The Girls by Emma Cline is easily one of the most buzzed about books of the summer. I bought it a few weeks ago and finally cracked it open on our family vacation.
The story centers around Evie, who is drawn into a cult in the late 60’s. Inspired by Charles Manson and the murders his followers committed, the depiction of life on “the ranch” is chilling. The author moves between Evie’s perspective as an adult and as a fourteen year old.
I am always on the look out for children’s books that Ellie and I will both love. Here are a few recent favorites:
*Admittedly, Ellie is not as in to this one. However, it’s a childhood favorite of mine, so I thought I should still pass it on.
So, this round-up of books is basically full of light reads. Other than the fourth one listed, your mind will not be expanded reading any of these, but sometimes that’s the point.
A fun, simple getaway can be just what the doctor ordered when life is busy and hard. For me, reading has never had to be so serious. Instead, it has been a way to escape or learn something new, which is why I enjoy it and continue to (try to) make time for it.
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I read one of the most charming books on our vacation, and I’ve been dying to tell you about it.
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison is a comedy and romance rolled into one. The protagonist, Don Tillman, is a brilliant scientist, who is incredibly honest and socially awkward, but somehow still very charming.
In a quest to find the perfect wife, he creates a questionnaire to weed out anyone who wouldn’t be a good match. When he meets Rosie, he immediately disqualifies her based on his test, but is intrigued after learning about her quest to find her biological father. The two form a strong friendship as she looks for her father and he searches for a wife.
Smart and funny, pick up The Rosie Project if you’re looking for something light, but well-written.
When it comes to reading, I’m a sucker for anything related to Pride and Prejudice or love stories set in England. Like clockwork, I find myself picking up something that falls into at least one of those two categories every few months.
My most recent read, Longbourn by Jo Baker, fit the bill in both areas. It takes place at Longbourn, home to the Bennett family, but is told strictly from the downstairs staff’s point of view. You catch glimpses of characters from Pride and Prejudice, like Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Bingley, but the story doesn’t revolve around them. Continue reading
Reading with Ellie is one of my favorite things, but I am the first to admit some children’s books can be a little obnoxious. Difficult rhymes and lackluster illustrations become pretty tedious after you’ve read a story a hundred times in one sitting.
Over the last year and half, I’ve found some books we both love to read and a few on which we disagree. With great stories and intricate pictures, I’d recommend these books to anyone with a newborn or toddler. They also have Ellie’s seal of approval.
For book club last month, we read Attachments by Rainbow Rowell.
The Plot: The story takes place in 1999. The Internet is still relatively new. The clothes are phenomenal.
The male lead, Lincoln, has been hired to monitor emails at a newspaper. (Big Brother is watching.) While at work, he starts following the correspondence of two of his co-workers who are friends. Continue reading
The follow-up to Spoiled, Messy is the perfect beach read. Written by the ladies of Go Fug Yourself, it has their sense of humor and wit and offers both an insider and outsider’s view of L.A. Targeted to young adults, it has a great message about individuality, determination and dreaming big.
Personally, I’d love to see it and Spoiled as movies. (Ashley Benson as Brooke and that girl from Glee as Molly) But, until that happens, you can just read yours with a side of popcorn. I won’t judge you.
Somehow I managed to escape reading The Great Gatsby in high school and college. I’m not really sure how. I’ve always wondered about it, but when given a choice, I always selected different books.
With the movie out in theaters, I now had daily advertisements reminding me that I should check it out. So, this month, I finally read it. And quite frankly, I’m not really sure how I felt about it. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s style of writing takes a little bit to settle into. It’s full of metaphors, and sentences are strung together with long descriptions. Though it’s short, I found it hard to read and had a difficult time finding my rhythm.
That being said, it has stayed with me. I’ve thought about it off and on for the last few days, which I’d have to say is the mark of a really good book.
Any suggestions for next month? I’m really curious about Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Has anyone read it?
