Summer is on its way which means days at the beach are soon to come. If you are anything like me then laying on the beach almost always includes a gripping book in hand. Even if the beach isn’t your thing, if I am camping I almost always bring a book to read outside in the shade. A blanket, a book, and sitting in the grass is one of my favorite lazy day summer activities. Sometimes when it comes to books, I get lost in deciding what I want to read. As soon as I step foot in a bookstore or a library I get lost among the pages and I just want to read every single one. But to help you narrow it down, I have compiled a list of some of my favorite books that are not all fresh off the shelf for you to read.
- Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
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Flowers in the Attic is a gothic novel and is the first in the Dollanganger family series. It is a dark and twisted novel surrounding four siblings and their journey after a family death changes life as they know it. It is told from the first-person point of view of the eldest daughter Cathy. When you pick this book up, you will not be able to put it down. You will find yourself attached to the characters and will have no choice but to read the rest of the series afterward. The novel has always been seen as a bit controversial because of some of the major themes in the story, so make sure to do further research before diving right into this one!
- Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
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Safe Haven is a romance novel written by none other than Nicholas Sparks… the king of romance novels. It was adapted into a popular film in 2013, but it is still worth the read. I read this novel in two days tops. It follows a young woman named Katie who moves to North Carolina abruptly, not knowing a single soul. She creates a new life for herself and in the process, she falls in love with a widower named Alex. Slowly her past creeps up on her leaving you on the edge of your seat unable to put the book down.
- 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult
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I will never forget reading this book in one of my classes for high school. It was the only book I could see myself reading again, or even outside of the classroom in general. It’s dark and heartbreaking, however, I think it is one of those books that almost everyone should read. It holds many lessons throughout the layers of the story. It follows the aftermath of a school shooting and different people who play an important role from beginning to end. School shootings are a terrifying subject, which unfortunately is something we hear about often, but the novel talks about factors that need to be taken more seriously. It is well written, thoughtful, is definitely a page-turner.
- The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
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I was very wary about reading this book during my freshman year of college. One of the first things I asked was, is it actually about religion? To me, it was just not a topic that I was interested in reading about, but it turns out that it is one of my favorite books that I have read in school. It was not actually about religion, but clearly, heaven is the setting for part of it. It is a beautifully sad book that you will not want to put down. It surrounds a mechanic that died risking his life for a little girl in an amusement park accident. It surrounds both his life and his death and five people that played a role in his life somehow even if it was the smallest interaction. It is 10/10 a book worth reading.
- Any book that was ever written by Stephen King
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I have actually only read three of his novels of which include: The Shining, Pet Sematary, It, and Misery, which I am actually not finished with. However, I plan to read all of his books… which is a hefty goal, in my lifetime. Most of his novels have been adapted into a screenplay, but reading them is so much better!!! His writing takes a little to get used to if you are not an avid Stephen King reader, but he has everything from short stories, to shorter novels, to 1000 page novels. There is something for everyone, and if you are into darker stories that you will not be able to put down I recommend you picking one up!!
Happy reading!!!