July reading round up

Another 5 books down! I am on a reading roll. I think I am going to have to set reading goals like this moving forward because I am plowing through books like never before. I can never turn down a challenge!

This month's books:

The synopsis made this seem like it is a flighty beach read. I had seen it in the living room of a friend who would never in a million years read a "chick novel" so I decided I'd give it a try. Oh my, so so so happy I did. The book centers around Dora, a college student who literally drops everything to drive home to her small town when her grandmother falls ill. She takes over running her grandmother's vintage dress shop and discovers that her grandmother had written stories about the dresses in the shop. This book was so captivating and I could visualize everything in this book - run, don't walk, to go get this book, honestly!

This was a great, eye opening, and quick read. I've mentioned before that I am a Mika fan. Big fan. I also really recommend her most recent book, "Obsessed." This book is about why women are paid less and how knowing your value as a women can help you get ahead in a world of men. She interviews big names in politics and the media (Sheryl Sandberg, Valerie Jarrett, Donny Deutsch, and others). They all share what they've learned about knowing their worth and getting what they deserve salary and appreciation wise. Not only did I learn more about that, I learned how "Morning Joe" was created and have even more respect for Joe Scarborough now than I already did (which was a great deal). Even cooler, was when I tweeted a picture of my at the pool reading this, Mika responded and we exchanged a few tweets. Then after she retweeted the picture, her mom joined the conversation. Seriously, I geeked out! This one may not be for everyone, but it was fascinating to me!

This was a very, very interesting read. It's set in the post-war Balkins. Natalia is a doctor who, in the wake of her beloved grandfather's death, learns more about his past and in turn, about herself. This is written with two voices. Natalia's story in the present day and her memories of stories her grandfather shared with her, written in his voice. It can be a bit hard to follow because there are a few story lines within the grandfather's story, but I found them so richly written that I was beyond captivated. It's really an amazing story that is a wondrous debut novel for the young author!

This fantastic book wasn't on my original list, but was a wonderful read. My dear friend, Jackie, raved about it and I had to pick it up. It's youth fiction, but everyone should read it.  The book is about a boy, Auggie, who has a cranio-facial defect like my good friend Gabe (Jackie's son). I cannot recommend this book enough. It was wonderful. Maybe it tugged at my heart strings more because I know Gabe, but either way this story talks of one boy's courage and how important it is to learn to like people for who they are. It teaches tolerance, not to judge, and how to really be a friend.

So I technically finished this one in August, but it was August 2nd, so I'm counting it as a July read. This was such a sweet and heartwarming read. Harold Fry gets a letter from a former work acquaintance, she's dying of terminal caner, 600+ miles away. And with that letter starts Harold's journey to say good-bye. He walks his way across the UK and in the process finds himself and helps others find themselves. It's a love story at times, a story of self-realization at others, and just so sweet. I was rooting Harold on the entire book, I was willing him to walk, just as he was walking to will his former co-worker to live. HIghly recommend!

8 books down, 1 more to go to meet my goal of 9!