Summer Reads

The best part about the summer is setting a little time aside to slow down and do the things you love. For me, I always try to fit in more reading. There is just something about sitting on the beach with a good book, or laying in the hammock sipping some wine and becoming completely enthralled in a great story. This summer has been no exception despite the cooler temperatures. I actually prefer it!

The Great Gasby - Amazon link here 

In honour of the film The Great Gatsby coming out earlier this year, I wanted to reread the classic by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I read the book back in high school and could remember flying through it in a matter of hours. I have the worst memory and couldn't remember much of the book, so I picked it up and read it on vacation. Again, I raced through the book to prepare myself for the film (which I have yet to see). I cannot wait to see it because Baz Lurman directed the movie and I believe he has a unique talent for bringing strong emotion to the viewer of his films. I think he is the perfect director for this adaptation and I can't wait to see it. I think he is one of the few who could do Gatsby justice. I am just glad that I was able to refresh my memory before watching the movie! If you haven't read it yet, pick it up and give it a read. Gatsby truly is one of the most interesting characters I've read in quite some time. 

The Virgin Suicides - Amazon link here

The second book I read was also made into a film quite some time ago. I read The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides. I remember seeing the film when it first came out and thought it was a really interesting concept. (I tend to gravitate to really depressing story lines if you haven't already made that conclusion). Because I had seen the film so long ago, I again, couldn't remember too many of the details. So in reading the book I found it was a new and fresh experience for me. It was a very interesting story that chronicled a strange family, and what made the book even more intriguing was that it is told by young men who lived on the same street as the main family, The Lisbon's. The boys were obsessed with the Lisbon's as they had five beautiful daughters who one by one committed suicide in the family home. It is a truly haunting coming of age story of about love, life and death. Eugenides writes in such a way where you feel like you know the characters of the book and that you are right there with them as they are trying to find out about the Lisbon girls. There is a disturbing kind of brilliance to the book that you can only read to understand.

Guts - Amazon link here

The third and final book was Guts By Kristen Johnston. The actress best known for her role in 3rd Rock From The Sun tells a brutally honest, heartbreaking yet surprisingly hilarious tale of her struggle with alcohol, prescription and non prescription drugs. She tells her horribly painful tale of coming close to death and making it back. She is so refreshingly honest about her years of denial and lies that it's kind of hard not to be able to sympathize and relate even a little. The book reads as though you are sitting at a coffee shop with her and you are having a very natural and friendly conversation. She puts it all out on the table and with such charm. Although the book might not be for everyone, I am glad I read it. I have always liked Kristen Johnston and now I feel like I got to know her a little better... Actually a lot better.

I am ALWAYS on the look out for more sad and depressing books to read so if you have read anything this summer that you loved, please please PLEASE let me know! I'm jonesin' for another great summer book to read before the end of the season! Help me out!