Pictured: Liza Schwartz bracelet.
Why all the happiness and smiley faces?
Because we take off for a week in Florida tomorrow. I have an exceptionally busy couple of months on the horizon, so I’m going to try to do my best to actually relax and lay flat on my back doing nothing but staring at a Kindle for a minimum of many hours every single day that I’m there. The plan is to return home rested and tan and healthy (I’m even – !!!! – bringing running sneakers) and ready to get moving.
But in order to make this dream a reality, I need your assistance. I’m in the middle of Stephen King’s 11/22/63, and not enjoying it nearly as much as I think I should be considering the fact that I’m obsessed with Stephen King…so I’m in need of some new, beachy-type books.
Here’s what I’ve read lately (click here for another recent list of favorites):
Divergent: Liked it, but not nearly as much as I liked Hunger Games; I only made it halfway through the second book in the trilogy and gave up.
The Husband’s Secret: Solid half-chick-lit/half-thriller read about a group of middle-aged women struggling with infidelity, family, and loss. Not quite as wonderful as I expected given its best-seller status, but an excellent, quick read.
The Interestings: One of my absolute favorite books in recent memory, and possibly ever. It’s about a group of friends who meet at a summer camp for “creative” kids, and how they deal with holding onto that creativity (or not) as they go through the motions of growing up. I related intensely to these characters, and I have a sneaking suspicion, given what I know about many of the readers of this site, you might, too.
World War Z: Toooootally different from the movie, and equally fascinating (albeit in a much more scholarly/scientific way; this is less a thriller than it is a fairly realistic portrayal of what would actually happen to the world – to our political structure, our economy, our global trade system – in the wake of a zombie apocalypse).
Coming Clean: A fascinating autobiography about what it’s like to grow up with parents who are hoarders. A tiny bit slow at times, but nevertheless a very cool glimpse into how a world that seems so off-the-charts to so many of us can simply be “the way it is” to some.
Any suggestions?!?
