Summer reading

If you didn’t already know, you haven’t read enough of my pieces; I’m a huge fan of lists.

Creating lists help maintain organization and can hold you accountable. One of the greatest feelings in the world is ticking something of your list. Who doesn’t love a sense of accomplishment?

I’ll be honest; I have not been holding myself accountable when it comes to bits of my 2020 goals. A great list that you should totally checkout if you haven’t already. But one of the most ignored bits on that list is reading more. So, how do I solve this issue? With another list, but not just any list, a summer reading this.

Having a set list of books to focus on and a minimum of 15 minutes set aside each day will *fingers crossed* keep more accountable.

1. The Outsider by Stephen King: So, I’ve been reading this book for a few months now and I’m slightly ashamed to admit that it’s not finished yet. I’m a huge horror fan. There’s just something very captivating about the layers involved in horror storylines. It’s exciting peeling each of those layers back and seeing where the characters are lead. Horror movies can be great, but they don’t hold the kind of detail that books do. Reading can be an immersive experience, especially when it comes to horror. You get involved while reading and begin to piece together clues. It’s almost like your own personal mystery in the palm of your hands and that is as close as I’d like to get to some of these storylines.

2. You’re Not Special by Meghan Rienks: From one side of the literary spectrum to the other. Meghan is an actress and YouTube star and this is her story {sort of}. She gets super real in her first memoir, talking everything under the sun. Nothing is off limits with her! There are times when it’s nice to step out of the fictional world and travel to the nonfictional side. I don’t know about any of you, but I like learning about people, {real} people and their {real} people experiences.

3. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway: I read this three summers ago and I could not put it down. I’m a sucker for the twenties and the array of phenomenal writers it gave us. If you choose to read one Hemingway novel in your lifetime, which I highly discourage because you should read them all, it should be this. There are so many underlining meanings behind every piece of the story. I don’t know of any recent novels that accomplish this. The story drops you in a vulnerable place, but not in a traditional form. Nothing Hemingway has written is abruptly transparent. He requires your attention, which makes it easy to become immersed in any of his stories. It’s also nice to step away from our time and visit a different one.

4. Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger: This was a staple piece that I missed out on in high school, but from what I’ve gathered it’s a must in the literary community. From my understanding of the novel it’ll probably mean more to me now in my twenties than it would have in my teens. Who would have thought your twenties would bring more angst, alienation, and societal issues?

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: If you thought I missed out on Catcher In The Rye than this comes as no surprise, yet another iconic novel that slipped through my fingertips. I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t read one of the greatest novels ever written. Believe me when I say I know I need to get on it. However, I will say this is another novel that I’m reading at the perfect time in my life. Timing is everything, right?

6. Turtles All The Way Down by John Green: John Green has a way of writing stories that feel like they were written for your eyes only. His stories evoke real and very raw emotions, but still maintain a sense of lightheartedness. They’re fiction routed in personal experiences, which helps to create a relationship with all of his characters. This novel is no exception! This is first novel that really dives into mental illness and I’m genuinely excited to read it. Every novel written by John that I’ve read I’ve never been able to put down. His ability to draw his audience in is unreal!

I’m going to leave this here and it will hold me accountable! With all of you as my witness, I will read all six of these books by the end of the summer.

*Side note: End of summer, like the real end of summer. Not the unofficial end of summer when everyone goes back to school. So like mid-September*

I would love to know what you guys are reading this summer and if you have any book recommendations, so click the social links on the homepage and let me know!