With summer in full swing I thought I would share some great books that are perfect to read while on vacation or even lounging in your backyard on a warm summer day.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosney – I have already shared this book in a previous blog, but it has been one of my favorite books in the last year and would highly recommend it. Although the movie based on the book was recently released, I would still say the book is well worth the read as the movie falls flat. The movie changes or leaves out some of the most important parts of the book. Sarah’s Key is set in Paris, France and the author switches back and forth between modern day Paris and Paris during WWII. It is about a women’s search to uncover the truth about her in-law’s family’s history during WWII. This heartbreaking tale helps bring to life the tragic history of the Jewish round up in Paris during WWII.
In the land of Invisible Women: A Female Doctor’s Journey in the Saudi Kingdom by Quanta Ahmed – This book is non-fiction and either you will love it or hate it. In the Land of Invisible Women is about an English born Muslim women doctor who decides to work in Saudi Arabia for several years. Some say that the book is repetitive and tends to skip around. However, I find it a fascinating peek into modern day Saudi Arabia. Regardless whether you like this book or not, it helps remind everyone of the struggles and prejudices that women face every day around the world.
Divergent by Veronica Roth – This book is based on a futuristic dystopian society, where everyone is divided into different factions. Each faction has a specific function in society and once someone has chosen a faction there is no changing. Rarely do the factions intermingle with each other. Though Divergent is found in the young adult section, I still enjoyed reading it. I read it over a weekend and to the annoyance of my husband, he kept on asking me whether I planned to get out of bed and join the family any time soon. It was so good I just could not put it down
The Passage by Justin Cronin – A horrible accident has occurred and unleashed a military experiment causing the collapse of society. The experiment was to create the ultimate military weapon a vampire. Let me preface this with, this is not twilight or a typical vampire story. Though the book is dense at close to 800 pages, it is a page-turner. Even if you don’t typically like vampire stories or science fiction, it will still entertain you. I am excited to hear the sequel to The Passage called The Twelve is about to come out.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett – Like Sarah’s Key, some may say, “Why bother, I can just watch the movie.” Like most books made into movies the book is so much better. The Help is set in 1960’s Mississippi and illustrates what it was like being an African American maid in the South. It also illustrates what the expectations were for women during the early 1960’s, i.e. to marry and have babies. This book made me laugh out loud and also cry. My favorite part is about a pie and the resulting events, but I will say no more on this to prevent spoiling it
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson – This is first in the series of 3 books. Though all the books in this series are well worth the read, I liked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo the best as it is fast paced murder mystery. In the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo discredited Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is hired by one of the wealthiest men in Sweden to solve the mystery of his nieces disappearance that occurred years ago. Warning this book has graphic descriptions, but even with the graphic description is still well worth the read. This was another book that I just could not put down, as I wanted to find out what happened.
I hope you enjoy reading my suggestions. I am always looking for the next good read so please do not hesitate in letting me know some of your favorite books.