Books of Summer 2018

Over the summer, I usually read a stack of books a mile high. It's my favorite part of the year. There is no school work or obligations and I can lay in the sun for hours at a time and read an entire book in one sitting if I wanted to. This summer, however, I was stuck (and am still currently stuck) in a class for the whole summer. I only managed to read 4 (well 3)books but it was better than nothing! Below is a quick review of the books I read this summer. Hope you enjoy!

Emergency Contact: This is the most recent book I finished and I have to say I was very impressed. I was initially drawn to the cover of the book and iffy about the storyline. A girl and a guy meet by chance and exchange numbers as a way to have an emergency contact. From here on out, they end up texting every day, all day, about everything. Even after having only meant once. It is a raw story about how sometimes the people in our lives are not the ones who are closest to us. And maybe the one who you only know through a screen knows you better. It is a funny, honest, and endearing story while also providing some interesting social commentary on the way we make friends in a digital age. Even if a romantic story isn’t your thing, I still highly recommend this novel. 

Written by Mary H.K. Choi

An Abundance of Katherines: I am a huge John Green fan. Really a huge, super fan. The way he writes is so poetic yet relatable that it makes everything he writes feel like he wrote it just for you. But this book put me to sleep. I loved his newest book, “Turtles All the Way Down”, and all of his other novels, but this was my second time trying to read this one. And the story felt like pulling teeth. It's a fun idea; a boy has only ever dated girls named Katherine. 19 to be exact. He ends up going on a trip with his friend and they meet a totally unpredictable girl not named Katherine, while he examines his love life issues. It was predictable and boring and not emotional in the way his novels usually feel. I recommend reading it if you have read all other John Green books to round out the list, but it was not worth the individual read.

Written by John Green

Capture Your Style: This is not a novel, but more of an artistic “coffee table” book. It has good instruction for trying to grow a social media presence as well as how you can start to become an influencer. Even if you do not want to become an actual social media influencer, it has amazing tips for how to grow your own personal brand and show case that to brands, companies, or anyone else who may want to work with you and use your social media as a way to pick you for a job. If you want to work in any career field that requires you to have a brand, I high recommend this book.

Written by Aimee Song

Big Little Lies: I haven’t finished this one yet! But so far so good. A couple summers ago I watched the HBO limited series based off of this book (I didn’t know it was a book until after I watched it) and finally found a copy without the tv series cover. I am about halfway through the novel, but so far it is a bit different than the series, but in amazing ways! I love the way these characters are developed and explained and how they grow as the story moves on. It is a bit “smut” like but the way the author writes is far beyond a harlequin drama writer. The ways the characters grow and evolve through out the story are way above and beyond the feeling you will get when you first start reading the novel. The writing is superb and full of twists you never see coming. I highly recommend this novel!

Written by Lianne Moriarty 

Let me know if any of you end up reading any of the books in this post! I would love to hear your thoughts!

Madey