Summer: The time of year when we forget how to hold a pencil. It’s true, college students tend to have no problem shamelessly forgetting every bit of information we just splurged out onto our finals. Whether you’re in a poolside cabana sipping on a Pina Colada or dipping your toes in a kiddie pool and pretending the former is true, these sunny-weather reads are sure to help your brain from going into a completely comatose state this summer (unless, of course, you prefer it that way)
1. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
This book is about making the most of what you have. The plot is founded upon a mediocre woman who one day decides to rise above that mediocrity – not by changing anything drastic, but rather focusing on one small, achievable goal each month. Think of it as a Happiness for Dummies self-help guide, but with a personal touch… and a little more humor.
2. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
Burroughs’ narrative of events is like watching an ongoing psychology experiment from behind a glass wall. When Augusten’s mother gives him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, he is thrown into a world of anything but ordinary. Seriously, this 13-year-old boy plays with an electroshock therapy machine for fun! Oh, and consumes anti-psychotics like candy. Did we mention it’s a TRUE STORY? It will definitely make you laugh out loud, but we can’t guarantee you won’t feel bad about it.
3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran
Follow an 8-year-old on a mission to find the lock to match a key his father owned. Sounds impossible enough, but made more impossible by the fact that his father has tragically died in the 9/11 attacks… and even more impossible because the little boy is searching the five boroughs of NYC… alone.
This book will you make you smile and warm your heart, but only if you can stop crying long enough to do so. If you’ve seen the movie, the book is equally irresistible.
4. The Fallback Plan by Leigh Stein
The Fallback Plan has got it all: Sex, love, drugs, death, infidelity and one very confused post-grad. Follow along with Esther as she reluctantly moves back in with her parents after graduating college and desperately tries to find herself. It’s a story all of us college students should be able to relate to. Hey, if you’re not in her position yet, maybe you should read this as a preventative measure.
5. The First Husband by Laura Dave
Our list wouldn’t be complete without a touch of blatant chick-lit, so here you have it. Girl meets boy. Boy leaves girl. Girl is devastated. Girl finds new boy. First boy wants girl back. But seriously, this book gets deep and follows a broken girl jumping from heartache to heartache. Even if we won’t admit it, what girl is going to put this book down?
