Top Summer Reads: 5 to 1

Today we have the top 5 of my summer reads. They are new releases by authors I love, so it's no surprise I enjoyed them as much as I did.

1. The song remains the same, Allison Winn Scotch
My favorite part about this book was the look at music and how important it is in our lives. I also thought the characters were so well-written, as was their journey from beginning to end.

2. The next best thing, Jennifer WeinerI loved the look behind the scenes of producing a TV show. I liked how the main characters weren't perfect, too.

3. Another piece of my heart, Jane Green
This seemed like a very real situation, and one that is applicable to many people who have divorced and remarried. I thought looking at these relationships on that level was very moving.

4. Jeneration X , Jen Lancaster
Another hilarious memoir. I love her chapter on flying, because that is how I feel sometimes. I like how real Jen Lancaster is, and how easily I can relate to what she is writing about.

5. Spring fever, Mary Kay Andrews
I didn't start out loving Mary Kay Andrews' books, but this was one of the best. I loved the twist ending.

Top 20 Summer Reads: 10 to 6

In the mix today, we have almost all new releases--except for one memoir that came at the end of my "JFK era" phase, though it was also released recently.


6. I’ve Got Your Number, Sophie Kinsella
I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would--I thought the premise sounded kind of impossible, but it wasn't. I again loved the way technology is starting to become incorporated into novels.

7. Where We Belong, Emily Giffin
A look at motherhood, adoption, and figuring out who we really are. I liked this book a great deal, but it did not move to the top of my list of my favorite Emily Giffin books.

8. Sea Change, Karen White
This book felt a little darker than Karen White's other works, but still incorporated the history of the south and the spiritual elements that I love about her other books.

9. The shoemaker's wife, Adriana Trigiani
I liked Adriana Trigiani's take on historical fiction, because I love her other books. The love story spanned decades and continents.

10. Fairy Tale interrupted, Rosemarie Terenzio
A look at the friendship between JFK and his assistant, very moving.

Top 20 Summer Reads: 15 to 11

Today, we're back with books 15 to 11. Some of these are new summer releases, but others have been around and I'm just now finding them.

11. Promises to keep, Jane Green.
Anyone who isn't bawling their eyes out at the end of this book is crazy. One of Jane Green's first books set in Amercia (as far as I could tell).

12. Wife 22, Melanie Gideon.
This was a unique premise, about a woman who is completing an online marriage survey. It was a bit predictable, but I liked the way she incorprated technology (Facebook, texts, Google searches) into the book.

13. Eighteen acres, Nicolle Wallace A political thriller--I liked the way we had the perspective of three women and how the plot connected all of them.

14. Where she went, Gayle Forman A Young Adult book that is a sequel to If I Stay. I liked that the book was told by Adam's point of view this time, and how the events of If I Stay impacted him.

15. The Chaperone, Laura Moriarty
A new release--Since I am loving the early 1900s, with my recent obsession with "Downton Abbey," this was fun. It was an interesting take on a woman's life during this time and very unpredictable.

Top 20 Summer Reads: 20 to 16

My poor library account says "you currently have no books checked out." That is almost unbelievable, because I have always had books on hand this summer. So, to catch us up, I'm going to post five of the top 20 books I've read this summer each day this week. Here are my first five:

16: Between you and me, Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
The authors of The Nanny Diaries, oneof my favorites, are back with a book about family. And fame. And what happens when these two interact.

17: Wallflower in bloom, Claire Cook
Another book about families and fame. This was a fun read--I felt like I was watching "Dancing With The Stars."

18: Alphabet weekends, Elizabeth Noble
An interesting look at the start of a romantic relationship between two friends.

19: Savannah blues, Mary Kay Andrews
One of Mary Kay Andrews' older works, but it was fun to see the other side of the story (I had read the sequel before the original book).

20: Southern charm, Tinsley Mortimer
A look at life in New York City from the eyes of a socialite.

Reading Lists: Key West Picks

Sometimes, I am very similar to a small child. Most particularly when I travel long distances. In fact, I was whining at the Fort Lauderdale airport during our 2-hour layover (because we were soooo close) and Nathan turned on Netflix for me on the tablet, probably because my whining reminded him of a small child. (Except I wouldn't let a small child watch "Dawson's Creek," that's for sure.) But I was able to get a lot of reading in, and here are my thoughts on what I read during my summer vacation.

MWF Seeking BFF, Rachel Bertsche.

Lately I have been reading a lot of memoirs, and some of my favorite memoirs are the ones that are almost more like blogs. While I love reading about people who are famous, I also love everyday peole who have ideas and go with it, develop a following, and write awesome books. This is one of them--Rachel moves to Chicago with her husband but realizes that while she is not lacking in love, she is lacking a best friend, as they all still live in Chicago. She decides to go out on 52 friend dates in a year to get to know new people, and her book details these dates and the results. She also discusses the more scientific/pyscholgica/sociological parts of friendships. What I found most interesting in her discussion was that there are health benefits of having friends, the difference between husbands and wives and their outside friendships (men think of wives as best friends but women need other friends to be their best friends), and how facebook has impacted friendships since its existence.

Skipping a Beat, Sarah Pekkanen.

Yes, I did bawl my eyes out on the plane when I finished this book. (Of course, I did so subtley.) I had read Sarah Pekkanen's first book and loved it, so I requested the second one at the library. It tells the story of a marriage, falling in love and falling out of love, and how the marriage was brought back to life after her husband's heart attack. I loved it because it was full of emotion and all of the characters were likable and you wanted everyone to be happy in the end. But it was also a real-life perspecitve on love that is hard to come by--it's not a happily ever after you find in most chick lit, but a happily ever after that you find in real life.

The Secret Lives Of Dresses, Erin McKean

My friend Kaitlyn recommended this book to me a while ago, and my library request finally came through right before I left. The book is about a woman who comes home to take over her grandmother's vintage store, after the grandmother becomes ill. This experience, and the power of the stories behind the clothes, change her life and help her realize who she wants to be and who she has always been. I love the premise that everything has a story, not just people, and how interesting these stories can be and how much they can relate in our everyday lives and memories.

Hissy Fit, Mary Kay Andrews.

The first time I read Hissy Fit, in college, I hated it. But I found it in my last box of books from home and decided to give it another chance, as I have read most of Mary Kay Andrews' other books now and love them. I have no idea what I was thinking the first time I read it, because it is a perfect beach read for people like me who love all things houses, decorating, etc. There was romance and mystery, too, of course, and overall I recommend it as a perfect pool/beach/plane read.