SUMMER READS

Ever since I started doing English Literature as part of my degree at University two years ago, reading books has turned into more of an obligation than the hobby it used to be for me. From a young age on, all I did was read, read, read and my mum often more or less seriously complained about my constant need for new books ruining her. However, when I started Uni and had to read a different book for class almost every week, it turned into something more tedious than enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, I've read a lot of books which I enjoyed during the two years of my course so far, but even I liked the book I was reading at that moment, knowing that I should finish it by a specific day often took the pleasure out of actually reading it.


This summer, I finally got back into reading. While I started with reading Lolita (which I had started reading about two years ago but never really stuck with) for an upcoming module in Autumn term, I finally sat down and read Paper Towns, which I had ordered last year after having read other John Green books but I never really got into it until this summer. Since I recently finished two books I particularly liked, I thought I'd share them with you, be it for a late summer read on the beach or just something to read a few pages off before going to bed.

Not That Kind Of Girl
The only way I learned of Lena Dunham about two years ago was by watching her tv show GIRLS. After I heard that she had published a book, I wasn't too sure what to think of it as I had heard some things about the book and its content, but I never really encountered the book anywhere anyway so it ended up at the back of my mind. When I was still in Brighton last week, I discovered Not That Kind Of Girl on the best seller pile in Waterstones and when my mum offered both my brother and I to buy us a book each, I grabbed it and took it home. I immediately started reading it and I have to say that I enjoyed it very much. After having read a few fictonal stories so far over the summer, I was glad to be reading something different than an invented story. I liked Lena's writing style and even though some parts I liked less than others, I thought that it was a nice, different kind of book, especially in the way that it portrays the struggles of a young woman's life.

I Let You Go
To go back home to Luxembourg, my dad, brother and I took the ferry from England to France, followed by a six hour car ride. Knowing that the ferry would take about four hours, I prepared food and books to take with me to keep me busy. Unfortunately, it was only until we'd been on the ferry for almost an hour that we found out that you could not in fact go to your car during the crossing (kind of a "duh" moment right there). Bored to death with nothing to read and no wifi and a good three more hours to go, I decided to spend my last few pounds in the little shop on board and spent a good fifteen minutes deciding which book to invest. I finally settled for I let you go and it turns out I made the right choice. I let you go is a thriller/criminal story, one of my favourite kind of books, full of plot twists when you don't expect them. It took me a short while to get into the story at the beginning but I became completely hooked after a while.