What I read this summer

What I read this summer

Growing up I was always into reading, however as I aged I began to fall out of love with it. Many books were started and left unfinished. I partly blame this on studying for my English GCSEs as each book was so highly analysed it took the pleasure of reading the books out of it. Reading was no longer for fun, it was work. I felt I needed a ‘break’ from it.

Since then I’ve tried numerous times to start reading again but I’ve really struggled to get back into it. I find it hard to choose a genre let alone a book – basically I have no idea what I like anymore.

And so I set myself the aim to read one book each month of my summer break. 5 books. This may not seem a lot to some people but finishing even one book is not a regular occurrence in my life anymore. I decided to write this post to document whether or not I reached this goal and to note if it has changed my feelings towards reading.

Book number 1) Me Before You

When finding a book to read, one of the easiest ways I choose one is to find one which is being made into a film. This acts as a form of motivation to read the book as a sort of deadline for when I need to finish it. I’m also eager to read the book before the film in order to make a comparison. Lame I know. Anyways I successfully read the whole book! Surprisingly it wasn’t as difficult as expected. The book was in fact very similar to the film although a few things were left out. I found I got sucked into the story straight away and was rooting for Lou. I wanted the happy ending that didn’t come, but it was okay. The story touched upon darker topics under the surface making the book more interesting than being a straightforward romance novel. I would recommend this book but then again you could just watch the film. (I’m sure my English teacher would be very disappointed to hear me say that).

Book number 2) The Kite Runner

On many occasions when I asked people what book I should read this was always mentioned. So I thought I would give it a go. I was told how amazing it was and how people had read it in a day, but sadly I didn’t get on well with it. I found this book very hard to read as I couldn’t connect with the characters or the storyline. I got about 3/4 of the way through when I put the book down and didn’t pick it back up again. This is the type of thing that has happened to me in the past which is such a shame. I think maybe this is a book to try again in the future but for now I’ll leave it unfinished.

Book number 3) We Were Liars

I found this book through Zoella’s booklist lol and to be honest I didn’t really expect much.  But I actually really enjoyed it! It was short – only about 220 pages and I was able to finish it in two days. I found the writing style of this book very different as some parts of the text were spaced on the page as if written as a poem. There were a lot of metaphors in this book and every now and then I had to second guess if things happened literally or not. Some parts of the story were written as a fairy tale as a way to delve deeper into the situations. But despite all this it was not difficult to read and I read fast knowing there would be a twist at the end. And. It. Shocked. Me. Throughout the story you are made to wonder what happened and when it all came together it wasn’t what I expected. This is the type of story which you want to go back and read again now you know the truth. I would highly recommend this book and once you’ve read it, please tell me so we can discuss!

Book number 4) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I am a huge Harry Potter fan. And since I don’t have tickets to the play I was eager to preorder the book. This arrived on Sunday 31st July even though according to Uncle Vernon ‘there’s no post on Sundays’ – thank God for Amazon Prime. I was quite nervous about reading this as it was a script – something I haven’t read since my GCSE days. But like a true fan I really enjoyed it. It was much faster paced than the original books and there was no need for a back story recap. I enjoyed reading about how the characters have grown up and what their children were like and was glad it continued on from the 19 years later which was started in the Deathly Hallows. The plot wasn’t what I expected and I found it strange that so much of the story was focused on Cedric – someone I did not feel any attachment to. I also thought some of the time changing plots were a bit obvious such as Harry dying and of course being brought back. But I liked the parts about Delphi and when it was revealed who she really was.  I also really enjoyed learning more about Draco and his relationship with his son Scorpious, and was pleased when Dumbledore and Snape made an appearance. If you’re a Harry Potter fan and you haven’t read this book yet – why???

And finally…

Book number 5) The Girls

This book technically doesn’t count as I haven’t started it yet but I thought I’d include it as the book I’m reading this month. I’ve seen this book around a lot recently and am excited to get stuck into something a little different. As far as I know it is about a teenager who is drawn into joining a soon-to-be infamous cult. Very interesting.

So technically I read 3 books so far, but I am still pretty pleased with that. I hope I can keep this up and look forward to reading more often.

What did you read this summer?

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2 Comments

  1. Sarah
    September 8, 2016 / 10:39 pm

    Great again Linda. I like the way you can discuss these books without giving away the stories ☺️

  2. September 9, 2016 / 7:24 pm

    I need to pick up reading too, me before you seems like a good one so i’ll have to check it out soon! Thanks for the rec’s x
    Minae ♥ MinaekeiLatest Blog Post!

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