Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Summer Reading 2012

If you visit gathered heart in your web browser instead of following along in a reader, you might have noticed that I've been "reading" Design*Sponge at Home for months now. Months. The truth? I was reading the Twilight series and was too ashamed to display it on the sidebar. I know, I know... ridiculous. Honestly, I didn't even like the series. It's not a guilty pleasure or anything. The books were slow, the characters were one dimensional and the final book was incredibly anticlimactic. Boooo.

Anyway, I'm more than ready to get into some reading with a little more value and interest. One of my summer to-do's is to read ten books, and these are my picks:
1-3. The Hunger Games Trilogy | Suzanne Collins I'm finally reading the Hunger Games. I finished up the first book last week and I have about 50 pages of Catching Fire left. I don't even know what to say. I had an idea of what was going to happen in the first book since I saw the movie ahead of time, but Catching Fire is so good and has me asking so many questions. What's the deal with Plutarch Heavensbee? And the whole Katniss-Peeta-Gail love triangle? And what's really going on in District 13??? GAH!

4. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? | Mindy Kaling This has been sitting in my stack of to-read books on my nightstand since Christmas, so I'm really excited to finally get to it. Mindy is hilarious and I'm excited to read all about her awkward prepubescent years. (Side note: I'm also really excited for her new show on Fox!)

5. On the Road | Jack Kerouack I'm trying to keep things light with this reading list (as all summer reading should be) but I couldn't resist throwing in some classic Kerouack, and his tales of a cross-country road trip in the 1950s seemed like a perfect summer pick.

6. Tell the Wolves I'm Home | Carol Rifka Brunt This one is a wildcard... being a designer, I judge books by their cover all the time. This is one of those books that I walked by in Barnes, spotted the cover and decided I wanted to read it. Bold color palette? Fun typography? Silhouettes?! I'm all over Tell the Wolves I'm Home and I don't even know what it's about.

7. Just My Type | Simon Garfield My friend Keitha gave me Just My Type as a belated birthday gift and it's another book that has been on my to-read list for a while now. It's a NYT bestseller all about typography. From the pages I've skimmed, Garfield pokes fun of comic sans and calls legendary typographer Jan Tschichold a douche bag. Fantastic.

8. Sewing in a Straight Line | Brett Bara This lovely little DIY book made the blog rounds last year and I've had my eyes on it since then. My in-laws gave me a wonderful sewing machine for Christmas but haven't really had a chance (or a reason) to use it. I'm definitely a novice when it comes to sewing, so I think Sewing in a Straight Line will be the perfect way to brush up on and improve my skills. If you're curious, author Brett Bara has a few free patterns from the book on her blog.

9. True Believers | Kurt Andersen True Believers is another summer wildcard... I heard an interview with the author on NPR and was intrigued by the story, which bounces back from present day and the political turmoil of the 1960s. Why not?

10. Sense and Sensibility | Jane Austen Even though I own and have read the complete works of Jane Austen many times over, I'm looking forward to ending the summer with Sense and Sensibility. Christopher gave me this hardcover copy because of the beautiful design (by Jessica Hisch, of course) and the bright green spine is begging to be cracked.

For a while after college, I went through a long period of hardly reading anything, so I'm happy to be reading again (although I was busy being a newlywed so I totally have a legit excuse.) Chris isn't as much of a reader as I am, but I love when he's into a book too (he read all the Hunger Game books months before I did.) It's so nice to read together before bed or on a lazy weekend afternoon.

Do you have a summer reading list? I think after I finish this one, I might pick a few books out from the Gilmore Girls themed list that Katie over at Hey Little Apple Blossom shared the other day. Such a great list, right?! I haven't ready the Harry Potter books, either, and I think those would be perfect fall reading. Any other suggestions?

8 comments:

Carrie said...

This looks like a great list! I want to read most of your list. I haven't read twilight but have considered it. I've also heard A LOT about the hunger games.
I've read all of the Harry Potter books and agree that they would be great for fall reading :)

I think I'm going to make my own list now. Though it would need to be 10 books for the entire year, unless I can count books like Tickle Monster and Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You? or Better Homes & Gardens Magazine ;)

I've heard that the Mindy Kaling book is really good. I'm definitely adding it to my list.

katie said...

i choose books by their covers ALL the time. honestly, it's usually successful.. so i have high hopes for your cover selection. :) i need to pick up mindy's book! i keep meaning to, and then getting distracted by other books.. or the rory gilmore reading list, haha. <3

Unknown said...

I love your list! I also had Sewing in a Straight Line checked out from my library but didn't get to make anything - none of the projects looked really hard though & they're super cute! The Harry Potter books are some of my favorites! I also highly recommend Wildwood by Colin Meloy for fun fall reading :)

Ronnie said...

I have yet to read Hunger Games, as I'm worried I'll get sucked in and not be able to put the books down! Maybe during our next holiday...
Ronnie xo

Katherine Ross said...

@Carrie -- if you have to pick between Twilight and the Hunger Games... my vote is for HG all the way! Soooo good. They're shorter books, too, so you'll have plenty of time for Tickle Monster and Mr Brown Can Moo, Can You? :)

@Katie -- I started reading Mindy's book last night... it reads just as if she was delivering a line. She's hilariously indifferent about everything and I love it.

@Liz -- Good to know about Sewing in a Straight Line! I usually like to preview DIY books in a store, but I can't find it anywhere around me. I may have to inter-library loan it first!

@Ronnie -- I think they would be perfect for a holiday. I finished the first two books in about two weeks, reading only before bed and a little on the weekend. They go pretty quickly, but they do suck you in ;)

Keitha said...

The only book on my summer reading list so far has been "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan....a pseudo-non-fictional account of an affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. What can I say? I'm a sucker for architects and my book club read it and raved...

It's the only one on my list because I haven't read it yet. It sits amid the boxes of my apt and glares at me.

Jordan Brantley said...

Love this! It's been way too long since I've read a book. I think The Hunger Games would be the perfect thing to get me back into it. Haha!
I'd love to know how Just My Type is also!!

Enjoy the rest of your summer :)

Tang said...

I just finished "On the Island" and "Gone Girl"!!! I recommend both if you're looking for books that just make you want to keep reading to find out what happens!