This post may contain affiliated links, which means if you purchase an item I will earn commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you!
Is there anything better than to sit outside on a summer day and read a book? Whether you are indulging in a juicy love story, hooked on a mystery, or taking pleasure in a YA book, summer is the time for pleasure reading. As always I have a list of books that I want to read. And of course, as always, I am way behind on my reading list. I really do envy those who read 2 to 3 books a week. I’m lucky if I get through one book a month with my schedule. I am also in awe of those who can easily read a few books at once. I am definitely a one book at a time kind fo gal. Anyway, I have a few that I am looking into reading this summer and feel you may wan to check them out as well.
A few days ago I mentioned that I have started to read Catch-22. I only got as far as chapter 2 before putting it down to go back to the other book I was reading to finish that one (told you I am a one book kind of gal). Anyway, I have never read this book before and honestly did not know much about it except that a lot of people loved it. Unless you have been living under a rock you know that Hulu just released a 6 episode mini-series of Catch-22 starring George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, and Christopher Abbott (who I now have a crush on and will be seeing in person this weekend!!). I throughly enjoyed the series and found it to be so funny. It is my kind of humor– witty, sarcastic, awkward, one-liners. Although it’s done in a dark comedic satire, the story is tragic at times. It’s about a young man named John Yossarian (Yo Yo) who is a bombardier in WWII. It’s about his struggle with being in the armed forces, flying mission after mission and wanting to go home. However, due to certain comedic and unfortunate situations his departure is continuously delayed. It’s is a semi-fictional/true story of the author’s, Joseph Heller, own experience as a bombardier in WWII and the characters are all satires of the people Heller met while serving. While watching the mini-series I was reminded of a funny story about my own grandfather during the war. While training he purposely failed his swim test so he could stay in the water while everyone else had to train out in the heat. It was very “Yo Yo” of him. I thought about that story and a few others he told from the war throughout watching. My other grandfather never spoke about the war except that he hated buffet lines and refuse to wait for his food because it reminded him of that time. It’s odd because my uncle and myself also do not like buffet lines and it’s probably because of my grandfathers hatred for them. Anyway, as we all know books are better than movies or TV adaptations, so I am excited to continue reading!
People have been raving about Where The Crawdads Sing and can’t seem to put it down. It is one of Reese Witherspoon’s bookclub picks from last fall. It’s about a girl, Kya, who is abandoned by her family when she is very young. Kya basically had to raise herself. From what I have heard the storyline jumps back and forth between Kya’s life as a child and life now in her 20’s. There is a murder mystery that is surrounding the small town in which she lives in North Carolina. It seems intriguing to have a whodunit along with a story of triumph and how our childhood shapes our future. People continuous say they can’t put this down as they want to know what happens next.
Another one that has been popping up on my social media and book recommendation sections is Normal People. It’s about two teenagers, Connell and Marianne, who couldn’t be more different. A strange connection starts to form between the two as they venture off to go to the same university. We follow the two as they go through life’s turmoils and triumphs; their paths leading astray from one another but always end up colliding. It’s about friendship, dating, and caring deeply for someone; the raw and real aspects of life we can all relate to. This is another book people have been saying that they can’t put down.