With summer comes some much needed time I can use to read a book for fun, something I feel far too guilty doing during the school year. In fact, I can’t bring myself to dive into a book without a nagging feeling that I should be planning a lesson, preparing a new fun game, or checking tests and assignments. In the summer, there are things to do to prep for the new school year, but many of those can’t be done by a pool or on the beach. This summer, I actually read 6 books. This may be due to the fact that I spent a solid 24 hours+ flying this summer.
This isn’t something I’ve written about before, but I’m sure many of our followers enjoy a good book too! So, I’m giving a brief description of each book I read this summer hoping you may find one you like or even have one to recommend to me, based on my preferences! This summer, I purchased a new Kindle Paperwhite. I’ve had my Kindle since high school and love how it doesn’t glare and looks like real book pages. I find it extremely hard to read outside on an iPad, which is why I never upgraded to the Kindle Fire. I didn’t feel like hauling a million hard copies of books to Hawaii with me, so I upgraded in June. (Though I totally get it when people say they like to hold a real book in their hands!) I am so pleased with the Kindle Paperwhite! If you are looking for an e-reader, I promise this one is your best bet. Here is the white version that I purchased (it comes in black or white).
- Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
What I love about this book is how real and relatable Rachel is. Since reading this, I follow her social accounts every way possible! She’s just so likable! In her book, she goes through lies that she told herself in the past and how she overcame them. I can’t believe how many of them I related to myself. I just saw she has a new book coming out next year and I am already excited to get my hands on it! You may have seen Erin also posting about this book. She got the audio version to listen to on her way to work and absolutely loves it too!
- Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
I read this book for the first time in college when my Aunt Laurey recommended it to me. I instantly fell in love with it. It takes a special book to make me actually laugh out loud.. and this one did. The main character is hilarious, but also reminds me of one of my friends. It’s a good story that I was excited to read again this summer. Sophie Kinsella is probably my favorite author, but this book is BY FAR my favorite that she’s written. It has amazing reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, so I know I’m not alone on giving this one 5 stars.
- The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
So, this one way wayyy outside of my normal genre. This one would fall under domestic drama. Why did I decide to read it? Truth be told, I’d read a recommendation for it from Reese Witherspoon about how she and her bookclub read it and no one was able to put it down. I’m all for a novel that gets me hooked, so I decided to go for it. It was a bit dark compared to the usual light humor/romantic comedies I’m all about, but I actually liked it. I liked that it was addicting and I liked that I couldn’t predict what was going to happen next. I’m glad I ventured outside of my comfort zone for this one.
- Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
This book is one of my friend Liz’s favorite books! She is a secondary English teacher and I always look to her for what to read next. She recommended it to me a while ago and I’m so happy I finally read it. I would say the genre is Young Adult. It immediately captivated me by introducing the book through a look into one of the character’s e-mail inboxes. Throughout the book, you learn more information through e-mail correspondences and there’s something intriguing about that. I read two books in the past like this that I absolutely adored (Love Virtually and Every Seventh Wave— a two part series). I loved the storyline of this book and how the characters really felt like friends by the end of the book. I blame my fascination with books like this on You’ve Got Mail, one of my favorite movies when I was younger.
- My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
Surprise, surprise. I’m recommending another Sophie Kinsella book. I read this one during the second half of my Waikiki trip and on the flight home. It was a good one, almost as good as Can You Keep a Secret?. I love that part of it takes place in London, one of the best locations I’ve ever visited. What I like about this book is that it’s so new that you feel like you can relate to what’s going on in the story and the fact that everything isn’t as “Instagram-perfect” as it seems. It’s an easy read and I bet you love it too.
- Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
I am currently reading Sophie’s newest book, Surprise Me. So far, I really like it. It’s showing 4 stars on Amazon and most of her other books rate above 4 stars, but it also only has 300 reviews right now because it’s so new. I will let you know how I liked it as soon as I finish. I plan on doing some reading on the beach next week with Erin! 🙂
On My List of What to Read Next
- Before We Were Yours (recommended to me by a friend/almost 5 solid stars out of 7000+ reviews)
- Matchmaking For Beginners (recommended to me on Amazon based on other books I’ve liked/over 4 stars/$5.99 on Kindle)
- Party Girl (the first book in a fictional series written by Rachel Hollis, author of Girl, Wash Your Face/$0.99 on Kindle)
Ok, so this is the part where I ask for your feedback. I want to know if you’ve read any of these books and if you have any recommendations for me! The cool thing about the little blog community we’ve created is that we can share with each other on so many different topics. Leave me a comment here on the blog, on Facebook, Insta, Twitter, whatever! I love hearing from you and want to know what you’re reading this summer too! <3 I know Erin would really like some new book recommendations as well.
xo,
Ash
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