I was looking through the list of books I’ve downloaded on to my Kindle over the past few months and realized that I forgot to blog about one of my favorite parts of our Turks and Caicos vacation – sitting by the ocean and reading. Simplicity and relaxation at its finest. I try to channel the feeling every chance I get, but it’s never quite the same!
Anyway, the three books I read (I’m a speed reader) could not have been any more different. While I’m not going to do full reviews, I thought I’d touch on why I enjoyed each of the books so much.
Note: Unless I don’t plan to read a particular book, I won’t read full reviews about it. I like not knowing what I’m getting myself into (aside from what’s on the back cover). It’s more fun that way!
The first book I decided to delve into while on vacation was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.
I’m sure most, if not all, of you have heard of this book. Gone Girl almost didn’t make it on to my Kindle because of the mixed things I heard after it first debuted. Personally, I really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect combination of psychological thriller and suspense, with every chapter being a cliffhanger. What drew me in the most was the love-hate relationship I formed with every single character, and the fact that with every page I was questioning my previous assumptions. I couldn’t put this book down!
Next up was And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini.
Let me start off my saying that A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author is my favorite book. Ever. So I went into this one with very high expectations. And while this didn’t beat out my #1 favorite, it was one of those books that stays with you for a long time. It’s emotional (I cried several times) and very raw. And while I did enjoy it, I finished the book wanting more – more character development and more closure. Regardless, I recommend And the Mountains Echoed, as well as highly recommend The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Just make sure there’s a tissue box close by!
And finally, the last book I read on vacation was Across Eternity by Aris Whittier.
I actually learned about this book from the author herself! She emailed me a few months ago asking if I would be interested in reading and then reviewing the book on the blog. After reading a short synopsis (that thankfully didn’t give much away), I agreed. It sounded intriguing to say the least, especially because reincarnation is the central theme. Both the spiritual and romantic sides of me enjoyed this book because it addressed ideas and thoughts that have been openly discussed among my family and friends for as long as I can remember. If nothing else, this book really makes you think long and hard about soul mates and the (possible) connections and bonds we bring into our current life as well as take into our next. Overall, this unconventional love story was powerful and thought provoking. Most hard core romantics would probably enjoy it!
And just because quotes are my favorite thing ever, especially love quotes, I thought I’d share one of my favorites from the book – “Loving you means no fear. It means forgiving and forgetting. It means understanding and accepting.” How beautiful!
Now it’s your turn! Tell me what you’ve been reading this summer. I need recommendations for our long trip to India!
I’ve been looking for a good book to get into and I think I’m going to have to go with And The Mountains Echoed- I loved Kite Runner! Although I haven’t read it myself yet, I’ve heard 29 Gifts is a fabulous, easy read!
The Kite Runner was so good! I remember reading it and being completely engrossed in the story. You’ll like And the Mountain Echoed – it’s really well written…just isn’t AS good as his other two books.
It’s been a year since I read Gone Girl and I have yet to find a book that i love more! I still think about it. It was so twisted, yet totally amazing. I read all of her other books but they are waaaaay darker and kind of more on the depressing side. I need to find another book that sucks me in like that! “and the mountains echoed” is also on my to read list! glad to hear you liked it!
I still think about it too! It was so intense and unlike anything else I’ve read in a long time. Hosseini’s new book is good, but I highly recommend A Thousand Spelendid Suns more (if you haven’t read it yet).
as much as I would like to read this Summer, I havent been able too. I would love to read Hosseinis book and Gone Girl.
The summer is whizzing by!! Def check those out – you’ll like them!
A Thousand Splendid Suns was just so good. Probably the only book that has ever made me cry (I’m not a big book/movie cryer). Hosseini’s new book is definitely on my to-read list.
Let’s see what have I been reading lately? Randomly I decided to read the Hannibal Lecter series (I finished Red Dragon – loved it! and Silence of the Lambs – good, but didn’t love it as much probably because I remembered the movie so well but haven’t read the last one yet). They’re really beautifully written for mystery/horror novels.
I also read the Steve Jobs biography, and it was really fascinating. I hate technology, but I was still riveted by the story, even though Jobs was an ass.
Before that I read the Twelve Tribes of Hattie (good, but it left me wanting more, much like you described), The Sun Also Rises and I just started The Execution of Noa P. Singleton and Anne Lammott’s first novel Hard Laughter.
Sorry, didn’t mean to ramble.
Thanks for the recommendations!
I read a lot of ATSS on the airplane (was travelling a lot for work at the time), and I still remember all the strange looks I got as I read and cried my way through. Such a powerful book!
And thanks for all the other recs – will be checking them out soon! 🙂
i envy people who read books… i’m so busy with work and my blog that i can’t even read a book. at least i read blogs. I have to try though, i just can’t help it, reading puts me to sleep… really sucks.
You’re so funny! You should read Gone Girl, it def won’t put you to sleep!
I loved Gone Girl…it was just so crazy! It’s hard to find books these days that have such a huge impact.
I was on the fence on Mountains. I read it on a trip to London and it occupied my time but didn’t hold a candle to Hossein’s other books.
I will check out Across Eternity! I just finished Mohsin Hamid’s latest book How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia (it’s fiction, despite the odd title) and I really liked it. I do prefer The Reluctant Fundamentalist though!
I felt the same way about Gone Girl – it was so intense! I would gasp upon finishing a chapter, which in turn made Vishnu jump – so funny! And I’ll definitely check out The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Thanks!
I’ve heard that Gone Girl is good but I’ve never read it! I need to find some more time for leisure reading 🙂
I love psychological thrillers and I am always looking for ones out there with decent character development and I do also love a good twist ending! I will definitely check out “Gone Girl” (thank you!). I thought I would recommend a fantastic murder mystery/psychological thriller called “The Gemini Factor” by author Philip Fleishman (http://www.philipfleishmanmd.com/). This book features two detectives in two different countries dealing with identical murders and come to find out later, they are living very similar lives too! The book has so many twists and turns that I couldn’t put it down and the ending blew me away. It is the author’s first novel, and he is already being compared to Michael Crichton and Robin Cook! I highly recommend it and hope you will give it a read
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