It’s Summer: Read a Book!

I love Summer. It’s hot, it’s sunny, the days are longer, there’s tons of fun stuff to do, and I’m just generally in a great mood. It’s now August, and I’m realizing that I’ve got about a month left to take advantage of everything I want to do in this beautiful season. I’m going to start posting about some of my experiences and recommendations. Come enjoy Summer with me!

These past few weeks have been packed full of trips (Yay SDCC!), work, and fun activities with family and friends, but there hasn’t been a whole lot of “me” time. I’m usually a stickler on finding a bit of balance and time to relax, and I realize I haven’t just picked up a book for fun for what’s felt like years. My friends Kristina, Mallory, Emily, and Jenn all participated in “BookTubeaThon” a couple weeks ago (where they were challenged to read a bunch of books over the course of a week), and their example made me want to pick up a book myself.

I picked up some fun new books at Powell’s in Portland and at SDCC in this past month, and can’t wait to go through them all! Here’s what’s on my “To-Read” list:

Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles
I’ve been meaning to read this book forever, and finally picked it up to read on the flight to and from SDCC. It’s a cross between Cinderella and Sailor Moon, and that’s pretty much all you need to know. If you like those, you’ll like this. It’s a quick, fun, fluffy read. I found it a bit too predictable for my tastes, but I’m a big fan of retellings of fairy tales, and prefer subtle ones.

Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line
I’m what you may call a bandwagon Veronica Mars fan. (If you were mean, that is.) I hadn’t seen the show until the Kickstarter came out and I realized everyone whose taste I respect was talking about this show. I marathoned the show, went to the movie on opening night, and then got Rob Thomas to sign a copy of this book at SDCC. I’m only a couple pages in, but it’s already grabbed me. I can’t wait to read it!

Ex-Heroes
It’s LA. There are superheroes, and the zombie apocalypse just happened. That’s all I needed to know before I bought a copy of this book. I got a chance to meet the author, Peter Cline, at SDCC (he’s a really nice guy!), and I can’t wait to start reading this.

Ex-Patriots
This is the second book in the “Ex” series, and folks at SDCC were so positive that I’d like the first one that they gave me the second one for free. I called it a “reverse drug deal.” Give me the second so I have to buy the first and get myself hooked! Bonus: this one’s signed by the author.

Betty Crocker’s Guide to Easy Entertaining
I love collecting vintage books, specifically ones about etiquette, entertaining, or social situations. Although this book isn’t actually vintage (gasp! Don’t tell anyone!), it contains anecdotes and recipes from a version of this book that was released in 1959. I look forward to learning about recipes such as “Cocktail Surprise” or “Cheese Kix” (which are exactly it sounds like).

Vogue Book of Menus and Recipes for Entertaining at Home
This book was written by Vogue editors in 1964, and profiles the different types of dinner parties and events you can have at home. It’s full of menus, recipes, and cocktail ideas, and has that delicious vintage book smell. This one will be displayed on a bookshelf more than it will be read, but I still look forward to perusing through it.

Sweet Designs: Bake It, Craft It, Style It
I’ve had my eye on this book since it first came out, and I’m so psyched to finally own a copy! It showcases all aspects of making beautiful dessert displays, including recipes, crafts, and beautiful style inspiration. I’m hoping it will help me up my decorating/tablescape game, and gain some fun tips and tricks. I’ve read about half of it so far, and it’s really cool.

Are you taking some time to read this summer? What’s on your “To Read” list?