Once Upon a Time

One of my favorite summer traditions is curling up with a good book and spending the whole day outside basking in the sunshine. This has led to a few nasty sunburns and a whole collection of mushy romance novels haha. I try to make time to do this as much as possible during the summer months. The whole experience enables me to savor the freedom of summer while discovering new books. 

However between working and studying I’ve been neglecting my books recently. I decided to do some book shopping and restock my shelves with some new material. Hopefully I’ll be inspired to sit outdoors and relax soon.

 Below are some of my current favorites and as soon as I finish my newly purchased books I’ll be sure review them!

(Image credit impawards.com)

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This book really made an impact on me. The story begins with the characters as children and details their life at boarding school. As they grow older the more they realize their lives are not as perfect as they seem. Their destinies have all ready been pre-determined before they were even born. 

I know this is an extremely vague summary but I don’t want to give anything away! I can say that this the book has really stuck with me. I fell in love with the characters and found it really hard to accept the ending! The story contains romance, humor and characters you can’t help but root for. The book was also named as TIME Magazine’s best novel of 2005. 

(Image credit puffin.co.uk)

Driftwood by Cathy Cassidy

I must have first read this book when I was about 9. Although it’s not appropriate if you’re looking for a more mature read this is certainly a summer favorite for me.  

For a children’s book it certainly deals with some dark issues such as depression, suicide, and homophobia. The story surrounding these topics is gripping and the scenes set at the beach make me desperately want to go to the seaside. That said, Cathy Cassidy has a very distinct style of writing, if you don’t like her approach then this book may not be for you. 

(Image credit amazon.com)

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Another heart breaking read over here. I’ve just realized how depressing my choice of books seems to be! The novel chronicles the life of Briony Tallis and the damage she causes after she misinterprets what she sees and accuses an innocent man of a terrible crime. The novel is set before, during and after WW2. The story sees her trying to attain atonement  (see what I did there) for the mistake she made as a child. 

Again a very captivating read. The characters seem so real I felt as though I was watching the action right in front of me. The movie is really worth watching too if only to drool over James McAvoy haha. 

Happy reading!