If you’re looking for a good book to dive into this weekend — it’s what weekends are for, after all — here’s a list of my most recent recommended reads!
The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins: Hailed as this year’s Gone Girl — which I devoured in a weekend, bee-tee-dubs; read it if you haven’t yet — Hawkins’ psychological thriller is almost as difficult to put down. Told through the point of view of several narrators, this book literally kept me guessing until I finished it. (And the end was much more satisfying than its much-loved predecessor.)
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple: “Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.” (Goodreads) When Bernadette disappears just before a planned family trip to Antarctica, Bee sets out on a mission to find her. I loved the construction of this book: Semple presents the reader with emails, letters, official documents and secret correspondence to piece together a story of eccentric characters that’s funny, dark, smart and heartwarming. Put it in your beach bag or bring it with you on vacation.
Grace’s Guide: The Art of Pretending To Be A Grownup by Grace Helbig – I bought this book purely because I love Grace, Hannah, and Mamrie and can easily spend hours watching and LOLing at their YouTube videos. Grace’s irreverent illustrated guide to navigating adulthood in your early 20s is hilarious and on-point, and although I’m outside the target demographic for this one, I would totally give it as a college graduation gift.
Bridget Jones: Mad About A Boy by Helen Fielding: Bridget Jones is one of my favorite literary characters of all time, and she makes a triumphantly awkward return in Mad About a Boy. It’s 14 years later, and Bridget’s tackling new ‘modern’ challenges as a mother and widow (RIP, Mark Darcy) while writing a screenplay, figuring out Twitter, learning the dangers of drunk texting, and navigating the dating scene. All with grace, of course [snort]. I loved this book as much as I loved the original diary: it made me laugh a lot; choked me up once or twice; and left me wanting more Bridget.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh: “Beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past.” I have a soft spot for this book because flowers are almost a main character; they bring purpose and meaning to a broken woman’s life. I’ll be honest, I didn’t love the story (it was fine) but learning about the Victorian ‘language of flowers’ throughout the book made it worth the read.
What do you think?