lovely labor day reads :: bridget’s favorite books

For most people Labor Day probably means a day on the lake or beach or maybe a big barbecue with family and friends. My family will be coming over for dinner but it won’t be a big shin-dig. We might make some ice cream and play some board games (because we’re wild and crazy like that). But the thing I look forward to the most on holidays like Labor Day is that we don’t have to get up and start with school work. We can lounge around a bit and do the things that we wish we could do more of but can’t seem to find the time during the normal chaos of life. For me, that thing is reading a good book. Here are a few of my favorite books that I’ve read recently. They’re all good, quick reads. And if you have a Kindle, you can be reading them in just a few minutes!

In no particular order:

• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – This one was not at all what I expected when I first glanced at the cover. I loved getting a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of a book shop, but I was surprised at how sweet it was. Not cheesy, but a real feel-good read.
• What Alice Forgot – A friend let me borrow this one it took me a few weeks to get to it, but once I started reading it I stayed up late into the night in order to finish it. Even though I was droopy-eyed the next day, it was totally worth it. As a mother in today’s harried world that’s full of competition and a perpetual (false) sense of urgency, it’s easy to identify with the main character.
• Me Before You – Oh, wow! I’d never read anything by Jojo Moyes before, but I will be from now on! I can’t say much about this without giving it away. When I started it, I thought I knew how it’d end. I was wrong. You will feel all the feels with this one.
• Paper Towns – After reading John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars”, I went back and started reading his older stuff. This one is from 2008 and I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the Fault book but it has lots of great one-liners that I scribbled on my bulletin board to go back to over and over again.
• Where’d You Go Bernadette? – This was an actual beach read for me. Waves splashed on my toes as I started it and the next day I finished it sitting on a towel in the sand while my kids built a sandcastle. I laughed a loud several times – sometimes at the absurdity of what was going on and other times because YES! I’ve been there, too! I’m a sucker for a witty book.
• Wonder – I got this one for my kids to read but ended up reading it alone bit by bit as I stole a few moments here and there. I say that to say this: You could read this whole book all at once, but it’s just easy to read it in bite-size pieces because of the way it’s written. You see the same story from various perspectives and I really enjoyed how Auggie’s story helps us look at ourselves and figure out what we can do to be kinder to others, especially others that are different. A great book to read with your kids (probably age 8 old and up, based on maturity) and talk about it.
• Wild – This was another book that made me laugh and cry. Even though the main character is already in her twenties, this is certainly a coming-of-age story. I was inspired by her strong-will and determination to finish what she started. I loved how the physical journey she took mirrored the journey of her heart and soul.