Good Reads : Looking For Alaska

We came home from Cancun and hit the ground running. And by running I mean that I wouldn't be surprised if someone sprinted behind me, handed me a baton and pointed to the finish line. Why, yes, I just made myself the anchor in this pretend relay race because SHORT GIRLS CAN DREAM, RIGHT?!

I'm working for a portion of this morning then taking the afternoon off to read. Or train for a 4×400 relay race. Whichever comes first.

Speaking of reading, here's a list of Good Reads I recently enjoyed and if you carve out time this summer for a literary splurge, I think you may enjoy a few of these…

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. When a dear friend recommended I read it, I was little leery because I'm not into stories that teeter on fairytale fiction, but this was a pleasant surprise. The writing is fluid and the story intrigued me from start to finish, even causing me to forego episodes of reality t.v. I know, RIGHT?! Who am I?! The end left me with lots of questions, but I think it's part of the lure and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I can't express how many people said I should read this book and I'm happy I finally made it priority. It's a simple read, but the premise was profound in the deepest of ways. It focuses on love–specifically God's love–and while I anticipated lots of warm&fuzzy, remedial quips, the questions Chan poses and answers have left an indelible impression. Weeks after I finished it, and I'm still thinking about it…so worth the read!

The Shoemaker's Wife by Ariana Trigiani. My sister gave this book to me for our birthday (we're twins) and it's such a my-sister book. That won't make sense unless you know Bianca, but she's the nicer, softer one in our duo and her book choices reflect it. She was the girl who stayed in bed for days to read The Help and Twilight, so to say our literary choices are different would be an understatement. More like polar opposites. But I'm happy with her gift because it was a delightful story and a quick read. It's loosely based on Trigiani's grandparents' love story and immigration from Italy and I enjoyed the pleasant read.

Looking For Alaska by John Green. And, whoa. This book? I loved it to a thousand pieces. I mean, yes, the story was good, but the over-arching theme deals with struggle, pain, and death, which sounds dark, but it's a teen fiction novel so Green does a great job keep things light yet asks deep questions. As each character works through his or her Labyrinth, their lives change and they're forced to grow up and see life in a new way.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I usually only read books recommended by friends, but surfing Amazon.com one afternoon brought me to this book and it had great reviews. On a whim, I purchased it, but when it arrived I was shocked to see its size. It's about 550 pages and though I was a tad skeptical diving in, I'm glad I did. Morton's writing is solid and she does a great job painting the story with words (hence the size), but the way she weaves three different stories into one is delicious. At the end of the day, a granddaughter discovers her grandmother's missing identity and rediscovers herself in the process too. It held my attention through the entirety of the read and though it reads like a chick flick, it was lovely diversity to what's on my bookshelf. Totally enjoyed it.

Happy Wednesday!