1)
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Intensity is the most riveting page-turner I’ve ever read in my life. It’s about a young woman who goes to Napa Valley with a friend and becomes trapped in a farmhouse while trying to warn the next victim of a serial killer…after she witnesses the murder of her friend and her friend’s family. I read this book ten years ago, and it still kind of haunts me! :)
2)
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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins about a young girl who fights back in a post-apocalyptic world where children battle to the death in the yearly Hunger Games as the penance of their respective territories for having rebelled against the Capitol during a civil war 75 years ago. I also loved Catching Fire and The Mockingjay!
3)
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. The main storyline is about Howard Roark, and his difficulties as an architect in his quest to defy convention and his battle against a successful rival, Peter Keating, and a newspaper columnist, Ellsworth Toohey. However, the subtext is rather philosophical, focusing on the strength of the individual versus society and the government and the war between fascism and individualism.
4)
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Wuthering Heights (Dover Thrift Editions): Emily Brontë: 9780486292564: Amazon.com: Books
A classic piece of literature set in the lonely and often creepy moors of northern England. It details the turbulent and tempestuous love story of Cathy and Heathcliff, a homeless child adopted by Cathy’s father. It’s a very disturbing, intense, romantic and gothic love story, which was first published in 1837.
5)
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Rebecca: Daphne Du Maurier: 9780380730407: Amazon.com: Books
Rebecca is another book set in England but much later in the 1930s. Rebecca DeWinter has long since died when the 2nd Mrs. DeWinter arrives at Manderly, her new husband’s home.
But the new Mrs. DeWinter has difficulty living in the shadow of Rebecca that remains in the house, fueled by the surly and evil housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. Mrs. Danvers does her best to not only make Mrs. DeWinter feel unwelcome but to try to oust the second wife via treachery and lies because of her (Mrs. Danvers) unnatural and undaunting affection for Rebecca. Mrs. DeWinter gradually comes into her own and begins to assert herself and emerges the victor in the unexpected and haunting ending.
6)
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The Help was one of those books I definitely couldn’t put down. If you’ve seen the Oscar-Winning movie, you know it’s about a young white woman in Jackson, Mississippi, who writes a book about the shameful behavior of her neighbors, friends and relatives toward their African American help (i.e. their maids, gardeners, etc.). Though I grew up in the South, I had no idea that things were this bad during the 1960s, but (spoiler alert! kinda) I was incredibly glad it had a happy ending.
7/8) Is a 3-way tie between Bitter Is the New Black, Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson, which are both memoirs, and Good Christian Bitches by Kim Gatlin, which is fiction but based on a true story.
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Bitter is the New Black is about a young woman who was riding high during the dot.com era who has the rug pulled out from under her life when she gets fired from a VP position at an investor relations firm. At which point, her life is turned sideways and then some when she’s not able to secure another job right away. And she’s forced to reexamine what’s really important in life, which she does in an abundantly hilarious way!
Good Christian Bitches -
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Good Christian Bitches: Kim Gatlin: 9781401310707: Amazon.com: Books
In Good Christian Bitches, Amanda Vaughn leaves California after an ugly divorce and returns home to Hillside, an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas, where she grew up. And she’s thrust into the world of back-stabbing Christian women with her two kids in tow.
All the high-society bitches think they’re going to send Amanda straight back to Cali via their deceitful and decidedly un-Christian ways because of their ridiculous jealousy, but Amanda delivers a plate of come-uppins like Dallas has never seen. It’s shocking. It’s funny, and it has an awesome ending!
Though I could REALLY relate to this book (being from the South and all), I think everyone has met a few of these Christian ladies before! :) A great summer read!
And last of the three-way tie, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened…
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Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
It’s really difficult to pinpoint what Let’s Pretend is about because except for the fact that Jenny grew up in Texas – and that she dabbled in drugs a wee tad, it’s about my life! Okay, maybe not, but I can totally see every phenomenally, OMG, that didn’t just happen scenario – occurring in my life – especially her bizarre experience with a cow in high school. So, let’s just say it’s about a young girl/young woman who is definitely very unique and has an interesting take on life.
If that endorsement isn’t enough, read this when you need a GOOD CHUCKLE because I laughed from page one to the end! :) Can’t wait to read the next one, Jenny! :)
I have several more listed on a separate page (for brevity’s sake), which you can check out at:
http://tenaciousbitch.com/my-favorite-books/
So, if you’re looking for a few good books to read over the summer…these are just a fraction of the fictional/nonfictional works I’ve perused over the years.
Feel free to share the name/description of your favorite book(s) in the comment section because I’m always on the lookout for yet another masterpiece that won’t bore me to tears as so many “bestselling” novels have lately! Oh, and ignore the whole die trying part…just trying to be funny! :) But I guess that attempt kinda felt flat as well…
Over and out,
~Tenacious Bitch and her band of truth-spouting hippies
TB/
ks
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