Summer time & the livings easy!! Reading a book by the pool is on my list of top 10 favorite things to do. Especially if there is a cold beer next to me & burgers on the BBQ. I've been reading like crazy this summer because I have found some incredible books! I feel it is absolutely vital that I share them with you. Only because you are missing out if you haven't read these good reads!

So grab a beer & a book or your kindle because you're going to want to read at the veryyy least one of these. :)

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

This one is up first because it's my absolute favorite!!!! I wish I didn't read it yet so I can read it all over again for the first time!! It's just THAT good. Heartwarming + deep + sad + sweet. With characters that you just cannot stop caring about. I read this while my boyfriend, his brother Graham, and his girlfriend Tiana (read my blog post about her here) went on a road trip to Nebraska. I kid you not they kept laughing at me during the road trip because I was getting goosebumps & gasping while I read. There are so many parts that will do this to you!! Just please take my advice & read it. If you need to borrow it I'm happy to share!

Quick description - This follows the life of a boy turned man named Cyril in Dublin during the 1940s. The book follows his life as he figures out who he is and what life means. It focuses on his relationships, friendships, and hardships. It spans over his life as a boy to a man and has so many layers it's incredible.

I cried. I think you'll cry too. Like I said, I wish I could read it all over again!

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

I have to give credit to my Mama for sharing this great book with me! She always does. And if you read my last book post you know she throws a damn good book club party! She read this in about 2 days & during those 2 days constantly told me I need to read this book. And I'm so glad I did!! Read more about her book club parties & my book picks from last summer here!

It's set in 1987 & centers around a young girl, June, who is dealing with the loss of her uncle. Who was her best friend. Who died of AIDS. It's heavy. But uplifting. And makes you laugh. A whole mix of emotions. And you will be glad you read it!

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

This book is my current read. I'm halfway done & all the way obsessed! It is interestingly written as it switches between characters & time periods. A lot like my favorite author Jodi Picoult's writing. Each chapter switches between characters and it switches between time periods in sections. It is set in Germany & Paris throughout World War II. The two main characters are constantly developing & you love them more and more. Marie-Laure is a young blind girl in Paris & Werner is an incredibly smart orphan in the Hitler youth. I haven't finished the book yet but I know I can absolutely recommend it after what I've read so far!!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

This is a totally different kind of book than the first three! Definitely a good one but more light-hearted. I picked it thanks to the lovely Reese Witherspoon. I'll read anything off of Reese's book club!! And I especially can't wait for her book Whiskey in a Teacup!

This book is witty + sarcastic + different. The main character, Eleanor, is definitely not completely fine. She lives a repetitive life with work, pizza, & vodka. Over and over again. But THEN! She sees a rockstar she falls for. And meets a male coworker who becomes her new friend. WTF is going to happen with this!? Lol. She also has a crazy, scary history that you don't figure out until the very end.....

It's well worth the read! And it's going to be made into a movie produced by Reese Witherspoon so you better read it now!

The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

Here's another book Reese Witherspoon is producing into a movie! To me, that's an indication that it's going to be good. Which it is! I actually read this entire book last summer sitting by the pool in Vail, Colorado. PERFECT POOL BOOK. It's a mystery that you want to figure out & the character is just so.....idk the word! She seems to have the perfect life but also seems like everything is array. Ani is such a crazy + cool...crazy character that you just can't stop reading to figure out WTF is going on with her!

Marlena by Julie Buntin

Marlena is next up in my book queue! I found it on the lovely Emma Robert's book club Belletrist. I'm excited to read it next!! Here's the description --

"Everything about fifteen-year-old Cat's new town in rural Michigan is lonely and off-kilter, until she meets her neighbour, the manic, beautiful, pill-popping Marlena. Cat, inexperienced and desperate for connection, is quickly lured into Marlena's orbit by little more than an arched eyebrow and a shake of white-blonde hair. As the two girls turn the untamed landscape of their desolate small town into a kind of playground, Cat catalogues a litany of firsts - first drink, first cigarette, first kiss - while Marlena's habits harden and calcify. Within the year, Marlena is dead, drowned in six inches of icy water in the woods nearby. Now, decades, later, when a ghost from that pivotal year surfaces unexpectedly, Cat must try to forgive herself and move on, even as the memory of Marlena keeps her tangled in the past."

Interested?! Yeah, me too.

True Roots by Kristin Cavallari

This is my new favorite cookbook!!! But not gonna lie, I didn't buy it yet. Ha. I went to Barnes & Noble but they only had paperback which is lame. I want my cookbooks to be hardback and last for a long ass time! So I cheated and took some pictures of my favorite recipes I want to try & am going to order hardback online. Do what ya gotta do right!?!

My man and I made one of the recipes tonight for dinner. And the recipe is up next on my blog!! So freakin gooooood. We loved it! And then watched 3 episodes of The Horn on Netflix while I wrote this post. Stay tuned because you're going to want this recipe!

THANK YOU FOR READING!

It is quite the variety of books & I hope you found one or two that you might enjoy reading! I'm such a bookworm I'd love to hear any suggestions or faves you have. I'd also be more than happy to tell you more about any of these books if you have questions!

Hope ya'll have a great week! Try to incorporate some books + beer + BBQ if ya can ;)

Xx, Han

Summer Reads