I have been reading a ton this summer. I don't think I've been this excited about reading as an activity in a long time. It is a mixture of trying to catch up on all the fun reading I did not do while I was at college and getting into some good series. I am also beyond excited about The Fault in Our Stars movie coming out. It is by far my favorite book and attending the event that John Green and the cast were at only gave me hope that this movie would live up to my expectations. It all started with me rereading that book, and I have been on a rampage ever since. I thought I would share some of the stuff that has landed on my bookshelf recently in case you are looking for a good read. 

Before I start suggesting things, I should tell you what kind of books seem to grab my attention. Most of the things I read currently seem to fall into the YA fiction category. Those are the books that are being made into movies and the ones that I have had suggested to me recently. I spent a lot of time in high school reading classic literature for my AP Language and Literature classes, so I might be overcorrecting to give my brain the break it somehow still needs. I'm slowly getting my urge to read those kind of books back now. It only took one trip through Barnes & Noble for that to happen. I get sucked into the action-packed series just like everyone else does (I finished the Divergent series over spring break). I'm real sucker for a love story about teenage misfits that seem to never turn out how they are supposed to. Oh, and anything written by John Green. In all reality if someone tells me a book is good, I'll give it a chance. Taking the time to read a few chapters never hurts anybody. That about sums it up. My taste in books is as "all over the place" as my taste in music.

Now onto some quick things about these books. If you are going to read one book this summer (maybe even this year), please make it The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. That novel is beautifully written and emotional affecting. It is just an important book. To quote it, "Sometimes you read a book, and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans have read the book." In short, that is how I feel about TFIOS. It is a book about two kids with cancer, but it isn't about their cancer. As a society, we tend to dehumanize people who are sick, and this book fights against that notion. It also tells a beautiful love story that validates the fact that young people can be in love for real. I could ramble about it all day, but I'm going to stop myself for all of our sakes. If you need extra motivation, check out the trailer for the movie below. It is the number one movie in America currently, so you can be sure this story is a great one. I'm definitely on team "read the book first," so that is what I would suggest. If you have already seen it, it did really capture the spirit of the novel, and it only made me love the book more. Go ahead, and give it a read. The paperback is currently on sale online at Target for only $9!

I also recently picked up Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, and I finished it over the course of three days. It falls into my "teenage misfit love story" category for sure. It switches focus back and forth between Eleanor and Park which makes them coming together a lot more interesting to witness. You get to see the story from both sides. Overall, this novel is a bit dark, as one of the main characters has major struggles at home. That aspect of it is what got me emotionally invested in the characters and their relationship. The movie rights to this just got sold last month, and the author is writing the screenplay. This is a good one to pick up before it hits the big screens. 

Same goes for Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler. It is rumored that it is being adapted into a movie starring Hailee Steinfeld. I read this book in one day. I could not put it down. One interesting thing about it is that it has illustrations throughout rather than chapter titles. The novel consists of the narrator looking back on her relationship and going through the box of things that she kept from it. It is set up like a letter to the ex-boyfriend about what happened between them. Each chapter starts off with a drawing of the object from the box that she is going to talk about. I thought that was a very interesting way to make sure the reader is visualizing your story the way you want them to. If you are into stories about relationships between a mega popular boy and a regular girl, this one will be right up your alley. Be forewarned, this book is pretty overdramatic. I felt that way because the relationship that she is talking about really didn't last very long. When you take a step back and look at what she is doing, it all seems a little much. That being said, it is very easy to connect with her emotionally, so I do still recommend it.

I'll be talking about some more books that I have been reading through the summer. I've already got another few that I would like to share with you after these.

What is your favorite book of all time?