Hannahlaneblogs

This summer I set a goal of reading 20 books for myself. After a long and hectic spring semester, I wanted to get myself back on track and ahead of my 2024 reading goals. In 2023, my goal was to read 50 books throughout the year. At the completion of the year I had read 41 books. So as I created my goal for the 2024 year I decided to set a goal that was higher than my previous year, but still lower than my previous goal so that it would be attainable. Prior to heading to Central Mass from Amherst, I thought I would set a mini goal of completing 20 reads from the end of May until I return to Amherst in September.

As of today (August 14th) I have read 18 books. I have read a combination of physical books and Kindle books. Sometimes I feel like I read faster on the Kindle because I read so much more often and at night. 

The only full series I have read this summer was The Summer I Turned Pretty Series. After watching the show (and not being able to complete it because it was truly a painful watch during the second season), I had to know if the books would change my opinion or make me have a greater respect for the show. They did not. I read this entire series in about three days and went on an absolute manhunt when I couldn’t get the third book on the Kindle. (Drove thirty minutes to buy the book to read it in about a day and a half). The only thing I can compare these books to is a car crash- you are literally pained to watch (read) but cannot take your eyes off. These books made me cringe so much that I couldn’t put them down- I kept thinking it was eventually going to improve. I understand the overall concept of the novels and I feel like if I hadn’t watched the show before reading the books I would have enjoyed them more and had better imagery in my head. For some reason, I found Belly to be the most insufferable character of all time and it baffled me how she was able to get either brother to be attracted to her. The resolution of the book (although it was who I wanted) made me viscerally angry because there’s just no way that in any way shape or form that would have happened. Despite the slander I just spit (absolutely no hate to Jenny Hahn she has had some amazing books), I would recommend reading them because they are impossible to put down.

As we know, Elin Hilderbrand is my favorite author of all time. This summer I read four of her books. I read her newest (and final) novel Swan Song which was a bittersweet read because it tied up a lot of loose ends in the Nantucket-verse she has created for her audience. I felt myself going back in time through all of her books she has written. (I only have 6 of her books left to read!). The other three were Summer People, The Perfect Couple, and The Beach Club. I cannot wait for the Netflix adaptation of The Perfect Couple. I feel like I will enjoy it way more because I read the book first! 

As for other “trendy” books, I read Funny Story by Emily Henry and The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. Emily Henry is another one of my favorite authors and I have read all of her books, so it was fitting to read her newest one. Funny Story was heartfelt and touching and yes, funny. I also loved The Unhoneymooners because it was a typical enemies to lovers love story. 

Of course I had to mix in a few nonfiction books. Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier was a mind opening novel. I learned a lot about the insides of one of my favorite brands and how it grew from a blog (I want to be the next Emily Weiss…). But, I also gathered more insight on the business and the downfalls of the bubblegum pink makeup brand. On a very different note, I also read The Forever Witness: How Genetic Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder by Edward Humes, Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Pattrick Radden Keefe, and Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker.  I absolutely loved all three of these nonfiction novels. The Forever Witness chilled me to my core, but also showed me how powerful the science and technology we have today is and that it can be utilized for everything. Empire of Pain was a dense book- it took me a while to work through it. However, after watching Painkiller on Netflix, I had a strong base of information on the Oxycontin industry and how the Sackler family made a profit from ruining innocent people’s lives. The most shocking aspect to me was how recent some of the litigation and legal fights were. If you cannot read through a 500 page informational novel, I don’t blame you, but I still recommend watching the Netflix miniseries because it was mind blowing. Hidden Valley Road was another book that left me feeling disturbed, but it was hard to put down. The novel follows a family of twelve siblings (10 boys and 2 youngest girls) in which half of the boys develop a form of schizophrenia. There were some unsettling aspects that you had to take some time off reading before continuing, but it was such a powerful telling about a mental health disability that many people struggle with. 

As for the other books that filled in the cracks between series, my favorite authors, and nonfiction I read five other middle of the line books that I wouldn’t strongly recommend, but I wouldn’t completely write off. The best of the five was The Lost Summers of Newport which was written by three women and followed the lives of three women in three different decades in the same Newport mansion. It took a little to get into, but once I started deeply reading, I loved it! Hello Summer by Mary Kay Andrews, The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner, and Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella were all satisfactory books, but didn’t stand out to me. I would recommend them, but I wouldn’t rave about them! The last book which is the only book I have ever given a two star to on Goodreads was My Magnolia Summer by Victoria Benton Frank. I read this one on the Kindle and it’s not that it was an awful book or terribly written, it just felt too predictable and cringey at times. 

I realize I still have two books left to read to complete my personal challenge… I’ll keep those a surprise for now, but if you keep up with me on social media you already know them! As we enter the fall, I plan on doing lots more fall content, sorority recruitment content, and an updated TBR list! Please leave book recommendations and reviews below ❤

Xoxo,

Hannahlane