Summer Reading List

I've been out of school for a month now (SLOW DOWN PLEASE) and I've been doing a ton of reading recently. During the school year I don't have the time to enjoy books for pleasure, so I love to get a lot of reading in during the summer months. I've had an ongoing list of books to read, and I got started the second school ended and I was home in my bed. I finally finished Bossypants, which I started over winter break when my friend bought this book for me. It was hilarious, guys. I was sitting on the train headed to graduation trying not to wake up the poor old woman next to me with my laughter. Tina Fey really nailed this one, I felt like I was reading Mean Girls.

My friend also gave me Mindy Kaling's first book at Christmastime (thanks Ritika love you!!), so after I finished Fey's book, I started on this one. Not as laugh-out-loud funny, but definitely full of wisdom and good advice. I haven't really checked out Mindy Kaling too much on TV, have you watched any of the shows she's in? I need new recommendations while I'm waiting on the Gilmore Girls revival.

My current read is a classic Hemingway, and I'll admit that it's taking me much longer to read than either of the two previously mentioned books. I never read Hemingway in high school (still confused as to how that happened?) but I figured that I should give him a shot, since I love love loooove F. Scott Fitzgerald's works. Hemingway is definitely more simplistic than Fitzgerald, who seems to always be writing something extravagant, so progress is a bit slower. But I'm really enjoying the story nonetheless and am glad to have the challenge as compared to my usual summer beach reads (that's relative - last summer I read Silent Spring "for fun").

Up next on my bookshelf is The Botany of Desire, a non-fiction piece that explains how certain crops have been cross-pollinated, genetically modified, and specially selected over time. The book is only five chapters long, each dedicated to a different crop and its corresponding human desire. I took a course this past spring about chemical pollution and we read the chapter on potatoes and how they represent human control. I really enjoyed it and the writing style wasn't too dense, as is typical for scientific literature, so I decided to get the book so I could read it in its entirety.

I haven't snagged this one yet, but I have heard amazing things for the past year about The Vacationers by Emma Straub. It seems as though everyone else was reading this book last year while I was chugging away through some Rachel Carson.. So why not jump on the bandwagon and read it this summer? I think this will be the perfect pick for my next beach trip, which *fingers crossed* will be happening soon.

I'm always on the lookout for new recommendations. Comment below with your favorite books and beach read suggestions!! Happy weekend, y'all!