Happy Humpday! Hope everyone has enjoyed the short week and we are close to the weekend! As you know I love sharing new music and do regular posts on what I'm listening to, I thought I would also add a book club type post listing five options each month you need to check out! It will be a mix of new fiction and memoir as well as classics.
Let's see what's in store for September.
1. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Have you seen the 2014 film? You have to read the book. A true story about a young woman who writes about her time spent alone hiking the famed Pacific Crest Trail. I first heard the synopsis and thought this sounded so boring...I could not have been more wrong. Author Cheryl Strayed gives an honest look at her own hiking excursion and what drove her to take the trip in the first place. If you have ever gone through your own rough patch, you will see similarities and conjure up feelings that connect you with Cheryl. One of my favorite movies of 2014 and one of my favorite books of all time.
Favorite Line: "How wild it was, to let it be."
2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The novel by British author Paula Hawkins was a recent hit and for good reason. Similar to the tone of Gone Girl including jealousy, love, marriage, cheating and a bit of old school Hitchcock suspense. The unreliable narrator of the book pulls the reader in different directions and questions what is truth and who is telling it. A great read and the ending does not disappoint!
Favorite Line: “I’m playing at real life instead of actually living it.”
3. It Was Me All Along by Andie Mitchell
A touching memoir about a young woman's struggle with her body and acceptance. At times heartbreaking and truthfully honest, Andie, who is now a food blogger, shares her stories about what it is like to be "the fat girl in school", family troubles and other lessons learned. This woman changes her life for the better in her own telling of weight loss and finally accepting her for who she is...and who she always was.
Favorite Line: “The wanting to be different in order to be perceived as better, yet wishing I didn’t have to try so hard.”
4. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Perhaps the most talked about novel of the summer, I have mixed feelings on Go Set a Watchman. Some have loved the book, others say it should have never been published for fear it is exploiting an aging author and some just have zero interest. While the novel fails to compete with Lee's first published work, To Kill a Mockingbird, this book is worth a look. Told through Scout's perspective, we go back to the small Alabama town, some 20 years after Mockingbird takes place and look at the people, town and experiences that have shaped her young life. Worth the read but for the real deal, don't forget to check out the original.
Favorite Line: “Remember this also: it’s always easy to look back and see what we were, yesterday, ten years ago. It is hard to see what we are. If you can master that trick, you’ll get along.”
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The tale of a man-created monster is still chilling to this day. I re-read this story for one of my creative writing classes the other day and the writing by Mary Shelley does an amazing job at detail while showing but never quite telling the audience, you don't need to be told. You just understand. The Hollywood versions can never quite live up to the novel and it isn't just spooks (for the record, Frankenstein is the doctor, the monster has no name) but a story that questions who exactly the villain is. A classic short story at its finest.
Favorite Line: “It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”
There we have the first book post! Have some picks for me? I would love to hear them! I will continue to find new and old books, stories, all genres, everything to share! It will be a variety, we are talking Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks, J.K Rowling, all of it! You name it and it will be featured.
Enjoy these picks of the month and let me know some of your favorites!
Happy Reading!
xoxo,
![]({"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IyLG-dL5L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[225,346],"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IyLG-dL5L._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[324,499]}) |
| Wild |
1. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Have you seen the 2014 film? You have to read the book. A true story about a young woman who writes about her time spent alone hiking the famed Pacific Crest Trail. I first heard the synopsis and thought this sounded so boring...I could not have been more wrong. Author Cheryl Strayed gives an honest look at her own hiking excursion and what drove her to take the trip in the first place. If you have ever gone through your own rough patch, you will see similarities and conjure up feelings that connect you with Cheryl. One of my favorite movies of 2014 and one of my favorite books of all time.
Favorite Line: "How wild it was, to let it be."
![]({"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516YNFvZnrL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[232,346],"http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516YNFvZnrL._SX332_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[334,499]}) |
| The Girl on the Train |
The novel by British author Paula Hawkins was a recent hit and for good reason. Similar to the tone of Gone Girl including jealousy, love, marriage, cheating and a bit of old school Hitchcock suspense. The unreliable narrator of the book pulls the reader in different directions and questions what is truth and who is telling it. A great read and the ending does not disappoint!
Favorite Line: “I’m playing at real life instead of actually living it.”
 |
| It Was Me All Along |
A touching memoir about a young woman's struggle with her body and acceptance. At times heartbreaking and truthfully honest, Andie, who is now a food blogger, shares her stories about what it is like to be "the fat girl in school", family troubles and other lessons learned. This woman changes her life for the better in her own telling of weight loss and finally accepting her for who she is...and who she always was.
Favorite Line: “The wanting to be different in order to be perceived as better, yet wishing I didn’t have to try so hard.”
 |
| Go Set a Watchman |
4. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Perhaps the most talked about novel of the summer, I have mixed feelings on Go Set a Watchman. Some have loved the book, others say it should have never been published for fear it is exploiting an aging author and some just have zero interest. While the novel fails to compete with Lee's first published work, To Kill a Mockingbird, this book is worth a look. Told through Scout's perspective, we go back to the small Alabama town, some 20 years after Mockingbird takes place and look at the people, town and experiences that have shaped her young life. Worth the read but for the real deal, don't forget to check out the original.
Favorite Line: “Remember this also: it’s always easy to look back and see what we were, yesterday, ten years ago. It is hard to see what we are. If you can master that trick, you’ll get along.”
 |
| Frankenstein |
The tale of a man-created monster is still chilling to this day. I re-read this story for one of my creative writing classes the other day and the writing by Mary Shelley does an amazing job at detail while showing but never quite telling the audience, you don't need to be told. You just understand. The Hollywood versions can never quite live up to the novel and it isn't just spooks (for the record, Frankenstein is the doctor, the monster has no name) but a story that questions who exactly the villain is. A classic short story at its finest.
Favorite Line: “It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”
There we have the first book post! Have some picks for me? I would love to hear them! I will continue to find new and old books, stories, all genres, everything to share! It will be a variety, we are talking Stephen King, Nicholas Sparks, J.K Rowling, all of it! You name it and it will be featured.
Enjoy these picks of the month and let me know some of your favorites!
Happy Reading!
xoxo,
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