Summer Reading List

I mentioned in my book review + giveaway post earlier this week that I've really been trying to re-discover my love for reading. In middle school, I would read with a deep, fiery passion. Seriously, I tore through all seven Harry Potter books in less than a week (I was a little late jumping on the HP bandwagon, but I got there eventually). But once I got to high school and college, I eventually lost all interest. The whole 'reading for pleasure' thing was a foreign concept to me. I couldn't enjoy a good novel anymore knowing that I had 80 pages in my psychology textbook to read by tomorrow.

So my mission this summer is to read, read, and read some more. No more required reading lists, just me and a good old book. Sounds nice, doesn't it? But here's the thing: I've been out of the novel-loop for so long that I have no idea what's out there and what's really worth reading. I developed a short list, but please share any and all suggestions that you might have! I'll take any genre: sci-fi, romance, romantic sci-fi (just no Twilight please...or any vampires for that matter).  Leave your suggestions in the comments and check out what's already on my list:


1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
To be totally honest, I really have no idea what this book is even about. It was crazy popular on Amazon and I keep seeing it in stores so I feel like it has to be good. Yes, I base how good a book must be by how it's ranked on Amazon. Lame, I know, but I'm pretty mainstream in my taste in books so it hasn't failed me yet. 

2. Divergent by Veronica Roth 
So it happened with Harry Potter and now it's happening with Divergent. I always, always, always jump on the bandwagon late so I'm sitting down to read Divergent about ten years later than everyone else (that's an exaggeration, I know). I've heard nothing but good things about this entire series, so I feel like it's about time I read them. Plus I really want to see the movie but I feel like I need to read the book first.

3. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Again, I have no idea what this book is about. I should probably stop randomly picking books just because they're popular, but this one looks intriguing. Also, it's all over Instagram and Tumblr so I'm getting tired of seeing it and not knowing what it's about.

4. Lean In for Graduates by Sheryl Sandberg  
I'm not graduating for two more years, but I've been dying to read this book! I saw an interview with Sheryl on Colbert and I loved everything she had to say. It's never to early to start getting career-smart considering I'll be out in the real world in less than 24 months...scary stuff! If you've read this and have an opinion on it, let me know in the comments!


Have you read any of these? Did you love/hate/feel indifferent about any of them? Tell me your thoughts and leave me other suggestions in the comments!

xo Sydney