5.28.2011

Summer Reading

It is no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am an avid reader. I LOVE reading and always have a book going. A few months ago there wasn't anything I was really interested in reading and I felt very lost. I spent a lot of time reviewing the best seller lists, asking friends, and still nothing sounded appealing. A friend brought over a couple of her chick lit books that have kept me reading but I have been putting together a list to get me through the summer.


Summer reading is something my mom started when I was a kid. She went to great lengths to make sure we had a set of books to get us through the summer. A lot of times I would start a series of books and try to finish the series before the summer was over. Growing up some of my favorite series were


The Baby-Sitters Club. I lived my summers reading about Kristie and her Logan. Thinking about how great it would have been to have such fun and caring baby-sitters. Ironically I hated babysitting when I got older but I loved the idea of having a close group of friends that were always there for you.

Little House on the Prairie is still to this day one of my all time favorite series. My grandmother watched this show religiously and loved all of the characters. She always said that I reminded her of Laura. I took that to heart and loved reading about hardships of living in a place similar to where I was from only many years earlier. I loved that even though the books took place many years before there was still "Nancy's" even then.

Anne of Green Gables to me always felt very similar to Little House on the Prairie only years later. I read the first book much sooner than I did the rest of the series. It wasn't until I was a few years older that I could relate to the characters. I was so happy the day Disney started the series based on these books. I always wanted an apple tree outside my window because I thought about waking up smelling the blossoms.

One of the last times I went to spend a whole week of my summer vacation with my grandmother she was reading this series she got from a friend. I picked up out of sheer boredom. I know it was a Christan romance and was not interested at all but I quickly fell in love. One of the best love stories I have ever read this amazing journey has touched my heart and has a soft spot with me forever.



In the past few years here in PA I have picked back up with my summer reading goals. One summer I tried to read "classics" that I had never read before. Man some of those books were tough and really challenged me. I am not really a "classics" kind of gal I have decided. Here are three series that I read and loved.


The Sookie Stackhouse is fun, steamy, and totally addictive. There is a series on HBO that follows the books pretty closely and I have to say...seeing Eric in on the screen is very fulfilling :) The newest book just came out and is at the top of my summer reading list.
The only summer I wasn't working here in PA I decided to read the very popular Left Behind Series. Although at times I thought the books were a little cheesy I was fascinated by the authors ability to make biblical references apply to a somewhat realistic play in current times. It was definitely worth reading although there were a ton of books in this series and none of them were very short.

One of my other favorite authors is Beverly Lewis. She writes books set in Amish communities. I love that a lot of the little towns that she has as her settings are located all around where I live. Her books are light reading and compelling. I also love that she writes in little mini series about the same characters.

Although I have a ton of favorite authors and a list a mile long of favorite books these are my top favorite series. What are some of your favorites?

1 comment:

Stephanie said...

Adrianna, you need to check out Dorothea Benton Frank. She's written a ton of books that are all based in the SC Lowcountry. Great summer reads. Laughter and tears all rolled up into one. Start with Sullivan's Island.

You can go out of order, but the characters keep showing up in each other's book (kind of a cameo appearance), so you'll find out what happens to them later on.