Summer Reading Part I

Being an avid reader, college life definitely made it hard to find time during a jam-packed week full of classes, schoolwork, studying, eating, and sleeping to find some spare time to read for fun. That's one of the main reasons I was so looking forward to summer vacation; the opportunity to actually have a say in what books I wanted to read and not have to dissect them and/or write a paper for class. Since my mom is also an avid reader and knew how much I've missed this hobby, she's been setting aside books for me to read since Spring Semester 2011 started. So far, these are the books I've read (as per Mom's suggestion):


May:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
The Help by Katheryn Stockett


I've really enjoyed all these books. My friends all read The Poisonwood Bible in AP English and gave it mixed reviews, but it's one of my mom's favorite books so I thought I'd give it a try. Though a little slow at first, I ended up really liking the book and learning a lot about the struggle in the Congo. This book also made me really think about US Foreign policy. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE AMERICA but sometimes I think we as a Core country tend to stick our nose in places where is doesn't belong (i.e. Republic of Congo 1960, Chile 1973, etc.). This book truly made me think about what is right and wrong, and what I, as an independent adult, believe in. 
Jodi Picoult has always been one of my favorite authors. I really love the way she sets up her books because you get to see point of view of several different characters and her books are always filled with unexpected twists. I also really like the fact that she tends to write about controversial topics (In Sing You Home for example, Picoult wrote about some of the struggles that the LGBT community face). This brings my to another book I read, The Help. The author Katheryn Stockett also chose to write about a controversial topic, in this case the treatment of African Americans prior to and during the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's. I couldn't put this book down which was hard because I read it at work one weekend and had to get up every 15-30 minutes to set up the next exercise of the Motorcycle Safety class. Like Picoult, Stockett also wrote from the point of view of several different characters which was probably another reason I liked it so much. One of the reason my mom chose this book for us to read was because a film adaption of the novel is coming out this August! I just watched the trailer and so far it appears that the filmmakers really stuck to Stockett's novel (I'll include the trailer below). As a reader, it always makes me happy when filmmakers stick to the book the film is adapted from as close as possible.

June:

Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella

So far this month I've read the first two books in Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series. Having watched the film adaption Confessions of a Shopaholic. I thought the film was really cute which was sparked my interest to read the books. Having read the books before me, my mom told me that they were nothing like the film and she was quite right. Being a lover of fiction, I obviously like the books way better than the film. The main character, Becky, is really hilarious and constantly getting herself into trouble. As a fellow young and newly independent adult and lover of shopping, I can sympathize with Becky's character (though I'd also like to state that I have WAY more self control than she does!!) which is probably one of the reasons I love the books so much. I'm looking forward to reading the next four books, though it might be a while before I get to read the next one... I don't think my dad would be too happy if I continued to buy a new book on the Kindle over the next few days...


Well, that's all for now! It's a beautiful day outside so I'm going outdoors to soak up some sun.


XOXO, Megan


P.s. - I've just discovered that another book I've read is becoming a movie this year! My Granny gave me this book two Christmas's ago. I'll definitely be bringing tissues to this movie... the book was so sad! I definitely recommend giving it a read though.