile device. Then, add the title of the book or image of the book cover you read each month for the prompt (or just some text of the title) and share it in your Instagram stories.
If you tag me@theliterarylifestyleblog, I will re-share your post!
Free Printable PDF Summer Book Bingo Ideas
Just for avid readers, you can track my top picks for this challenge and more summer reading prompts with the Instagram story template and/or printable PDF bingo card below.
More Reading Challenges For All Year Long
If you love this summer reading challenge, take these challenges next:
- Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge
- American Reading Challenge
- Around the World Reading Challenge
- POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
- Spring Reading Challenge
- Christmas Reading Challenge
- Winter Reading Challenge
remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
I love how so many of the covers of book in category three have such a similar motif! Was this a coincidence? 😀
total coincidence 🙂
Will include a link to this delightful post in an upcoming blog post I’ll publish in June. Warm regards, Nancy Andres @ Colors 4 Health.
Thanks so much, and thanks for letting me know! I will keep an eye out for it.