Well, thankfully now the majority of the area once again has power and has begun recovering from the ice storm of 2013. It breaks my heart to see all of the broken trees and fallen branches everywhere -- truly surreal.
If there was anyone who wasn't that anxious for summer before this storm happened, I'm pretty sure they're now starting to unpack their swimsuits, shorts, and flip-flops from storage and dusting off their grills and golf clubs.
I don't know about you, but when I think of summer I think of swimming, going on vacations, drinking raspberry lemonade and iced tea, long days spent at the beach or pool, grilling delicious food, playing tennis and going for bike rides, the 4th of July, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, and... reading.
Now if you're thinking, "The weather is only warm in SoDak for a few months of the year and you spend it reading?"
Let me explain myself.
I feel like the summer months bring so many opportunities to read a good book. 6-12 hours on an airplane? No problem if you've got a great book. Long car-ride to visit family or friends? Yet another perfect opportunity to delve into a new story. And my personal favorite: when I'm not actually in the water, my favorite thing to do by the pool or on the beach in the summer is lather on some coconutty-scented suntan oil and get lost in a good book.
So, my friends, if you "aren't a big reader" or just need some book suggestions -- here are my all-time faves (I'm sure I'll edit this list a million times, because I'm kind of rushing through it and love so many books.)
I strongly believe that everyone can fall in love with reading, but it can take some time to find the right type of book for you. If that's you -- don't give up. One of my favorite quotes:
My All-Time Favorite Books
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Since Nobody's Perfect... How Good is Good Enough? by Andy Stanley
Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (and Sense and Sensibility... and Emma...)
Anything by Nicholas Sparks! These are great "summertime - laying by the pool or on the beach reads." The Notebook is my favorite, but I've read 'em all.
Another author who writes good "beach/pool reads" is Kristin Hannah. I've read Firefly Lane, True Colors, Winter Garden, Night Road, On Mystic Lake, Summer Island, and maybe a few others that I can't remember right now. Hannah has a new one coming out this month -- a sort of 'sequel' to Firefly Lane that I'm really looking forward to reading. She is a great story-teller.
The Applause of Heaven by Max Lucado
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
God Is Closer Than You Think by John Ortberg
The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer
A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Gift for All People: Thoughts on God's Great Grace by Max Lucado
The Feeling-Good Handbook by David Burns
In Search of a Confident Faith by J.P. Moreland
The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Gift from the Sea by Anne Lindbergh
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Bible --- How can I make an all-time favorite book list and leave the all-time greatest Book off of it? I can't. Honestly, the last few years I've really struggled to find the 'right version of the Bible for me' --- for so many years I used my "Teen Devotional Bible" and hated to 'start over' when I had so many notes and highlighted passages in it. A few months ago I bought
It has quotes from so many of C.S. Lewis' amazing books to help explain certain difficult passages. I love it! I would definitely recommend it.
So, that concludes my "Favorite List" (for now, anyway :)...)
Have a wonderful weekend, and find a good book to read if you haven't already. :)
xo,
Emily
