Summer Reading

Well, not exactly reading, per se. I've mentioned it before and I'll admit it again ... I'm not a great reader - not only do I read slowly, but being a multi-tasker, I need to be doing more than one thing at a time (e.g., knitting while watching a movie). Reading does not afford me that necessity. But I really like books, so I listen.

A road trip is a great time to listen - driving while listening to a good book is a perfect multi-tasting activity for me. I finished several books while on our two road trips this summer:

This was the first one. After seeing the movie that told the quasi story of Facebook, I realized I wanted to know, not just the real story, but the whole story. It's quite an amazing story. If you can get your hands on this book, read it.
However, if you're like me, you'll want to read other books that were written to tell the true story of the "beginning" of something. I'm currently listening to the story of Starbucks.



This was the next one. Part of the Nick Heller series. I've never read anything from this author, but I thoroughly enjoyed this action/mystery book. Huge twist - I love when I can't see it coming.



I've been wanting to read the books that I had to read as a kid. I read this one when I was a sophomore in high school. At the end of the semester, we all had to do a little skit on any book we'd read for that class. I picked this book and reconstructed the scene where Phineas broke the school swimming record - although in my version, he didn't and Gene was all too happy about it. I digress ... As a kid, I didn't really appreciate the value of these types of books, so I've been slipping them in every 6th or 7th book or so (I read Bridge to Terabithia not too long ago even though it wasn't one of those books I read (or pretended to read) as a kid). I enjoyed this book, but was glad when it done.



This is another Youth novel - it's about exactly what the title says. I find myself checking out youth books from the library because I don't remember reading these types of books when I was a youth. It seems like I was reading something for a school assignment, therefore didn't have time to read my own selections. These are quick, and although quite predictable, they are still enjoyable. Plus, I'd like to see what's out there before my children start reading them.



Yet another Youth novel. This one is cool - in a time when it seems all youth stories are about vampires, werewolves, wizards, or time travel, this one was a little different. It was about dreams, or more specifically about a girl that is cursed with the ability to get sucked into others' dreams. It is the first of a trilogy (and I've since read the second book, Fade). I look forward to the third and final book of the series. Again, predictable, but enjoyable.



I'd read this author before, so I when I saw it at the library, I grabbed it. I wasn't captivated, but the story was interesting enough to finish.



I usually like anything from this author, but this one definitely wasn't one of my favorites. It had enough forensic stuff to keep me listening.



I've been wanting to read this for a while. But it is so damn long! I just finally bit the bullet and hunkered down for a long while. It was slow going for a good part of the book, but in last several pages of the book, I couldn't put it away. And when it was over, I was wanting more of the story that had started to unfold. Too bad it was the end of the book.

I've completed a couple more books since the end of the summer, and I always have the iPod ready for when I'm folding laundry or loading the dishwasher. I'll write another post about those books later. In the meantime, happy reading.