summer reading

I love to read.

It’s one of my favorite pastimes. I was one of those dorky kids in school who loooooved summer reading books (one of my favs was October Sky for 8th grade English class).

But now that I’m out of school, no more required summer reading. It’s time for reading for fun again!

Here’s what I’ve been reading this summer. I won’t summarize the plot for you — you can find that on your own. I’m just gonna tell you what I think and if a few plot tidbits happen to sprinkle through, so be it.

My Sister’s Keeper
by Jodi Piccoult

I wasn’t so sure about this book at first — thought it was just another sappy story — but my best friend read it and absolutely insisted I read it. So I kept it for a couple weeks then gritted my teeth and sat down and read it.

Oh. Em. Gee. It only took me six hours to finish on a sunny Sunday.*

What I loved most about this book is all of the different perspectives on the same situation. I love when books have a 360 degree view of the situation. It makes the book that much more complete and changes the pace.

Let’s also not forget the ending. The ending pretty much makes this book, without the ending this book is just another sappy story. (and all I have to say about the movie is HOW COULD THEY CHANGE THE ENDING?!)

Final verdict: Read it. Cry your eyes out. Don’t see the movie.

L.A. Candy
By Lauren Conrad

This book I bought and read because of a nudge from Miss Lizzy Marie from the fab-tastic blog It’s Unbeweavable! (read this blog, love this blog. I certainly do).

This book was the easiest read by far. It only took me two hours while in the car to Michigan.*

L.C. isn’t a bad writer, surprisingly. L.A. Candy was actually quite entertaining, but you could tell she tried very hard to be too similar to her life on The Hills — it would have been more entertaining had she just done a memoir because people want to know what life on The Hills is really like.

Final verdict: Good beach read. Don’t read if you’re looking to get an inside glimpse of the girls of The Hills.

The Time Traveler’s Wife
By Audrey Niffenegger

This book took me a while longer to finish because it could be so damn confusing — you know with all the time traveling and such. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a-MAH-zing.

As with My Sister’s Keeper, this book is also told from different points of view (so is L.A. Candy but it wasn’t as effective in my opinion). There are so many elements to this story line that it’s hard to put into words, let alone into a movie script so I’m sure the movie will be interesting?

Final verdict: You’ll fall in love with the love story and bawl when it’s over. Movie verdict? You tell me.

What have you been reading this summer? Or if you hate reading, like many do, favorite summer pastimes?

*You should not judge your reading time with mine. I read incredibly fast due to the fact that I skim the parts I feel unnecessary, which is why I love to reread.