Even though this summer has been crazy busy, I did make quite a bit of time for reading. My running total at the moment is 14 books in the past 3 months. I've completed 11, and I'm still currently reading 3. (Unless I can finish them in the next week, chances are the won't get finished before Christmas. Ha!) So here's a brief overview of what I've read, in chronological order.
The Silver Chair- C.S. Lewis.
Okay, so this was a re-read. I don't know how many times I've read the Narnia series. I've honestly lost count at this point. They will always remain my favorite fantasy series. (note: Lord of the Rings is my favorite trilogy, Narnia, my favorite series.) I was going to re-read all seven books, but I got distracted by...
Divergent and Insurgent - Veronica Roth.
Can we agree these are going to be the next big thing? The genres of fantasy and sci-fi are finally becoming more mainstream, which is great, because I don't feel like so much of a nerd for liking them. If you liked The Hunger Games, you'll really like these, though they are not as similar as some people are saying. Ms. Roth does a much better job of exploring the repercussions behind killing and its moral implications than Suzanne Collins did with Hunger Games. The settings are totally different, too. The only real similarities are strong heroines and dystopian, segmented societies. If you hate cliff-hangers, you might want to wait for the third book to come out before starting this series. Just a warning. ;)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky
This book was incredible. Incredible. I will preface everything I'm about to say with a warning--this book contains quite a bit of language and drug content. That being said, the way it was written was absolutely beautiful. I saw so much of myself in Charlie. I love having a character to whom I can really relate. I can't recommend this book because of some of the content, but if you're an older, mature reader, you might look in to reading it.
Harry Potter -J.K. Rowling.
No, I had never read the Harry Potter series. I'm a PK, so it was kind of out of the question when the books first came out and the Christian community had a hissy-fit. I read all seven books over the course of three to four weeks. Don't ask me which one I liked best, because they've all blurred together in my mind as one long narrative, which is kind of cool. I'm glad I finally got around to reading them, for sure.
I'm currently reading: The Introvert Advantage, Redeeming Love, and Fahrenheit 451.
So far, The Introvert Advantage is great. It's really giving me a lot of insight into why I'm just so weird sometimes. (More like why I'm not weird; I'm just an introvert. I'm different. My brain is wired differently, and that's okay.)
I'm having trouble with Redeeming Love just because I'm not a big romance novel fan. Though everyone tells me it's a great book, so I'm going to give it another chance.
I haven't really read enough of Fahrenheit 451 to give an opinion yet. And by that, I mean I've read one page. ;)
What have you read this summer? Any thoughts on these books? Any recommendations?
xo,
Katy
I read a good review about Redeeming Love a few years ago and decided to take a chance on it. The cover screamed cheese-fest and I was never a mushy novel reader or the person to cry at sappy movies, but this book blew me away. Im planning on doing a review over it soon, being it's one of my favorites. It'll be worth sticking with it!
ReplyDeleteYou've basically read all the books I was about to go buy/and check out from the library today! (Besides The Silver Chair because I've been brought up with Narnia..of course;) and the introvert one, though it just might have to be added to the list!
ReplyDeleteI read Redeeming Love this spring, it wasnt the "best" book ever..prolly because i'm not big on the romance/historical fiction romance books at all. But the way she based off the story of Hosea was REALLY cool, i'll be excited to hear your thoguhts!! :)
As for recomendations..I wish I could offer more but my summer was spent reading US History textbooks..which turned out to be awesome..though I did read "Island Magic", and the sequel, "Make Believe" by Elizabeth Goudge who is a fantabulous old british author. :) They remain my new favorite books ever since reading Narnia, the Spirit Flyer series, and Christy! :) (which have been my favorites for years and I thought it was impossible for them to be replaced. :)