Books Books Books!

This one's about books.... just like the title implies. I didn't get to read as much as I'd have liked to over the summer holidays, maybe ten books total. But of those, here are the ones that resonated:

Still Alice by Lisa Genova - follows the journey of a Harvard prof as she copes with early onset Alzheimers. Very real, very moving and very scary. It's a difficult subject to read but the author balances the weightiness with lighter moments.

One Day by David Nicholls - the problem with highly recommended books is the high expectations that come with them. I wanted this book to be amazing, to change my life, to shake my world. And it was good. Very good. But something fell a bit short for me. Probably because I never really fell in love with Dexter, the 'hero'. He was mostly a douche and though he may have been Emma's one true love, (they did have a complex and powerful relationship), he remained shallow and selfish until the end.
And by the way.... WHY is this romance not called a romance? Just because someone dies in the end, lit romance is still romance. David Nicholls, Nicholas Sparks, Diana Gabaldon... y'all should be shelve next to La Nora. :P

The Girl... (x3) by Steig Larsson - DEVOURED this series. Ah, but wait... I lie. I haven't read book one yet, ...with the Dragon Tattoo. Because I bought book 2 by accident (all the covers look the same, non?) and didn't realize it was book 2 until I was about 50 pages in thinking "why do I feel like I've missed something?" So I set it aside, watched the movie (the original Swedish version with Noomi Rapace) to get caught up, and dove back into the book. And then the third, moments after putting down the second. Fast paced, thrilling, interesting characters (Lisbeth Salander will be a classic heroine, wouldn't you agree? Others will be compared to her forever) and the true definition of a page turner. I will go back and read book one, simply because I don't want to let these characters go and poor Mr. Larsson won't be writing anymore, bless his soul.

I know there were a few others but dang if I can think of them at the moment...

On the bedside is Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, which I want to read before the movie comes out later this year, and the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I adored book one (this will be a classic, oh yes it will) and want to re-read it before jumping into the next two.

What are you reading?