I LOVE reading.  It hasn’t always been this way, but I got here. 

When I was a kid, I didn’t always like reading, I actually kind of hated it at points.  But I always really wanted to like it.  I wanted to be thought of as a “reader”, a lover of books, pretty much a real live Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  I really wish I was kidding here…but I’m totally serious… 

At the time I just couldn’t get into any books that I would read.  Then in about 7th grade, I finally read this book Flipped.  It is a total teeny-bopper book, but I fell in love with it and it totally changed how I felt towards reading. 

It was the first time I ever really got sucked into a book.  After finishing it I wanted to experience that all-consuming feeling again.  I wanted to read a book that silenced the world around me and allowed me to escape for a couple of hours. 

Ever since then I have been on a constant quest of finding and reading really great books.  I have definitely had my share of boring books or books I hated, but for the most part, if I am not interested I stop reading and move on.  I have gotten over the whole idea of “finish every book you start” mentality.  Mostly because that would make me NOT enjoy reading, which is the whole point.   PLUS there are so many GREAT books out there to read, so why waste my time on one I don’t like?

Since we are in the height of summer, I find that this is often a time where I can get the most reading done on the weekends at the beach or on vacations, aka the best time to share with you some of my favorite Summer reads for 2019! 

These are books that I have recently read that totally sucked me in and kept me turning the pages at a rapid pace.   Check them out and let me know what you think!

becomingBecoming – Michelle Obama

To those that follow me, you know that I dedicated an entire blog post to our girl Michelle and her awesomeness.  But seriously this is a FANTASTIC book. The best book I have read in 2019. The way that Michelle openly writes about her life, you feel like her best friend at the end of it, like the two of you went through that all together.  When her heartbreaks, yours breaks. When she rejoices, you rejoice. After every stage of her life, I felt I could relate to her on such a deep level that I felt like she was actually talking ABOUT me and my life.  Once I finished the book I was so sad because we wouldn’t be able to “hang out” every day anymore.  She doesn’t know this, but after that book, we became best friends… 

If you only pick one of these books to try out… READ THIS!

 

thegoodgirlThe Good Girl – Mary Kubica

This is another GREAT BOOK!!  I was suggested to read this book and ended up loving it so much that I would stay in on weekends and would rush home from work to read it.  It was that freaking good. It was about a girl who was abducted and the storyline would bring you back and forth to the time frame of the abduction and afterward, telling about how it all went down and how she got to present day.  The twist at the end was so wild that it left you dumbfounded. I’m not kidding it was a better twist than Gone Girl… mic drop

 

something in the waterSomething in the Water – Catherine Steadman

I actually started this at the end of 2018, specifically on my honeymoon. So that was a bit of a fib for being a 2019 read, but still great and worth reading.  I specifically bought it because it was about a couple on their honeymoon and how one event changed the rest of their lives forever. It was definitely a page-turner with a twist at the end, which I always love.  Mostly, it was fun to read for me at the time because I was also ON my honeymoon and I could pretend my life was crazy and exciting, even though I was actually just laying on a beach chair drinking my Mojito… totally non-eventful. 

 

nine perfect strangersNine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty 

This book was by one of my favorite authors, Liane Moriarty.  She wrote other amazing books like My Husband’s Secret and Big Little Lies (the HBO show).  Those were two books that I had read a couple of summer’s ago and LOVED them.  All of her books are twisted, different and VERY original. The settings, circumstances, and characters are all very relatable yet very unique at the same time.  Read any of her books and you will have a great ride. Nine Perfect Strangers is the one I picked up this summer and tore through it. It was about 9 strangers at a health resort that they came to cure themselves in one way or another.  None of them could have guessed the way that they would be “cured”…

 

the house at rivertonThe House at Riverton – Kate Morton 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE a great historical mystery novel.  I also really love this author, Kate Morton. I have read a couple of her books and they go back and forth between present-day and whatever time period the story is set in.  She gives such great detail on the character’s background and just enough of the setting where you can easily picture the whole thing in your mind. It’s set between the two major wars and is about an aristocratic family, a mysterious death, and long-kept secrets.  So. good. 

 

Girl, Wash Your Face and then Girl, Stop Apologizing – Rachel Hollis

I almost feel like this wouldn’t be an official blog post if I were to NOT write about Rach and my love for her books.   I have mentioned Rachel, her books, and everything else she does in MANY of my blogs. I think she pretty awesome and these books are what got me hooked in the first place.  When I first noticed “Girl, Wash Your Face”, I was very opposed to getting it. I had no idea who Rachel was, but I also was thinking it was an over-marketed book that would probably suck.  I had fallen into that marketing trap before and had been very disappointed. But boy was I wrong. I finally caved and bought it. As I read it I started to fall in love with Rachel, her honesty and authenticity.  I also LOVE her message. If you want a good pick-me-up book, this is the one for you. 

 

 

So there you go!  My top summer reads for 2019. So far. I have three books lined up for the remainder of the summer.  Let’s see if I can get to them by the end!

Happy reading!