Three Recent Reads I Loved

Greetings from London! I’m here with one of my best friends for the week (follow along on my instagram), and couldn’t be more thrilled. I didn’t want to leave you hanging on content while I’m gone.

Also, fun fact: I usually prepare my blogging editorial calendar a few months out, and typically have posts already scheduled, ready to go live anyway.

Today, I actually had a place holder for another round of 3 Books I Recommend You Skip. But before I even began writing, I realized that the last round of books I’ve read, I actually really loved. I have three books that I recently finished and really enjoyed. If you have similar tastes in books as I do, I believe you’ll enjoy these as well.

THREE RECENT READS THAT I LOVED

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

I think I’ve mentioned this before (definitely here) that I’m a HUGE sucker for a WWII story. Oh man, how Holocaust stories have a special little place in my heart. Sarah’s Key has literally been on my back-burner list of books to read for over five years. While Alex and I were browsing a bookstore in Los Angeles earlier this year, I found Sarah’s Key in the $3.00 bin. So I added it to the already ridiculously large pile of books we were purchasing.

This was such a beautiful story about two families in Paris that intertwine in totally unexpected ways, flashing back and forth between WII and the early 2000’s. I cried at least twice. I can’t really say more without exposing anything. If you enjoy a good ole’ Holocaust story, then read this one!

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak

I’ve always loved B.J. Novak. Novak is such a gifted and talented writer. He really has a fantastic way of telling stories. Every single short story — this book is composed of short stories, some as short as two sentences — comes across as witty, clever, and beyond hilarious. I finished this book in one day, during the only ‘snow storm’ Washington, DC had this winter (note the sweatpants and cocoa in the photo above).

If you like Mindy Kaling, READ IT! Mindy and B.J. are like BFF, he’s basically the male version of Mindy.

Columbine by Dave Cullen

Wow. This was an intense story that was basically a ten year research project for a journalist. It went deep into WTF happened, the truth behind Columbine, and what the media (and therefore, by extension, we the people) got wrong. Rumors were squashed, we learned the history of the Colorado town, the people, the layout of the school, how and why things went so wrong. The aftermath in the days, weeks, months, and years afterwards. Thousands and thousands of interviews from kids, parents, teachers, faculty, and the community members that were effected by the most well recognized American tragedy. It’s heartbreaking, and totally gut wrenching to read — but WOW. That’s all I can say to sum it up. There’s so much you learn, and so many things you thought you knew about the deadliest attack that you just didn’t know….

So there you have it, a WWII novel, short stories by a comedian, and a book about the countries most deadliest school shooting. What a mash up! What are some recent books you’ve read lately that you really enjoyed?