I love to read, I always have. But during the school year, especially since I have been in college, my schedule gets so busy that even just sitting down to read a couple of chapters seems like a chore knowing that I really have assignments I could be catching up on.
With that being said, the summer is the perfect opportunity for me to catch up on my TBR (to be read) list and with the increasing number of #booktok videos that come up on my TikTok ‘for you’ page, my list was long.
If I had to guess, I would say I probably read around 25 books this summer. Mostly smutty romance that TikTok recommends, but that is a different list for a different time. I did, however, still read a good amount of novels and non-fiction, so these are just a couple of my favorites that I read in the last three months.
- the seven husbands of evelyn hugo by taylor jenkins reid
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This is my actual favorite book of all time now. The plot…the characters…the ending. Just wow. I cannot recommend this book enough. Do not walk to the book store, run. But if you end up hating it (which you won’t) just forget I ever said anything. I have never read a book written in the way Reid does it and I immediately added her newest novel Malibu Rising to my TBR list after finishing this.
- Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
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As I am writing this article, I currently have about 60 pages left of this book. I still had to include it though, because the 200 pages that I have read have been eye-opening. Kendall discusses the ways that the feminist movement oftentimes only enhances the privileges of a few and neglects to meet the basic survival needs for the majority. Kendall breaks down the chapters into topics ranging from gun violence to eating disorders to education and many, many more. I have always known I was privileged being a white, straight woman, but this book has taught me how to use that privilege and that sometimes the thing holding us back from the equality feminists always preach about, is unfortunately other women.
- Beach read by emily henry
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To be honest, I probably would have never picked up this book if I did not see it all over TikTok. And who am I to question the dedicated “booktokers?” I would like to preface that I read this book when my Aunt Flow was in town (if you catch my drift) so I do, in fact, blame my raging hormones for being the reason I bawled my eyes out when I read “when I watch you sleep, I feel overwhelmed that you exist.” BYE I was not okay. Anyways, if you are in any way more mentally stable than I was while reading this, you will likely just find it to be an easygoing, fun, romantic read.
- Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard
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I have only read the first two books in the six-book series so far because my book store has not had them all in stock and I refuse to have only part of the series in paperback and the rest on Kindle, but that is just personal preference. It has been a while since I have read a good dystopian fantasy novel. In middle school I was all about Divergent, The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner but I believe Aveyard has a unique concept that doesn’t make it feel like you have read something similar. Plus, I follow Aveyard on TikTok and I just think she is the coolest so you should definitely check out the series.
- A court of thorns and roses series by sarah j. maas
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This is another series that I was encouraged to read by TikTok. When I say this series took over my ‘for you’ page for the longest time, I mean I could not escape it. So naturally, I downloaded all five books and read them all in two weeks. I haven’t read a book with over 700 pages maybe ever, but the plot was so good and I was fully invested in these characters by the end of book one. I have at least two other books by Sarah J. Maas on my TBR list now because of how much I loved this series.
I could go on and on about these books and the many others I read this summer. If you are stuck in a reading funk or have never been a fan of reading in general, I highly encourage you to check some of these books out. In the meantime, I will be trying to read as much as possible before my classes start in a week and scrolling through ‘booktok’ in my free time.
Happy reading!