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Although it was entirely unintentional, it looks like our last book review post was way back in May, so this will serve as a wrap up for everything that I read over the summer. There are some great books on this list, for sure the absolute best books I’ve read all year, so I’m pretty excited to dive into the list.
I want to give a shoutout to my Kindle Paperwhite
Funny story: My parents spent a weekend in our house last year watching our kids, and my mom took note of the fact that our bedside lamps are quite dim. I hadn’t ever been bothered by that. I can read in pretty low light, and we have two other light sources in the room, so when she mentioned it, this was pretty much my reaction:
Nevertheless, before we were even home from our trip, she had ordered us a new pair of bedside lamps. This makes me laugh writing this because this is SO my mom. My first reaction was dismay, because my favorite thing about our old lamps is that they are dimmable, meaning I could turn them down and read without blinding my husband while he was trying to sleep, and the one downfall of my old Kindle was a lack of light.
I should have kept my mouth shut because she felt awful about being presumptuous when in reality those lamps are as old as our marriage and I was pretty excited about the new ones.
Anyway, she felt so bad that for Christmas I found an Amazon gift card in the amount of a new Paperwhite under the tree. “Now you can read without lamps! If you’ve already bought one, then just buy yourself a ton of books.” Um, okay!
And that is the story of how I came to own not only two new bedside lamps, but my Paperwhite, which I LOVE. The backlight is nothing like reading on a screen, I can read all night long without bothering anyone, and I still love the convenience of using a Kindle, especially for library books. Never having to deal with late fees is basically my favorite thing ever.
The Books of Summer 2017
Startup
The Hate U Give
Forever Interrupted – Taylor Jenkins Reid does the stories of imperfect relationships really well and this is no exception. I’ve yet to read anything of hers I didn’t enjoy.
Once and For All -So, I’ve read so many Sarah Dessen books that my mind kind of blurs them all together in one big lump. It’s a good lump, a lump of pleasing books that I know I can turn to for a quick read with a likely happy ending. I heard her interviewed on a podcast recently and found out that she married her high school sweetheart, so that elevated her as an authority on young love as an actual thing that happens and works, rather than some crazy ideal.
My Not-So Perfect Life – I am an unapologetic Sophie Kinsella fan and really enjoyed this! I am glad to see something new outside of the Shopaholic series, as I think the final book ended that story on a high note.
The Last Anniversary – After the Big Little Lies television series I was wanting more from Liane Moriarty. I could not get into her latest, so I went back a few years. I thought this was absolutely adorable.
When Dimple Met Rishi – This wins best YA of the year from me. This story was fun and light with an undertone of pushing back against parental expectations. I loved this from start to finish.
Kindred Spirits
The President’s Daughter
The Raven King
The Assistants – Fun fact about me: books where characters are making bad choices and in danger of getting caught stress me out! This is why I can’t finish Breaking Bad – it gives me INTENSE anxiety to watch.
Dark Matter
My hold for When Dimple Met Rishi FINALLY came in today, after being on hold for at least two months! Glad to hear you liked it! Also, yay for Dark Matter! If you’ve not yet read The Time Travelers Wife, you should – it’s like an elevated literary fiction version of DM ?
Love The Time Travelers Wife!
I acquired a Paperwhite in a very similar way. I was very attached to my old school Kindle, it is the most like a real book, easy to carry, no extra bells and whistles. But…I still had to use a booklight in bed if I wanted to read there while the hubs went to sleep. So one day he came home after work and he had bought a Paperwhite for me. I was skeptical at first, but since it’s newer it also has wifi so I can easily get library books sent to it as long as I have wifi, so it’s become really convenient. I love it. Now if your mom could come over and pick out side lamps for my bedroom – that’d be awesome (ours are meh and not that bright either, but I’m design challenged – and lazy – so they stay).
She has GREAT taste so I wasn’t worried at all when she told me she had ordered them. We love when she redecorates because we get all of her castoffs.
The Hate U Give is on my list. I bought Dark Matter for our son to read (high school age). I’m hoping it isn’t too creepy or scary, but I thought it sounded like one he would enjoy!