I think everyone has their books that they're fervent advocates for - the one that you make all your friends read, and that you read over and over again.  I know that I have tons of these books (sorry, friends, just trying to ENRICH YOUR LIVES.)

These are a few of those books for me.  I think that everyone should read these books because they kind of changed my life and I think there's a lot that can be learned from them.  If you're looking for your next (and close to last, wahhh) summer read, pick one of these!

1. Lisey's Story - Stephen King. This has been my "Don't get me talking about it unless you want an essay" book for the past couple years.  Lisey's Story follows Lisey Landon, the wife of a recentlt deceased famous writer, as she comes to terms with his death and the secrets that she has buried for years.   If you like your romance with a little supernatural creepiness, this one is for you.  It's Stephen King's favorite book that he's written, and you can tell when you're reading - it's incredibly heartfelt.  I cry like 3 times every time I read it, and I try to read it every year.

2. Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller.  The movie is really good, but nothing can beat the book.  Miller put things into words that I have always felt, but didn't know how to articulate. It's a Christian book, but I think it's worth the read whether you believe or not - Miller's account of college and all the scary, exciting stuff that comes with that time in your life is relatable regardless.

3. The Little Prince- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. ‎You have no excuse for this one because it's so short that you can read it in an afternoon, and it's perfect to share with your kids.  Concepts of love, loss, and friendship simply and authentically packaged in children's stories.  My personal favorite is the chapter about the fox.

4. The Circle Trilogy - Ted Dekker.  Books that you love are great, series are even better.  This one is definitely on the weirder side (sci-fi fans rejoice!), but I think it's pretty accessible for everyone.  It's an allegorical, multi-dimensional sci fi family saga that explored themes of redemption, forgiveness, and time travel.  What more could you want?

5. Privilege - Ross Gregory Douthat. I found this one as a fluke when it was in the sale bin at BAM.  It was really interesting and a pretty fun read.  I've never been one of those people who was fascinated by Ivy League culture, but I really enjoyed getting a glimpse of it.

6. Mere Christianity/The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis. Mere Christianity challenges your faith and then turns around and affirms it in ways that are undeniable.  The Screwtape Letters brings uncomfortable realizations about your own life and the things that you think are "harmless", but really are anything but.  I couldn't decide between them.

A ghost story is what first got me into reading.

It was called Wait Til Helen Comes, and in second grade, when I read it, it was easily scary enough to keep me up at night.  It was a pretty old book when I read it, and I never saw it afterward, but earlier this month I subscribed to openlibrary.org, where you can download PDFs of basically any book, anywhere, and I FOUND IT.  And I reread it.  And it was still creepy, though not nearly as creepy as I remembered it.

Since then, creeptastic books have always had a special place in my heart.  Which is weird for someone who really can't handle scary movies and tends to stay up sweating and terrified when I get legitimately spooked.  You know, different strokes for different folks.

These are a couple of my favorites that fall in the creepy category. Read if you dare...

That was dreadful and I apologize.  Continue on.

1. Bag of Bones - Stephen King.  He's probably my favorite writer ever, and this book is one of the few that legitimately creeped me out.

2. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn. This may be more of a thriller, but there's a supernatural aspect that makes it pretty darn creepy.  Trigger warnings for gore on this one.

3. The Way the Crow Flies - Ann-Marie MacDonald.  The writing here is superb.  The story isn't supernatural at all, but genuinely creeped me out.  It's a great read if you aren't sqeamish.

4. Adam - Tedd Dekker.  I love most of Ted Dekker's work, and this one probably isn't my favorite from him, but it's definitely a creep fest.

And, because I think it's really cool that there are multiple ways to reach an audience with a story now, here are a couple of my favorite non-traditionally-formatted creepy things:

1. Slenderman. Just google it.

2. This short scary story thread

I've always been a big reader.  In fact, "big reader" kind of doesn't do it justice.  Like, I got in trouble in elementary school for reading too much.  That's like full circle theory.  In my painfully awkward middle school years, I read a book a day, I kid you not.  Reading rather than talking to people during lunch hour will do that.

Now that the world's tiniest violin is done providing the soundtrack for my twelve year old self, we can move on to summer reading!

I'm a big novel reader, mostly urban fantasy and scary things.  I love scary books but I can't handle scary movies, go figure.  Anyway, one of the things I wanted to do more this year was get into nonfiction books.  I mean, fantasy is great, but there are a lot of cool things that actually happen too, and I feel like I should be more informed about them.

I really like reading memoirs, because I like reading about cool people, and if you're cool enough to write a memoir I figure there's probably a lot I can learn from you.  Someday I wish to have enough neat life experiences to write a memoir.  Someday.

I ordered my first two a few weeks ago, and they finally came in!

1. Lisey's Story- Stephen King. I keep going on and on about this book, and I will forever.  It's the most beautiful love story I've ever read, as well as a very real look at how people deal with grief and loss.  It's my favorite book in the whole world.

1. Coach Poppy. I am one of those people who swallows advertising whole. That's probably why I love perfume so much - perfume ads make it seem like once you find the right scent, you will instantly become sophisticated and unforgettable.
Still waiting on that, but I did find my signature scent, after 22 years of searching.  My lovely bridesmaids bought it for my wedding day, and I can't get enough.  Perfume shopping is hard because everyone's body chemistry reacts differently with perfume, but this smells really nice on me and stays all day.
get some here


2. Lemonade. Who doesn't love lemonade in the summer? Especially homemade - there's nothing better, I'll drink it til I bust.  I'm experimenting with making my own and adding flavors like apple and clove to bring it into fall - once I figure something out, I'll post my recipe!
for now, here's a recipe from giverecipe for fresh lemonade :)


3. Lana Del Rey. I had listened to some of Born to Die back when it first came out and I liked it alright, but I recently bought the whole album and have been listening to it nonstop.  It's so different from most other music that's out there today, and I love it.  Also Lana's look is perfect - I painted my nails red once my wedding manicure wore off because of a lyric in "Off to the Races", my favorite track on the album.  I used to not like red on me, but now I'm digging it.



4. Roller coasters.  Something about summer screams for roller coasters (no pun intended.) From Dollywood to the carnival we went to last weekend, the rush of riding a roller coaster is hard to beat.  When I was younger I was a huge fraidy cat and refused to ride them, but I have more than made up for it since then!


5. The Pure Trilogy. I picked this up on a BAM run because I needed something to read on the way to Florida, and I ended up liking it much more than I thought I would.  The second book, Fuse, comes out later this year, and I plan to pick it up as soon as it hits shelves.  If you like post-apocalyptic sci fi like The Passage or The Hunger Games, you'll love this series.