There’s something to be said about a good book. Finding a book that captivates your attention to the extent that you want to ignore all other obligations so that you can continue reading is one of the greatest feelings in the world. With summer rapidly approaching, now is the perfect time to start getting together a good “book list”. To help you capitalize on your down time with some great books, I’ve compiled a list including a few of my favorites that are great reads when laying  on the beach, by the pool, or just in your bed at night!

Bossypants by Tina Fey:  I absolutely love Tina Fey. I loved her on Saturday Night Live, and Mean Girls was hands down one of my favorite movies while in high school. Therefore, when her autobiography Bossypants came out, I knew I had to read it. As to be expected, Fey is able to hilariously tell the story of her childhood, her time spent on Saturday Night Live, and the creation of the popular tv series, 30 Rock.  Even if you aren’t very familiar with who Tina Fey is, I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a light read that will keep you laughing throughout.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: Just as the back cover of this book says, this is the happiest sad book that I have ever read. The book is told from the perspective of Enzo, a dog who has lived a full life and who believes in the Mongolian legend that if he is prepared for death, he will be reincarnated as a human. Enzo is a loyal companion to his race car driver owner, Denny, and shares his observations of human life as he sees Denny experience marriage, parenthood, and death. Reading a book written from such a unique perspective is eye-opening and moving, and I highly encourage this book.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf: This is Gudenkauf’s first novel, and my only wish is that I could erase my memory so that I could read this book over and over again. I read it on a long plane ride and couldn’t put it down for one second. It’s a mystery thriller about two seven year old girls, Calli and Petra, who go missing one night. Calli is a selective mute who hasn’t spoken in three years, and Petra is Calli’s closest friend - who often serves as Calli’s voice. To find out exactly what has happened to their children, the families of these two girls must face some of their darkest secrets to reveal what possibly could have happened that night. The storyline of this book will captivate your attention, and leave you begging for more with the turn of each page.

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: I actually wound up watching the movie before reading the first Hunger Games book, but I cannot say enough good things about this series. You won’t be able to put these books down! The entire series includes The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. The storyline takes place in the distant future, in which the nation of Panem is divided into twelve poor districts that are ruled by the wealthy Capitol. As punishment for a prior rebellion against the Capitol in which all districts were defeated, the Capitol hosts the annual “Hunger Games” in which one boy and one girl, between ages 12 and 18, are randomly selected to participate. Everyone in the nation watches the televised game, and the “tributes” are forced to fight to the death. The trilogy follows the life of Katniss Everdeen, her experience as a tribute in the Hunger Games, and the symbol she becomes for the district members of the nation of Panem. Even if you’ve already seen the movie, I highly encourage you to pick up The Hunger Games series, and get to reading!

I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did, and if you’re interested in purchasing any of them they are all available on the biggerbooks website. Leave comments sharing some of your favorite books, and let us know where you’ll be doing most of your reading this summer!

A few weeks ago a friend of mine took me to an awesome place in Baltimore. It’s called The Book Thing of Baltimore (link to http://bookthing.org) and it’s a pretty magical place. Basically, they get book donations from anyone who is trying to get rid of books and then on Saturday’s and Sunday’s from 9-6 you can go peruse their selection (there are LOTS of books) and take however many books you want for free! Free books, guys…. they’re free! Going to The Book Thing of Baltimore made me start thinking of other awesome places that are generous with their books.

There’s actually a similar company in the UK called “Books for Free.” They started their store to attempt to prevent books from going to landfills. They say that as long as you don’t throw them away, you can take them.

I happened upon this picture (http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7jkihsOI01qa2se0o1_500.jpg) on Tumblr and I thought it was pretty awesome. ReLitNY.org collects gently used books and then hands them out to people who need/want them once a month. I think this idea is particularly great for New York because with the limited amount of space they have they can just rotate their books in and out of the program and share with other people.

My all time favorite bookstore is one that I don’t even know the name and location of. (http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m24tq9iaRK1rnu5aoo1_500.jpg) This picture has circulated around the Internet for a while now and it is so inspiring to me. The fact that this store has books for sale but is offering to give them away for free is so…so precious! I adore generous people and I feel like when others a generous is inspires others and they can pass on the good vibes. Basically I just feel like we all need to be nicer to each other. Okay, okay, I’ll stop now.

What I also think we need more of is free books. Who’s with me!?

I recently turned 20 and I’ve been feeling all nostalgic and weepy about the fact that I’m “growing up.” I heard about the book What I Know Now by Ellen Spragins through a friend and I adored the idea.

Basically the book is a compilation of letters that famous/successful women wrote to their younger selves at a complicated time in their lives. It was a really quick read because the letters aren’t long and I could blow through them in a few hours, but the length isn’t the awesome part. The awesome part is reading about how these awesomely influential and inspiring women once struggled with finding themselves too! I think about that all the time. I try to get all deep and I think to myself, “Who am I, where am I going in my life, what should I do in the future, how do I find myself, etc., etc.” Reading all of those letters assured me that I don’t need to know the answers to everything right now.

The book served its purpose. It inspired me and made me feel better about myself, so I encourage you to read it as well if you need a little advice and life assistance! 

Going back to school is pretty upsetting (to me at least) because I’m forced to do things like homework, speak in front of the class (the WORST), and learn in a way someone else thinks is best. That includes reading books that I wouldn’t normally choose for myself.

Sometimes I end up enjoying books that I’m forced to read in school, but a lot of the time I just read it because I’m obligated to and then I move on without looking back. I then read a book of my choosing because being forced to read something I didn’t want to read gets me in the mood to read ALL OF THE BOOKS that I like.  

Since I feel a lot of sympathy for you readers that are back at school I figured I would share my list of books that I always tend to go for when I am avoiding doing my actual schoolwork.

Some Classics: Classics are fabulous and there is no denying that. Most of the time when we’re required to read books in school they are classics, but quite a few resonated with my friends and me and became favorites. Some of those are Anna Karenina, Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, and Macbeth.

Summer-y Books: No matter what season we’re in, I always get the urge to read summer-y books. The urge is particularly strong in the beginning of the school year because although I’m longing for sweater weather and hot cups of tea, I desperately wish I was still summer so I could live life without the existence of school.

All-time Favorites: Harry Potter. Duh. Never gets old.

Guilty Pleasures: Normally I try to maintain the mindset that I don’t have any guilty pleasures because I don’t want to feel guilty about anything that brings me happiness, but then Fifty Shades of Grey came along. I am aware of its flaws, but no matter what anyone says about this book I will always read it when I need a mood boost.

I hope you enjoy my list/it gives you ideas! If you have any back to school favorites, feel free to share. 

About a month ago I became a vegetarian. I have tried being a vegetarian before, for no particular reason, and it just didn’t stick. I would do well for about two weeks and then remember that bacon exists and I’d give up. It even became a joke in my family. When I informed my father that I’m a vegetarian again he asked if it was going to last until the weekend because he needed to know what to make my sister and me for dinner. This time it’s different, though, because this time I read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.

In this book Foer begins by explaining that he really began to look into the meat industry because he was expecting a child and he wanted to be able to not only feed him well, but also pass down good stories and beliefs to him.

Foer doesn’t try to sway the reader one-way or the other, he just presented the facts. The problem is that the facts are incredibly shocking. You’ll have to read the book to get the full affect, but it’s crazy…crazy enough to convince me to stop eating meat.

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to be better informed about the food they’re fueling their bodies with. And the great part about it is that it doesn’t just focus on the food, it focuses on the stories and meanings behind it.  

I don’t know about you, but during the fall/winter I tend to go to the movies A LOT more. I think it might because once gets cold out there really isn’t much to do outside, so movies it is! Anyways, I also love going to see movies adapted from books, especially if I have already read them. Sure, sometimes it can be scary. You never know how much like the book it will turn out, and they always seem to leave out your favorite part, but it can still be really fun to compare. 

Well, this fall/winter there are a few coming out that I’m dying to see. The first one being the famous Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2. Most people are over the whole Twilight thing, but I’m one of the few who still gets excited about it. This comes to theaters on November 16, 2012- you better believe I will be at the midnight showing.

The second movie that I am really excited about is The Perks of Being a Wallflower! I’m excited to see Emma Watson outside of Harry Potter. I’m sure she will do great though! It comes to theaters on September 21, 2012,

A third movie I cannot wait for is The Hobbit. I am so ready for the first of the Hobbit trilogy to hit theaters. Even though I am ready for this one to come out, I’m also a little scared to go see it. I just hope the movie follows the book well. It comes out on December 14, 2012, so I guess we will see then!

There are tons more books to movies coming out this fall that I will most likely end up going to see. A few of them are:

Lincoln- this hits theaters on November 16, 2012. This book is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s A Team of Rivals.

Les Misérables- this comes to theaters on December 14, 2012. It’s an adaptation of the stage musical that is based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel Les Miserables.

Anna Karenina- this will be in theaters on November 16, 2012. This adaptation of Tolstoy’s tragic novel Anna Karenina starts Keira Knightley and Jude Law. Check out the official trailer below! 

I almost can’t even explain to you how interesting Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is. It is SO amazing and you have to put it at the very top of your “To Be Read” lists. One of the things I loved most about this book is the unique way that the story is told. With one chapter from Nick Dunne and the next from Amy, his wife, the reader is never really sure that they are getting the whole story. Then when you think you are finally figuring out what is going on the novel throws in a twist you never saw coming and makes you question everything all over again.

Normally when I am reading a book that I’m really into and a friend of mine has previously read it I beg them to tell me what’s going to happen. This time my friends who have read this book told me they weren’t going to tell me anything because “you just wait….oh my god, just wait, Ash.” I thought they were being dramatic. I mean, how interesting could it really be? But let me tell you, there are so many plot twists and crazy things that happen throughout this novel. You will not be able to put this book down once you start reading it because it is so very intriguing and intelligent.

I know in all of my book reviews I usually give a little summary of the plot and then my opinion on it but I refuse to tell you anything about the plot this time. Read this book, guys, you will not regret it!

As I am quickly approaching my twentieth birthday I have been attempting to do some deep reflection (I feel like I probably should since I’m supposed to be an ‘adult’ now). While doing this reflecting I have realized that my tastes in a lot of things have changed, as they normally do with age, but I am quite sad about one change in particular. I have been reading books geared more towards adults and I feel like I’ve abandoned my safe home in the Young Adult section.

Although I’m upset (read: distraught) about the evolution of my reading tastes, I know I’ll always have a special place in my heart for certain YA authors and no matter how old I am, I will read every book they write. I know there are many different genres within the YA section that I couldn’t possibly cover in one post, but this list consists of what I think is some of the best of YA.

John Green (As I’ve mentioned many times before): What a flawless man. I personally think John Green’s writing can be enjoyed by people of every age even though his books are in the YA section, but even if they weren’t so versatile I would still read the heck out of them.

Sarah Dessen: I adore this woman. Her books are all very similar in many ways, but each one is special and has just the right amount of everything. I really think that Sarah Dessen’s books are the perfect example of good YA fiction.

Susane Colasanti: I haven’t read all of her books but I greatly enjoyed the ones that I read. She writes in a style that teenagers can really relate to and I think that’s why they’re so popular. She basically writes the way that teens talk (like, and um) but with a little more intelligence (no offense teens) and I found that really fun and easy to read.

After all of this YA talk I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of it. Sure, I’ll read books geared towards adults more frequently, but my love for YA will always be strong. I assumed that when I revisited the books I used to love a few years ago would make me cringe but all I got was a smile. Check out some of your old favorites! I think you’ll find that you’ve been missing some old friends.

Fabulous book, guys! Just fabulous. Since I read The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner this summer, I wanted to read another one of her books to get a better taste of her style. Best Friends Forever did not disappoint in any way!

This novel is the story two best friends that had a massive fallout in high school but are brought together again many years later over an issue surrounding their fallout (sorry I’m being really vague but this is a huge part of the story and I don’t want to ruin it). The readers get flashbacks so they can see the growth of their friendship, and there is an alternating point of view between several people in the story that is done very well (a lot of times I get confused when there’s constant POV switching but this was obvious). Each character was very distinctly written and stood out in their own way. The main character, Addie Downs, goes through a massive physical transformation that in turn helps her change emotionally. This story is a funny and heartwarming adventure between two girls who will clearly be bonded as best friends forever.

I most definitely recommend reading this book. I read it in a little less than two days and enjoyed every minute! Happy reading!

The other day I was watching a movie and a woman whom had just had her heart broken went to a bookstore to look at the self-help section. The scene showed her sheepishly picking out the books that would be best suited for her problems and then avoiding the cashier’s judgmental gaze as she bought them. It was probably because I was in a sensitive mood that day, but I was a little upset by the way self-help books were portrayed in this movie, and in society in general.

I had never really considered giving self-help books a try until one day when I was browsing through online bookstores and came across one that had a summary that was highly appealing to what I was feeling at the time. That book, Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein, really changed my perspective on the way I was treating myself. I didn’t agree with everything in the book and some of it didn’t pertain to my problems, but I can say without a doubt that it made a difference in my life. After that, I became very defensive of self-help books. They can really help, why does it have to be embarrassing to buy them?

A few months later I was assigned the book What Color Is Your Parachute? 2010: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career Changers by Richard N. Bolles to read for a business class I was taking. I read it begrudgingly and quickly became engrossed. This book isn’t just a guide to finding a job, it is an inspirational and uplifting book that helps you recognize how awesome you and your talents are. That’s when I had the idea that self-help books come in all different packages. Here was this book that is supposed to be just a job finding guide, yet it helped me immensely in other ways. I know feel that it’s obvious that self-help books can range from those written for a specific problem, to a fictional novel that you can connect with and learn from. An example of this is The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Steven Chbosky. After reading that book and connecting with the characters in it I realized that I needed to make a few changes. Reading that novel helped me almost more than reading the books out of the self-help section. 

Basically what I’m trying to say is that no one should feel ashamed of what they’re reading. Each book, whether it’s from the self-help section or not, has the potential to assist someone with their problems and no one is entitled to judge which book we get that help from. I obviously think that self-help books are great tools that can be very helpful, so if anyone needs some help I can guarantee you’ll find a book that is perfect for you.