For the most part, I loved my summer reading lists. I probably definitely could have done without Beowulf, but I couldn’t put The Brothers K down. I would say that I was one of the few kids growing up excited to get their summer reading lists, but knowing my friends, I actually don’t think that’s true. We pass around recommendations and books themselves and I think that’s great!
Usually, I get my books from my mom or friends after they’ve read one they love, or something catches my eye in Barnes & Noble, but for the first time maybe ever, I’ve just heard of books on my own that I would love to get into!
Before I give you my want-to-read list, I just want to tell you about my two favorite books of all time:
The Tenth Circle: A Novel
by Jodi Picoult
Fourteen-year-old Trixie Stone is in love for the first time. She’s also a straight-A high school student, pretty and popular, and the light of her father’s life…. Comic book artist Daniel Stone would do anything to protect his daughter. But when a single act of violence shatters her innocence, seemingly mild-mannered Daniel’s convictions are put to the test—while his own shockingly tumultuous past, hidden even from his family, comes to light. Now, everything Trixie’s ever believed about her hero, her father, seems to be a lie as Daniel ventures to hell and back, seeking revenge. Will the price be the bond they share?
I read this cover to cover during one flight to LA and cried through most of it. Extremely powerful but a heavy read- like most of Picoult’s books. (I actually threw My Sister’s Keeper across the room when I finished it.) This was my first Picoult read and a fabulous gateway drug to her other work.
Someday My Prince Will Come: True Adventures of a Wannabe Princess
by Jerramy Fine
Most young girls dream of becoming a princess. But unlike most girls, Jerramy Fine never grew out of it. Strangely drawn to the English royal family since she was a child, Jerramy spends her childhood writing love letters to Buckingham Palace and absorbing any information she can find on modern-day princesses throughout the world. Years later, when her sense of destiny finally brings her to London, Jerramy navigates the murky waters of English social circles, etiquette, and dating with hilarious results.
By the time I finished reading this book, I felt like Jerramy was my big sister. I read it the summer between junior and senior year of college, which was arguably my most formative summer since the one between seventh and eight grade. While I actually went to Europe during the latter, Someday My Prince Will Come actually inspired me to apply to Oxford for grad school after the former. I actually emailed Jerramy and she responded, telling me to follow my heart and take a chance. While I was waitlisted then ultimately denied from the 16 person film studies graduate program, I still cannot dismiss that her memoir inspired me to want to take a leap across the Atlantic Ocean.
Now- onto the books I haven’t read yet but I will in the very near future, hopefully:
After Perfect: A Daughter’s Memoir
by Christina McDowell
Selected as one of the year’s “Fifteen Books You Need to Read” by the Village Voice, Christina McDowell’s unflinching memoir is “a tale of the American Dream upended.” Growing up in an affluent Washington, DC, suburb, Christina and her sisters were surrounded by the elite: summering on Nantucket Island, speeding down Capitol Hill’s rich back roads, flying in their father’s private plane. Their life of luxury was brutally stripped away after the FBI arrested Tom Prousalis on fraud charges. When he took a plea deal as he faced the notorious Wolf of Wall Street Jordan Belfort’s testifying against him, the cars, homes, jewelry, clothes, and friends that defined the family disappeared before their eyes, including the one thing they could never get back: each other.
I actually know about this book because the author went to my high school just went back to visit, putting her book on the shelf reserved for former student authors. As someone who would like to be on that shelf herself one day, that is completely inspiring to me. As The Wolf of Wall Street is one of my favorite movies, I am equally intrigued by the subject matter.
A Sucky Love Story: Overcoming Unhappily Ever After
by Brittani Louise Taylor
Where does a moderately popular internet star who never leaves her house look for potential suitors? Online. Tinder, Bumble, Match.com, OkCupid—I tried them all. My thirty-one-year-old self clicked and swiped her little heart out, leading to more dates than I could count, and more disappointment than I was prepared for.
As someone totally interested in film as a medium, I have always had favorite YouTubers. Brittani used to be one of them. When I graduated college, I kind of stopped watching my lineup and didn’t even realize that she’d slipped off the radar. Recently, I watched a Shane Dawson conspiracy video where Brittani talked about her book and what she went through- it’s insane, you guys. Not just bad date insane, but witness protection insane.
The Knockoff Economy: How Imitation Sparks Innovation
by Kal Raustiala & Christopher Sprigman
From the shopping mall to the corner bistro, knockoffs are everywhere in today’s marketplace. Conventional wisdom holds that copying kills creativity, and that laws that protect against copies are essential to innovation–and economic success. But are copyrights and patents always necessary? In The Knockoff Economy, Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman provocatively argue that creativity can not only survive in the face of copying, but can thrive.
I actually came across this title when I was doing research for this post. As someone who purchases dupes, I would love to learn more about the economics of them! Yes, this is pretty different from anything else in this list, but it’s applicable to my life and my interests as a style blogger.
What have you read recently? I’m currently working my way through The Keeper of Lost Things, and then I’m onto Girls in White Dresses.
Check out what I'm loving right now on Amazon!
