There are plenty more, but the last three books I read really resonated, so I’m sharing them with you. Be forewarned, though – no light reading here.
First up – The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. This book was published in January, and I’d been hearing and reading about it for months. Many comparisons to Gone Girl, although I read GG and liked TGOTT much better. Finally I downloaded the digital version to my Kindle app and once I started reading, it was hard to stop. Two sleep-deprived nights later and wow. Great use of the unreliable narrator to create a suspenseful mystery/thriller. Here’s the link to the Amazon page – or pick up the print version from your local bookseller!
Next – Still Alice. The movie came out, and I so wanted to see it. Didn’t get around to it in time. I knew this would be a difficult read (my mom had progressive dementia). If you can handle the topic of early-onset Alzheimer’s, this book is so, so good. Written from the point of view of the title character (Alice Howland, an esteemed Harvard psychology professor), this novel is brilliant as Alice journeys through her disease. Read all about it here.
Finally, I read Hausfrau. My friend Samantha Stroh Bailey said it ‘chilled her to the bone.’ Yep. This story, set in my beloved Switzerland (Dietlikon, a little town just outside Zurich), is about Swiss perfection and the main character’s falling apart. It’s been called ‘a modern-day Anna Karenina tale,’ and now, of course, I must read Anna Karenina. You won’t soon forget this story. Here’s the link.
So – there are my suggestions for your summer reading list. What have you got to recommend to me?
I’ve heard so many good things about The Girl on the Train. I must start it!
Popping by on the A to Z Road Trip
Debbie
http://www.myrandommusings.blogspot.com
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Making my way around on the A to Z Road trip! Stopping by to say hello and I hope to see you again next year, if not sooner!
Mary
http://www.JingleJangleJungle.net
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Thanks, Mary – I just subscribed to yours!
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I’ve read the first two of these books! I liked The Girl on the Train, but I liked Gone Girl better. I found the ending of The Girl to be a bit disappointing. Seemed there was all this buildup… I don’t want to give more away in case someone who reads this hasn’t read it yet, but I loved the beginning…just not the resolution.
Stephanie
http://stephie5741.blogspot.com
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If you read HAUSFRAU, Stephanie, let me know what you think!
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I’m waiting for the Girl on the Train from my library; I enjoyed Gone Girl but didn’t like the ending, so have high hopes for this one!
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Let me know what you think, Pauline!
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Yes, I can imagine!
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I highly recommend the audio version also of The Girl on the Train: with 3 female narrators, it works very well. Loving it right now
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