Book Review (Round #1)

If you knew me before college, than you’ll know that much of my elementary/middle school/high school days were filled with reading. My dream summer days consisted of walking to the library, grabbing 6 or 7 books, and spending the next 2 days doing nothing but reading them.

Yet in the hustle and bustle of college my love of reading got lost and I forgot the joy that a good book could bring me. Fortunately not all that is lost can’t be found, and after years of avoiding libraries (sorry!) I walked into the public library and got myself a library card.

And you know what they say? Having fun isn’t hard with a library card! In fact, I actually decided to get rid of the wifi in my apartment to spend more time reading and be more intentional with my time (blog post on that coming soon!)

So, here are a few quick reviews of some of my favorite reads this summer!

1. BIG MAGIC by Elizabeth Gilbert

I absolutely LOVED this book! If you have a creative spirit at all (reader, writer, musician artist, etc) then this is a must read! I’m a big fan of Elizabeth Gilbert’s work already, but I think this is her best work. She’s passionate about creativity, and finding your creativity, and that really shined through the book.

2. TRULY, MADLY, GUILTY by Liane Moriarty

While this does start slow it becomes an absolute page turner. Once the storyline picked up I couldn’t put the book down! Moriarty writes stories like a spider weaves a web: randomly and all over the place at first but quickly it becomes an intricate design. Like most of her work there are a lot of characters to keep track of but they all are very human and I think that makes her work shine.

3. THE CASUAL VACANCY by J.K. Rowling

As a die-hard Harry Potter fan, I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t read this book. This is definitely a totally different J.K Rowling but it was awesome! Like Truly, Madly, Guilty the book starts slow as you learn all the characters. I sort of wish I had drawn a character map just to help myself keep track at the beginning. However, around the time you feel comfortable with “who is who” the plot thickens and JK’s writing truly shines.

4. THE VACATIONERS by Emma Straub

This book was a fun vacation read while I was in Sioux City visiting my boyfriend, James. It’s light and humorous, though it does touch on some more dramatic themes. Not all of the characters were likeable, but it also was a reminder that we all are the antagonist in a chapter of someone’s story. Just because you do something wrong to one person doesn’t mean there’s nothing good in you, and I think these characters showed that.

5. ROOMS by Lauren Olivery

This book is a way different read than the other four, and ended up being a bit disappointing. It started with a strong Toni Morrison magical-surrealism feel but just couldn’t keep the quality up. It was a good read, though some of the full circle moments felt like they were trying too hard. Ultimately it’s still a good read, it just didn’t finish as well as it started.

Have any good book suggestions? Leave them in the comments!

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