Beach book recommendations

Hey friends!

Today, my little sister Anna and I are off to New Jersey! As this is being published, we're probably actually in the air, flying to Philly!

Since I typically do a book post on Fridays, I thought it might be fun to leave you with some book recommendations for the beach!


Requirements for a beach book:

• Light -- not too serious
• Something you can put down and pick up again without forgetting everything
• And of course, bonus points are awarded for funny books and for romance!

So without any further ado, here are some of my top beach reads!

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling and Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen and The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

(Although any book by either author would work. Seriously. Two of my favs.)

My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler (obviously, this one's PG 13) and Matched by Ally Condie

What do I actually have in hand for the trip? 

Well, I'll be starting with these two gems, although I actually have six more (!) packed:

Not sure if either will fit the bill for a perfect beach read, but here's hoping they're good either way!

Happy reading and happy Friday, friends!

Book review: The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

Some summers are just destined to be pretty. Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

This book was... ok for me. Definitely not bad. Jenny Han is an excellent writer. I liked the characters. Well, not Belly in particular. She was kind of young/immature for me. But I loved everyone else. Especially Jeremiah.

I also loooved that it was set at a beach house. I also grew up spending most my summers at a beach house, though not the whole summer like Belly. So it was full of familiarity for me, like grab-what-you-want meals and sand that you can never quite get rid of and going to the boardwalk at night or movies on rainy days. So I loved that aspect of it.

And I found myself wanting to keep reading it and thinking about it when I wasn't reading it, which is usually the sign of a great book for me.

But. I keep finding these books where I guess what's going to happen at the veerrrrryy beginning. It's really annoying.

Also, it was almost boring. Like, just on the borderline of keeping my interest. The characters and the beach housy-ness was enough for me to keep reading, but I don't think the plot, anywhere else, would have.

I don't know. I'm moving on to the next in the series because the characters really are pretty great. And from what I've heard the series only gets better. So I'll keep you updated.

Have any of you read this one? What did you think?

Book review: Sisterhood Everlasting

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Brashares comes the welcome return of the characters whose friendship became a touchstone for a generation. Now Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

As moving and life-changing as an encounter with long-lost best friends,Sisterhood Everlasting is a powerful story about growing up, losing your way, and finding the courage to create a new one.


I read all the previous Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants books a long time ago, probably through high school. I don't think you need to reread them to be able to understand and enjoy this final book. It'll be a little hard to discuss this one without spoilers, so I'll be brief.

Thoughts:

1. Sisterhood Everlasting is a bit heavier than the other Sisterhood books. The girls are all approaching 30 years old, so the storyline deals with adult plotlines: jobs, marriages, etc. But the story is also very much about grief. So I think you need to be in the right mood to read this one. It's heavy, and parts make you feel heavy, too. But there is love and joy and growth, as well. And you get to feel them too!

2. Carmen is very unlikeable through most of the book. I didn't really like reading her parts. But it's all worth it in the end.

3. I love Bridget. I want to be Bridget.

4. It took me a while to get into this one, but it's so worth the read. If you're a lover of the series, push through. Soon enough the personalities of the characters we love will appear enough to hook you.

That's all, I think. I highly recommend anyone who has read the Sisterhood stories so far read this final book. I ended up loving it.

Have any of you read the Sisterhood series? Have you, or will you, read Sisterhood Everlasting?

Book review: Seriously... I'm Kidding

Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

"Sometimes the greatest things are the most embarrassing." Ellen Degeneres' winning, upbeat candor has made her show one of the most popular, resilient and honored daytime shows on the air. (To date, it has won no fewer than 31 Emmys.) Seriously... I'm Kidding, Degeneres' first book in eight years, brings us up to date about the life of a kindhearted woman who bowed out of American Idol because she didn't want to be mean. Lively; hilarious; often sweetly poignant.

Like many of the books I review, I listened to this one on audio. While I think audiobooks often add to the reading experience, this one both added to it, and I think some things were lost in translation. So where I usually don't think it changes how I feel about the book, I might have had a completely different experience had I read the book instead of listening to it.

But I did listen to it. And here's what I thought.

1. Ellen herself reads it. Which is awesome. I love Ellen. So much. It was like hanging out with her for my whole commute. Like I said, awesome.

2. There are a couple chapters she says just don't work for audio. One was about text talk. I don't remember what the other was. But audio listeners miss out on those. Booooo. But! She does have a chapter in there where she just makes funny noises. So I think this one evens out. :)

I laughed. A lot.

But I don't think it's Ellen at her funniest. This, however, may be.

Skip to the end, about 7:16, for my favorite part!

Have any of you read Ellen's books? I'll probably end up checking out her others, just because I love her so. much. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Book review: Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Description from Goodreads (below) can be found here along with other reviews. Linking up with Blonde... Undercover Blonde for Book Club Friday.

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.


Oh man, did I love this book. I rated it four stars, but I might eventually go back and give it five. Really, you should read it.

So I was talking with Amy recently about how a lot of these futuristic, distopian (utopian? I'm never sure what the difference is) books are starting to be similar. And I think books definitely hit trends (vampires, amnesia, and zombies, recently).

This one is not like any I've ever read.

There were constant surprises, and I was sucked into the story the whole time. I loved the characters and found myself rooting for them, which is so important in a book, for you to want the characters to succeed.

I have no list. Just, go read it.

So excited for the next book, Insurgent. Now I just have to wait out the 20-some people who have holds at the library before me...

Have any of you read Divergent? Did you love it too?