Four Books, One Post

When I was younger, even up until I was about eighteen, I used to read all of the time. Seriously, I'd always have a book and I would tackle around twenty to twenty-five books a year. I loved reading, I love reading now, it just all comes down to time. I don't have the time I used to have to sit down and completely dive into a whole new world. I can't commit hours on end to trying to complete or book or sometimes even those twenty minutes to get a chapter or two in. When I have the opportunity to read, I seize the day. I take it without looking back and I just try to devour as many stories as I possibly can. So I must say, thank god for vacation.

I've mentioned in my posts during the past week what books I was bringing, what books I picked up and which ones I read, so I figured I'd go into a bit more detail about each of them in mini reviews. I don't actually know what I'm talking about but that's never stopped me before, so here's what I enjoyed (and maybe not-so-enjoyed)(but let's be real I enjoyed all of them) about the books I read on vacation.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen is my homegirl, let's start there. I've been reading Sarah Dessen books since middle school and I don't think she'll ever let me down. Sarah Dessen books are my go-tos. If I know that I need a good read, I can count on my girl Sarah to provide a great story that will keep me entertained and present. This was, unsurprisingly, not an exception to that. The books all follow a similar pattern, one that I will never get sick of reading, no matter how many of her books I tackle. There's still so much variation in the telling of the stories that I just find the need to read them all.

Without giving too much away, Saint Anything is about a girl with a troubled older brother whose actions seem to haunt her family, whether it's in the way that she's treated or the way her mother reacts the world. Sydney is thrown (well, she willingly chooses to transfer) into a new school with new friends and new adventures. She finds solace in a pizza parlor and ends up befriending the children of the owners. From there, Sydney begins to truly feel what it's like to accept and be accepted, something she hadn't previously gotten in the past. It had its fair share of cliches, which I am a total sucker for. If you're looking for a summer read you won't want to put down, I have one for you!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I've been meaning to read Eleanor & Park by Rowell for a while now, but alas, I picked up Fangirl first because I'd heard a lot about it from friends and on Tumblr. This was the second book I read during the first car ride, the chaser to Saint Anything. I started it in a gas station somewhere in New York and finished just before we hit Massachusetts. It starts with two twins going away to the same college, though for the first time they won't be living together because Wren doesn't want to live with Cath anymore so she can experience new things. Cath is an introvert, preferring solace in her room and keeping her sister close for comfort. The book is a sweet telling of making it in the first year of college (while sometimes not making it), trying to impress the "unimpressable" professors, worrying too much about our parents, and knowing when to move on (and when not to). At the beginning, I was starting to regret the purchase, but come the middle of the book I was full-on internally squealing when "things" started to unfold and happens to Cath. Definitely don't regret purchasing and if you're a fan of YA (or honestly, if you just like good books, come on now) you should give it a read!

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg

I've been eagerly wanting to read this book for ages now, but I didn't want to get the hardcover copy because...well...I've definitely talked about my hatred for hardcover books. I was ready to cave many times, but alas, I popped into the bookstore before vacation and saw this sucker in paperback and knew it had to come home with me. It's a humor/social commentary book about modern dating and I found it hilariously fascinating all at once. You get Aziz Ansari's distinct and funny narration while getting to learn about the ins and outs of modern dating and all of its tools. It's like having a really hilarious professor or lecturer in front of you for however long it takes you to read the book. It tackles emoji usage to the gap between replying to texts and the competition to see who can take longer to reply to Tinder pictures and everything in between. It has insight from various other professionals, from social scientists to professionals from dating websites and from just regular day-to-day people from various parts of the world. It was funny, insightful and a super great read.

Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

This was the book I wanted to read the most on vacation and I didn't actually get it until I was on vacation. I saw this book on plenty of Instagram feeds over the past few weeks and really just wanted to get in on the fun. What I wasn't expecting was this gritty and interesting coming of age sort of story of a girl who escapes to New York City and delves into the surprisingly drama-filled food business. Tess, the narrator, moves to NYC knowing nobody with no money into a Brooklyn apartment with a stranger. She gets whisked away into the restaurant business where she becomes a back-waiter at a very prominent restaurant in Union Square, where a job was more than a job, it was a lifestyle. It was the most "intense" book I read over the trip, in its storytelling. It dealt with topics from food to sex to drugs to love in a different way. Tess went through what felt like hell and back throughout the story as she got more and more involved with the restaurant and all of its employees. Out of all of the books I read over this trip, I might have to say this was my favorite. It took me a chapter or two to get used to the tone of the novel and how the narration worked, but once I found my groove, I never wanted to get out. I was genuinely worried that the road trip would end before I could finish because the thought of putting it down killed me.

What books have you read lately?