5 SUMMER Beach reads
This might make me kinda weird but I love a long flight for the sheer fact that I can have hours of uninterrupted reading time. Typically I try to designate 1 hour of reading time per day, but I go through phases (like, months) when that doesn’t happen. However, with the amount of reading I do on vacation I feel like it more than makes up for it.
Reading has always been a big part of my life. Whenever I find people who also like to read I get very excited because I find it rare. Before Paul became a practicing attorney he loved to read, too, but now he spends so much time reading contracts that he’s kind of over reading for recreation. I would be pissed if I were him.
The type of reading I like is light. The kind of books you breeze through in a matter of days. I have very specific guidelines when it comes to picking books, and thankfully there are things like Amazon’s ‘People Also Read…’ at the bottom of books I’ve read in the past and liked. That makes it fairly simple to find new books. I’m also such a sucker for certain authors that I’ll read just about anything they put out. So far, I haven’t been disappointed.
So what are my guidelines, more specifically? Well, it has to take place in modern times. I’m totally not into old-timey books, which eliminates a lot of the classics (I know), but those are just not for me. I read many of them in school and never connected with that style of writing. Call me what you want, but I like what Cosmopolitan calls ‘chick-lit’ and I’m not ashamed. They are easy, intriguing, current, relatable, and fun. Especially on vacation. The last thing I want to read on vacation is some novel about extraterrestrial activity that takes place in the 1800’s with archaic words that I’ll need to look up every 2 sentences. That’s the other thing, I like a simple plot–absolutely no fantasy–mundane stuff written in an interesting way that keeps me captivated for hours. I love detail.
You know how I like to drag on and on about the details of just about anything on my blog? I do that because 1) that’s how I talk and would tell it out loud, and 2) that’s the style of writing I like when I read books. I want a voice that speaks directly to me and touches on all the right details. That’s the kind of thing I look for in a book. Does that make sense at all? Am I alone here? Hopefully not.
My Favorite Books for Summer:
–How To Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell. I read this entire book on my 8-hour flight home from Bora Bora. I didn’t stand up to pee even once. I was addicted, much like the Adderall-addicted Cat Marnell herself (sorry for the bad joke). But if you’re into getting a real glimpse into the magazine world with lots of juicy gossip, you’ll like this one. It’s about a former beauty editor at Lucky magazine who battles drug addiction while doing her job. Sometimes the detail in this got ugly, but I never put the book down once (partly because it was so good, and partly because I had to know how it ends).
–First Comes Love by Emily Giffin. One of the authors I adore. I even went to a reading of hers once (major fan-girl moment) when she released a new book. She has about 6ish other books that I would recommend as well, I just love her style of writing. There is lots of character detail, which I love, so you really start to feel like you know these people. Very real and relatable. This book is about 2 sisters who have a somewhat turbulent relationship after a family tragedy occurs. Emily Giffin is known for always having an unexpected (but realistic) twist in her plot lines so I don’t want to give anything away.
–My (Not So) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella. I discovered Sophie Kinsella in high school when her Shopoholic series were just coming out. I would seriously cover the book with another book’s cover so my teachers wouldn’t question my reading material and read during the entire class (no wonder I nearly failed math). She is hands-down the funniest author. It’s rare that I actually laugh out loud reading or even watching something, but her stories and characters are real LOL funny. This last book is about a young girl struggling to find her identity in a large city while portraying a fake life on Instagram. There is a sweet love interest and boss bitch dynamic that also keeps this somewhat “mundane” story line hysterical and interesting.
–The Vacationers by Emma Straub. I’m new to this author but I already see that I love her style, which makes me happy because she’s got lots of other books, too. This one is about a family who takes a vacation to the countryside of Spain. There are lots of different dynamics in this story–a husband & wife dealing with marriage struggles, a gay couple who want a baby, a grown man who lives a false reality, and a young girl who hates them all. The setting adds an element of appeal since there’s lots of talk about the culture, landscape, food, etc.
–Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler. Talk about a book that will have you salivating! This beautifully-written novel gives an insider look into the food / restaurant industry and the sometimes-inappropriate dynamics between the staff. There is something so mysteriously intriguing about these characters and the way they speak about food and wine is unreal. I wish I could articulate like these people.
I just started The Good Girl by Mary Kubica, so will keep you posted, but are there any books you think I’d like based on the above list? Let me know in the comments below!
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