Ladies, it’s time for a vacation. Every great vacation deserves an equally great reading list. We surveyed our team to find out what books they’re reading this summer. And because a good book is even better with a glass of wine in hand, we also added recommendations from our Wine Sisterhood family of wines. Cheers to a fabulous summer!

Mary Ann’s pick: Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Suggested wine pairing: Girl & Dragon Pinot Grigio (Find near you or shop online)

Summary: An unforgettable memoir in the tradition of The Glass Castle about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty, and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one’s life through new eyes, and the will to change it.

Chelsea’s pick: Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

Suggested wine pairing: Bar Dog Cabernet Sauvignon (Find near you or shop online)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17571564-hyperbole-and-a-half

Summary: This is a book I wrote. Because I wrote it, I had to figure out what to put on the back cover to explain what it is. I tried to write a long, third-person summary that would imply how great the book is and also sound vaguely authoritative–like maybe someone who isn’t me wrote it–but I soon discovered that I’m not sneaky enough to pull it off convincingly. So I decided to just make a list of things that are in the book:

Pictures
Words
Stories about things that happened to me
Stories about things that happened to other people because of me
Eight billion dollars*
Stories about dogs
The secret to eternal happiness*

*These are lies. Perhaps I have underestimated my sneakiness!

Sue’s pick: Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

Suggested pairing: Girl & Dragon Cabernet (Find near you or shop online)

Summary: Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren’s stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work.

Yet at the core of this book is the story of a relationship Jahren forged with a brilliant, wounded man named Bill, who becomes her lab partner and best friend. Their sometimes rogue adventures in science take them from the Midwest across the United States and back again, over the Atlantic to the ever-light skies of the North Pole and to tropical Hawaii, where she and her lab currently make their home.

Erica’s pick: You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero

Suggested wine pairing: Middle Sister Rebel Red Blend (Find near you or shop online)

Summary: In this refreshingly entertaining how-to guide, bestselling author and world-traveling success coach, Jen Sincero, serves up 27 bitesized chapters full of hilariously inspiring stories, sage advice, easy exercises, and the occasional swear word, helping you to: Identify and change the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting what you want, Create a life you totally love. And create it NOW, Make some damn money already. The kind you’ve never made before.

By the end of You Are a Badass, you’ll understand why you are how you are, how to love what you can’t change, how to change what you don’t love, and how to use The Force to kick some serious ass.

Angeles’ pick: I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual by Luvvie Ajayi  

Suggested wine pairing: Middle Sister Goodie Two-Shoes Pinot Noir (Find near you or shop online)

Summary: With over 500,000 readers a month at her enormously popular blog, AwesomelyLuvvie.com, Luvvie Ajayi is a go-to source for smart takes on pop culture. I’m Judging You is her debut book of humorous essays that dissects our cultural obsessions and calls out bad behavior in our increasingly digital, connected lives. It passes on lessons and side-eyes on life, social media, culture, and fame, from addressing those terrible friends we all have to serious discussions of race and media representation to what to do about your fool cousin sharing casket pictures from Grandma’s wake on Facebook.

With a lighthearted, razor sharp wit and a unique perspective, I’m Judging You is the handbook the world needs, doling out the hard truths and a road map for bringing some “act right” into our lives, social media, and popular culture. It is the Do-Better Manual.

Team bonus pick: Can You See Us Now? by Cheryl Benton

Suggested wine pairing: Middle Sister Sweet & Sassy Moscato with special edition color change label! (Find near you or shop online)

Summary: Suzy, Trish, and Madge, best friends since their early twenties, seemed to have it all. Beautiful, smart, and successful, they’d made it to the top in the most demanding city of them all, New York. Then they turned 50 and found that the world which once was their oyster started closing up faster than a New York minute. Bartenders ignore them, bosses marginalize them, and they’ve aged out of the prized 25-49 year-old demographic that marketers woo. They had suddenly become invisible.

Inspired by their friendships with a supportive and thriving group of New York City women, who call themselves the “Ripe Tomatoes,” Suzy, Trish, and Madge start to realize the power of saying, “YES,” and that living your dreams has nothing to do with age. And since no one else was celebrating women over 50, Suzy, Trish, and Madge started a business to do just that.