Reading Rainbow

One of my favorite things about summer is having all the time in the world to read whatever you want. At school, I never had time to read books for pleasure. I was always reading something for an English or Sociology class, or highlighting article upon article for my thesis. Whenever I had some free time, the last thing I felt like doing was opening another book. So, summers in between school became a mad reading frenzy, when I would try to catch up on all the books I heard about throughout the year, or old classics I have yet to enjoy.

Well now with no looming return to school and no job, I really do have all the time in the world to read. Besides writing this blog, cooking, interning a few days a week, and job-searching, I have no real responsibilities or places to be besides spending my bounty of spare time delving into book after book. For someone who does not like to nap, I cannot think of a better way to escape hours a day into a fictitious, dreamland. I love the feeling of being so engrossed in a story that I am one with the pages, the words, and cannot be set free until I finish the entire book (or until I have to take a bathroom break). Laughter, goosebumps, disgust, despair. It is amazing how simple words can be so powerful, so as to strike up physical and emotional reactions within us. The way friends can share such heated and passionate discussions about beloved, or hated, characters in a story, it is as if we know them personally. Yes, people also share such fervent conversations about fictional characters from TV shows and movies; but it is so much more miraculous and magical when a good book can bring us to do so. Books don't need special effects, musical scores, or celebrities to make you feel and react. Just words. Words so thoughtfully and uniquely strung together to take us on a journey to dreamland.

Here is a list of the books I've read so far this summer, and highly recommend...

-The Help by Kathryn Stockett--hot new book set in Jackson, Missippi in the 1960s. Great style, moving material, funny too.

-Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert--read this en route to Italy, and it could not have been more timely for my European travels. Can't wait to see the movie!

-Three Cups of Tea by David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortensen--unbelievable story. Just read it.

-Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay--another new bestseller. Wasn't very impressed with the quality of writing, but very sad story and an easy read. Recommend for anyone interested in WWII or the Holocaust.

-The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold--I sort of missed the wave of when this book was really popular, but I recently watched the movie and decided I should read it. The book is MUCH better than the movie. Creepy story, well-written, fast-paced.

-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson--everyone is reading this book right now, and YOU SHOULD TOO! Great thriller, quite graphic, good summer read. Could not put this down.

-Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson--brand new book about the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's; focusing on Truman Capote, the writers/director/etc, and my favorite, Audrey Hepburn. A sweet and pleasurable look behind the scenes if you're a fan.

And I'm about to crack open The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second book in Larsson's trilogy. Hopefully I'll be able to put it down and get some sleep tonight!