My 2017 Summer Reading List
This Summer is going to be a busy one, but I’ve got to get my “Summer Reading” in, so here are for books that I had the opportunity to read and share with friends. We started a book club and exchanged books every month for the season.
Paula Hawkin’s The Girl on the Train has been such a hit this Summer and everyone’s talking about the movie coming out soon. This psychological thriller tells the story a woman solving the murder of another young woman from a seemingly perfect couple on their balcony that she can barely remember from her daily drunken commute into the city. Channel the main character by reading The Girl on the Train while taking a train into the city.
And next up is another popular novel from Paula Hawkins. Into the Water, another awesome psychological thriller novel about a mysterious murder. If stories about crazy romantic chicks are your thing, these two reads are right up your alley! Plus, the publishing world is saying this is better written than Hawkin’s The Girl on the Train. Not sure I agree, but it’s possible. In any case, this book tells the mysterious story of a teenage girl who lost her mother, after she was murdered and her bodied turned up in a river that runs through the town. However, this turns out to be a pattern and someone needs to dive deeper into the water to find out who the serial killer is.
All the Light We Cannot See is a war novel that was written by an American author Anthony Doerr in 2014. This book won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. The story follows the survival of a blind girl from Paris, France, which at the time is an occupied country, and a German boy whose paths cross during World War II. I think this book is a reminder that there is good and evil in the world, but that gets blurred by people’s cause. What’s a good cause for me is not necessarily what’s best for you and vice versa. These things aren’t always so black and white. I recommend this very insightful book because it shares such a touching story.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman tells the story of a strong independent women who finally realizes the importance of friendship and genuine human connection, after allowing her traumatic childhood to keep her isolated and feeling lonely for so long. This was another touching read for me because I feel anyone can relate to feeling lonely or betrayed. Self-isolation is often used as a form of protection, and this may not always be a conscious decision. The theory is that staying alone is safe because then no one can hurt you. But in practice, as Eleanor realizes in the book, self-isolation just leads to loneliness instead of happiness. For the girl who cut everyone off because it’s just “safer” that way, this one’s for you!
Check out “The 20 Best New Books of 2017” from Harper’s Bazaar for more of this year’s hottest new reads to keep you entertained at the beach all Summer long!