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Asians, Murder & Love: 5 Books To Read This Summer

HELLLLLLLLO, FRIDAY! 



Even though there are way more than 5 things I could talk your leg off about right now, I thought I would go with a theme. 

And if you know me, than you know I lerv talking about books! So here are 5 books that I NEED to get my hands on, like yesterday! 



 #1. Love Does by Bob Goff: 
(For if you're feeling philosophical or need to be enlightened)



From GoodReads: As a college student he spent 16 days in the Pacific Ocean with five guys and a crate of canned meat. As a father he took his kids on a world tour to eat ice cream with heads of state. He made friends in Uganda, and they liked him so much he became the Ugandan consul. He pursued his wife for three years before she agreed to date him. His grades weren't good enough to get into law school, so he sat on a bench outside the Dean's office for seven days until they finally let him enroll. Bob Goff has become something of a legend, and his friends consider him the world's best-kept secret. Those same friends have long insisted he write a book. What follows are paradigm shifts, musings, and stories from one of the world's most delightfully engaging and winsome people. What fuels his impact? Love. But it's not the kind of love that stops at thoughts and feelings. Bob's love takes action. Bob believes "Love Does."
When "Love Does," life gets interesting. Each day turns into a hilarious, whimsical, meaningful chance that makes faith simple and real. Each chapter is a story that forms a book, a life. And this is one life you don't want to miss.


#2: 642 Things To Write About
(For if you have the itch to not only read this summer but write as well!) 




No, they aren't exaggerating. This diary literally has 642 prompts to write about. I actually have an idea for dis here blog that was inspired by this book and I hope to share with everyone soon! If you have an itch to write or are in the middle of the dreaded writer's block, than this book can surely inspire you. 
Some of the questions tug at your heart and make you dig deep, and other are just plain silly, like "You are an astronaut. Describe your perfect day." 
One that made me laugh and tell myself I'd have to come back to it later asked me to describe, in detail, a scene set in Argentina in 1932 and include a teacup in the story. Last night I wrote about the first time I got caught in a lie (it involved a Polly Pocket in 1993). 
Anyhooters, pick this one up this summer if you are looking to not just read, but write as well! Also, as you can see in the picture, adding an ice cold apple ale (or any alcohol for that matter) is always a good idea! 


#3: Love All, by Callie Wright 

(For those of you looking for a good family drama with lots of juicy details!) 


From Goodreads: It’s the spring of 1994 in Cooperstown, New York, and Joanie Cole, the beloved matriarch of the Obermeyer family, has unexpectedly died in her sleep. Now, for the first time, three generations are living together under one roof and are quickly encroaching on one another’s fragile orbits. Eighty-six-year-old Bob Cole is adrift in his daughter’s house without his wife. Anne Obermeyer is increasingly suspicious of her husband, Hugh’s, late nights and missed dinners, and Hugh, principal of the town’s preschool, is terrified that a scandal at school will erupt and devastate his life. Fifteen-year-old tennis-team hopeful Julia is caught in a love triangle with Sam and Carl, her would-be teammates and two best friends, while her brother, Teddy, the star pitcher of Cooperstown High, will soon catch sight of something that will change his family forever. 

At the heart of the Obermeyers’ present-day tremors is the scandal of The Sex Cure, a thinly veiled roman à clef from the 1960s, which shook the small village of Cooperstown to the core. When Anne discovers a battered copy underneath her parents’ old mattress, the Obermeyers cannot escape the family secrets that come rushing to the surface. With its heartbreaking insight into the messy imperfections of family, love, and growing up, Love All is an irresistible comic story of coming-of-age—at any age.

#4: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kawn

(For those of you needing a trashy, easy read, this book made me think about what would happen if one of the Kardashians had a baby with that crazy Asian from The Hangover! (As opposed the hot-tempered rapper, which is sooo isn't as cool) 



From GoodReads: Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season. When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should--and should not--marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.


#5 The Execution of Noa P. Singleton


(For those of you needing a little thrill and excitement!) The description compared it to Gone Girl, so I was like, "DUH!"


From GoodReads: Noa P. Singleton never spoke a word in her own defense throughout a brief trial that ended with a jury finding her guilty of first-degree murder. Ten years later, having accepted her fate, she sits on death row in a maximum-security penitentiary, just six months away from her execution date. 

Seemingly out of the blue, she is visited by Marlene Dixon, a high-powered Philadelphia attorney who is also the mother of the woman Noa was imprisoned for killing. Marlene tells Noa that she has changed her mind about the death penalty and Noa’s sentence, and will do everything in her considerable power to convince the governor to commute the sentence to life in prison, in return for the one thing Noa is unwilling to trade: her story.
Marlene desperately wants Noa to reveal the events that led to her daughter’s death – events that Noa has never shared with a soul. With death looming, Marlene believes that Noa may finally give her the answers she needs, though Noa is far from convinced that Marlene deserves the salvation she alone can deliver. Inextricably linked by murder but with very different goals, Noa and Marlene wrestle with the sentences life itself can impose while they confront the best and worst of what makes us human in this haunting tale of love, anguish, and deception.


Seriously, though. There are like, 50 books out there right now that I can't wait to get my hands on. Search through Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Must List for Beach Reads or Amazon's Beach Read List for a long line of GREAT books. 


And now, lovelies, thanks to Whit, I will leave you for the weekend with this undeniably fun and gotta dance to it song: #Beautiful by Mariah Carey. 



I have no idea why the hashtag was ness, but apparently it was. Whatever the trendy name, this song never fails to make me dance in my car like a lunatic and I love it! 

Comments

  1. I need 4,5,&6 in my life NOW! Thanks for the good recommendations!

    ReplyDelete
  2. And by 4, 5, & 6 I meant 3, 4, & 5. Counting is hard.

    ReplyDelete
  3. #5 looks so freakin good! I just added to my to-read list. Kim from The Simplicity of Being Curious sent me the 642 Things to Write in the first book swap she hosted and I can't wait to go to the beach and start writing! I absolutely love it!
    ~Christine

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wish my job was reading books. How do people accomplish that?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have so many books on my list and will be adding a few of these too. I wish my job was reading.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I always love book recommendations. Love All looks like my type of book; I'll check it out!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have the last three books on my reading list! But they are like numbers 32-35. I better get to it. I'm surprised that I like the Mariah Carey song! I'm not the biggest fan of hers, but it's sweet.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great Recs! I will definitely be checking out the 642 things to write about!

    ReplyDelete

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