FUNKY POLKADOT GIRAFFE

Friday, May 20, 2011

Great Summer Reads

I love to read.
I don't get much time to do it these days,
but I try to read at least 1-2 books a month.

I'm not fast reader - more like a medium reader -
and I tend to fall asleep if I read late at night,
so it's just a recipe for taking a month to finish a book :)

It's almost summer and I'm looking for some
FABULOUS book recommendations to spend
my days on the beach and by the pool.
(A girl can dream, right?)

So I thought I'd share a few of my favorite reads.

{The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins}

Eeeek! Love this one. There are two more in the series,
this is my favorite. Read it. Cherish it.
Team Peeta.

{The Help by Kathryn Stockett}

Wow, a beautiful story about courage and strength.
It was shocking to realize that this occurred not too long ago.

{The Book Thief by Markus Zusak}

In middle school and high school I had on obsession with
Nazi Germany. Weird, right?
I just couldn't fathom the horrific events that transpired.
Told from an interesting point of view,
this isn't a light read, but a powerful one.

{Night by Elie Wiesel}


Oh - I'm way ahead of the trend.
I totally read this back in 1991 - like 15 years before
Oprah picked it for her book club.
I told you - Nazi Germany obsession - specifically The Holocaust.
Thankfully I grew out of it.
Not a light read, but definitely one that should be on your list.


{The Color of Water by James McBride}

James McBride writes the story of his mother's life.
Raised as an Orthodox Jew, marries a black man,
converts to Christianity, widowed, marries again, cofounds a church congregation,
battles racism and poverty all while raising 12 children and widowed a 2nd time.
Powerful. Amazing.

{Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella}

Totally hilarious!
Who hasn't been a little bit of a Rebecca at one time in their life?
It's a fun summer read.

{Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare}

Get ready for the ride of your reading life!
Why am I such a sucker for YA Fiction??
No joke.
Jace. Clary. Clary. Jace.
Read it.
It's the first in the series and you'll be begging for more.

{The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer}

This is a sweet story that makes me wish I
lived in Guernsey.
There are very few potato peels involved :)

{The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale}

I love just about everything by Shannon Hale,
but I think this is my favorite.
It's an expanded version of the Grimm Brothers' tale.

{The Proper Care & Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura}

No joke.
Don't boo or throw stones.
This book will change how you look at your husband
and remind you to be a little more selfless.

{Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare}

What? More Nephilium?!
Yep.
Tessa. Will. Will. Tessa.
Oh yeah.


{The Peacegiver by James Ferrell}

Because the website put it best:
What does the atonement mean, practically speaking? How is Christ the answer to a strained relationship with a spouse, child, parent, or sibling? What if I am being mistreated—how can the atonement help me cope with that? How can I discover the desire to repent when I don’t feel the need to repent" And how can I invite others to do the same? These are the challenging, difficult questions of daily life, questions to which the gospel must provide answers if it is to have living, cleansing, redeeming power.

It will change you.
It will change how you treat others.
It will change how you view your relationship with the Savior and his Atonement.


{Angry Housewives Eating BonBons by Lorna Landvik}

Unlikely friends. Book club.
Need I say more?
This is the perfect summer read.

Ok, what must I read?
Spill it!
Oh and if you're on Good Reads- let's be friends.




14 comments:

Andi said...

Awesome! Thanks so much for this post! I can't wait to read a lot of these. I just read Hunger Games, omg, couldn't put it down. Right now I'm reading Decision Points and Awakened. Awakened is part of The House of Night series by Kristin and P.C. Cast. It's about vampires but not the sparkly kind. :-) And one of my all time favorite books is Into the Wild.

Charity Donovan said...

Thanks for the ideas! Some older loves are The Red Tent, The Kite Runner, anything by John Steinbeck is amazing, but I LOVED East of Eden. Generation X is hilarious. Unbroken is a long serious read but worth it! I was obsessed with Nazi Germani as well as a yound reader. Children of the Flames haunted me forever...it's strange that I now have quadruplets...2 of which are identical...makes the impact of the story even greater.

Jenna said...

I've read goose girl, hunger games, shopaholic, and the help. And loved them all! I have a few more on your list in my to read pile and I can't wait to start. If you liked goose girl you might like Ella Enchanted by the same author. It is one of my ALL time favorites, but don't judge it on the movie which pales in comparison and is kinda dumb. I love reading your book recommendations and reviews, keep 'em coming!

Kitty B said...

I read The Help and The Hunger Games last summer- and still can't keep raving about how great they are!!! So glad you are telling people!

Unknown said...

So funny...I've read more than half of your book recommendations! I love to read too and am always looking for the next good read. Right now I am reading "The Whole in Our Gospel" by Rich Stearns. So good.

Anonymous said...

The Percy Jackson & The Olympians is a very good series. I am on book 5 right now and they are all great. I am also a sucker for YA fiction. :)

Unknown said...

I read Goose Girl and I really liked it. Like your second comment I have read The Red Tent and I loved that. My hubby even read it after I couldn't stop talking about it.
Little Women is another one of my favorites.

Jaime said...

I am Number 4!!

Anonymous said...

I love this eclectic list! I, too, am an eclectic reader.

You should definitely read "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio." It's the memoir of a woman whose mother kept them fed by entering jingle contests and sweepstakes in the '50s. I don't normally like memoirs, but this one was extremely inspiring.

I just finished "Kate Vaiden" by Reynolds Price. The ending pissed me off but it was a good book. All his books have 5 stars on Amazon.com.

I really enjoyed the Guernsey one too. I am going to go check out Good Reads now, I had never heard of it before.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Charity is right! The Red Tent and East of Eden are both excellent choices.

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees said...

LOVED Hunger Games...couldn't put it down! Same with The Help! Totally not a book I would normally read, but I loved it! I would highly recommend Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks....very intense and hard to put down!

ragamuffinbeauties said...

I loved The Help! Definitely bookmarking for a few others!

Amy said...

I'm a huge bookworm and am forever adding books to my TBR pile! Some of your list are my favs...enough so that I'm adding all the other ones! I'm on goodreads, too. Embarassed about the number of books on my list! :)

Heather @ Camp Slop said...

I just read The Help and Hunger Games last week. Great books. I also just finished Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. That was a good read.

If you haven't read it, The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly is a WONDERFUL book. It's the first in a trilogy (with the 3rd due out this August). I'm itching to get my hands on the sequel, The Winter Rose. I've heard it's even better than the first.

I'm on goodreads and would love to have more friends for book rec's. :)

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