I have an ever expanding collection of books that look
beautiful on my bookshelf, appear fascinating or thrilling or interesting, and
that have not been opened. No creased spines, no folded pages, just perfect,
bookshop conditions books. There’s a lesson mixed in with this and it sounds
something like my bank account, it tells me to stop buying books when I have a
handful sitting at home to be read and yet, I can’t. So I thought I’d take
advantage of their perfect condition and take a few photos and tell you about
the top 5 books on my to be read list for this summer…
So technically, I
have started reading ‘All The Light We Cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr, but I
haven’t had a lot of time and so I’ve only made it about 50 pages in. The book
is about a young, blind girl in a Paris neighbourhood and how she navigates a
life full of mazes. Her future draws her ever closer to Werner, a German Orphan,
destined to labour in the mines until a broken radio brings him to the notice
of the Hitler Youth. The book is beautifully and unusually written from what I’ve
read so far and it won the Pulitzer Prize in in 2015 so I’m definitely excited
to continue reading it and find out Marie-Laure’s fate.
‘Just One Day’ is written by Gayle Forman who is the author
of If I Stay, a beautiful book-turned-movie and so I decided that I had to read
everything she has ever written. This one is about a whirlwind day in Paris, a
chance at true love and heartbreak. I feel like this is going to be a slightly
emotional story but definitely a good summer young adult book.
Another book I’ve begun but not made any real dint in is ‘The
Universe In Your Hand’ by the internationally renowned physicist Christophe
Galfard. This one is not a fiction book and explores some incredibly complex
but also profound ideas of our time such as Quantum Mechanics, Time Travel and
Multiple Universes. Although this one isn’t such a light read, it promises to
remain understandable and I enjoy the conversational style to the writing and
how understandable the parts I’ve read have been.
‘The Girl of Ink & Stars’ by Kiran Millwood Hargrave is
the smallest of all the books on my list and perfect for cramming into a
handbag for trips out and to take to the beach. It’s a fantasy novel about a
girl forbidden to leave her island, who insists on being part of the search
party when her best friend disappears. Navigating by an ancient map and the
stars, Isabella discovers the dangerous Forgotten Territories of her island and
a fiery myth is stirring from sleep. This totally interests me as I love
fantasy novels and this one looks so lovely and has such an interesting
concept, I can’t wait to read this.
The final book on my list is an incredibly recent movie
adaptation, ‘Me Before You’ by Jojo Moyes. I’ve seen the film trailers and
decided I had to see the book before I saw the film. This one is a definite
romance novel and I’m saving it for a hot day, lounging at the beach. For
anyone who hasn’t seen the trailers, it’s about a young woman who’s aimless
after losing her job and a young man left wheelchair bound after a motorcycle
accident and the story revolves around the impact of their friendship. Will
made a deal with his mother to live just six more months but will Lou be enough
reason for him to want to live? I think I’m going to cry a lot when I read this
but I’m really looking forward to seeing how Will’s depression is discussed and
how his desire to go to a Dignitas clinic is treated because there’s never
enough discussion of mental illness and the right-to-die clinics of Switzerland
have definitely been controversial. This is definitely going to be a romantic,
tearjerker of a book.
What books have you been meaning to read? Or any
recommendations of books you’ve enjoyed recently? Let me know!
