My July Reading List
Every Book I Read in July
I originally heard about The Plot via The Book Review podcast, and I found myself immediately interested! This book is about a college professor/washed up writer, Jake, who is desperate to write another best seller. While teaching at a local college, he takes on a student who swears he is writing the next great American novel. At first, he's hesitant to share the plot of this story he plans to write as it is sure to be a best seller and have directors fighting over movie rights, but then decides to share just a bit with Jake. Jake is absolutely blown away. A few years later, Jake is still trying to write his next hit and he suddenly remembers his student and this sure fire NYT best selling idea. He realizes that he has not seen it in the press or on shelves, and when he looks into it he realizes it's because his student passed away not too long after sharing the plot with Jake. Jake sees it as his artistic duty to not let a story that good go unwritten, and he decides to write the book himself based off the story his student told him. Not surprisingly, the book is an absolute smash and all is going well for Jake. That is until he receives an anonymous message from someone who knows he stole the story.
While is started off a bit slow, this book has more than its fair share of dark twists and turns. It's one that will keep you up all night, not only trying to finish it, but also because you'll be much too creep-ed out to turn out the light.
We picked this book for one of my book clubs as our July read. This is your typical rom-com read with a bit of a twist. Olive and Ethan do not get along. Olive's sister, Ami, and Ethan's brother, Dane, are getting married and due to Ami's constant luck, the wedding is practically free! The dress, the hotel, the venue, and the food poisoning from the free seafood buffet. There is no way the newlyweds are going to be well enough to take their (free) honeymoon trip to Maui, so they gift it to Olive and Ethan. Both desperate for a vacation, the pair agrees to take the trip and grin and bare each other's company with the promise of having as little interaction as possible once they land. Naturally, the trip and the pair have their ups and downs, and you'll find yourself caught up in their adventure.
This book was on my To Be Read list for over a year and honestly, I completely forgot about it. It wasn't until I came across the movie version of the story on my return flight from my trip to Alaska that I remembered how interested I had been in the plot. Normally, I recommend reading the book before watching the movie, however, it was too tempting not to jump straight into the movie on my cross country flight. As soon as I got home, I ordered the book and dove head first into it, eager to see if I felt the same way about the book as I did the movie. At the end, I was so glad that I saw the movie first. This book is full of quirky characters. They'll make you love them, hate them, make you confused by their choices and their ways of thinking. However you end up feeling about them, I think it was much easier to understand their personalities and all of their strange ways by watching the story acted out first.
This book is about a wealthy mother/son duo that has spent away the fortune the patriarch of the family left them after his sudden death. Out of options, Frances and Malcolm sell all of their possessions and their gorgeous New York apartment and move into the Parisian apartment of Frances' friend, Joan. Here, Frances hatches a plan on how to spend the last of the money and what she'll do once it's gone. Along the way, Frances and Malcolm meet a host of odd balls who become a close-knit group of friends.
Every once in a while, I forgo Good Reads ratings and book recommendations and select a book solely because the title speaks to me. That was the case with Writers & Lovers. Casey is currently having a hard time. Her mother died suddenly (not a spoiler), her boss sucks, her apartment (if you can even call it that) is horrid, and she cannot get herself to finish writing her book. She's trying to manage all of this on top of some health issues and also juggling relationships with two very different men. If you love a good old fashion love triangle, this is the one for you.
As soon as I heard that a member of the Downton Abby cast wrote a book (three books actually), I knew I was about to rearrange my reading schedule to fit it in. The Disappearing Act follows a British actress, Mia, as she navigates pilot season in Los Angles. Not only is she up for a major award this season, she is also trying to prep for the biggest audition of her career and, oh yeah, searching for a missing girl she met in a waiting room. This girl, Emily, handed our protagonist her car keys and wallet, asked for a quick favor, then disappeared without a trace. Mia just wants to return Emily's belongings, but as she starts to search for her, she realizes there is something very sinister at play. If you want a thriller with an original plot and an ending you cannot guess, here you go!
Vivre dans le luxe,
Jordin
Very insightful. I would have never considered anything quite so bold. Thanks for letting me know it’s the “IN” color!
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