The One Book You Should Read This Summer

Summer, summer, summertime!

The warmest months of the year bring some of my favorite pastimes. Whether that’s time spent outdoors hiking, running, and enjoying the beautiful scenery of Northern California or heading to the beach to pull out a must-read book, there’s no reason not to love summer.

Each summer I try to knock out a list of books during my (often very minimal) downtime, and this year one of my favorites has been Shoe Dog by Phil Knight.

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Look what Pony's reading this week! Okay, Pony is just saving the page... for Elise. Not all page holders are made equal. Pony sticker as a bookmark is a gooder. Great life story from the founder of @nike, @philknight_nike—well told and well written. #nike #story #philknight #entrepreneur #reading #hustle #struggle #dreambigger #shoedog #sockpony #hardword #gogetit #makeithappen #scribner #bestseller #book #memoir

A post shared by Pony Friday (@ponyfriday) on Jun 19, 2017 at 4:37pm PDT

Shoe Dog is a memoir by the founder and board chairman of Nike, Phil Knight. In the book, Phil shares the inside story of the company’s early days as a startup and how it has evolved into one of the most iconic international brands. Though a memoir, Shoe Dogs truly reads like a work of fiction. Trust me when I say you’ll be turning the pages without stopping for a break (though please *do* for sunscreen reapplication).

What I loved most about reading this book was the honesty in how hard it was to start and grow Nike. Throughout the book, you discover that the company almost failed several times, but Phil put everything on the line to make it work. Good thing he did!

One of the most fascinating aspects of Shoe Dog to me was how long it took for the company to go public — spoiler alert: 18 years! As an entrepreneur who is just five years in, that’s inspiring and it gave me plenty of insights into how to approach reaching that milestone for Brit + Co.

This book is not just great for current and future girlbosses and entrepreneurs everywhere, but for all people who are searching for their passion or struggling to keep going when times get tough. Not to mention that I now have an even bigger appreciation for Nike products. Wait, did Phil just subliminally market to me in book form!? Brilliant Nike, just brilliant.

But seriously — read it, annotate it, re-read it, and keep it close by for reference at all times. You’ll love it!

What book is on your reading list? What’s your number one beach read? Let me know on Twitter, @brit.