Summer is finally here – the air is warm, the wind is cool- time to sit back, relax, and enjoy light read by the sea (with your MDLR bag of course).
We’ve curated 6 easy-to-read book for you that will be perfect for this season! We've ensured that these books are worth the read, won't be too heavy when you're traveling!
Olive by Emma Gannon
Independent, loyal, kind, adrift, and anxious is who Olive is. Gannon’s debut novel talks about navigating through the eyes of Olive, a 33-year-old woman who is figuring out what to do with her life. Olive begins to doubt her decisions when she compares her life to the lives of her best friends; she finds that there are demands, decisions, and occasionally stereotypes to live up to.
Olive is heartfelt, enduring, and a mirror for every woman at a turning point, as she contains elements of all of us. Olive is a contemporary tale about the challenges of adulthood, significant life decisions, and the "taboo" of deciding not to have children.
I’ll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife and Motherhood by Jessi Klein
As the title suggests, this collection of essays by Jessi Klein hilariously discusses the cultural myths and impossible expectations around motherhood as well as the humiliations, possibilities, and poignancies of midlife.
Written in Klein’s signature wit, candor, and humanity, “I’ll Show Myself Out” gives us a humorous and raw insight of the relatable struggles, achievements, highs, and lows all moms and middle-aged women across the world can relate to.
Jessy and the 4Gs 
You might be surprised as to why a children’s book made it to this list, but this book is a story of hope, resilience, and faith. Written by none other than our latest Resilience Series interviewee, Jessy, Jessy and the 4Gs talks about her journey battling Multiple Sclerosis, and how she chooses to practice the 4Gs (Gift, Gratitude, Grit, and Grace) every day.
Click here to know more about Jessy in our Resilience Series.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi 
A heartwarming tale of a coffee shop which lets you travel back in time, just until the coffee gets cold.
Set in a quaint little alley on the heart of Tokyo, this café is known to have served artisanal coffee for over a hundred years, offering the unique experience of time travelling to its customers. In this book, we meet four people traveling back in time to right their wrongs, giving us insights on what truly matters in life, who to hold on to, and what memories we should treasure with us.
Above Ground by Clint Smith 
In this poetry collection, Clint Smith celebrates the wonders of seeing the world through your child’s brand-new eyes as they experience life, it explores how becoming a parent has altered his perception of the world while navigating the enormous emotional landscape of parenting.
Smith’s poems brings us readers onto a journey through his children’s lives – from their early years, to them growing up into this ever-changing world that we are all a part of.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
In this memoir, Murakami shares with us an intimate look at writing and running; through his eyes we see these two worlds intersect. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running shows us Murakami’s vivid memories, insights, eureka moments, as well as his love for writing and running in such a rich and revelatory way – giving us peak behind the man who wrote Norwegian Wood and Kafka on the Shore.