Celebrating National Read a Book Day with my favorite books

I usually don’t talk about any other than food. Well, because why would I? I mean this is indeed a food blog!

But when I saw that today is National Read A Book Day, I knew I needed to say something. In fact, when I was younger I used to ask for books for Christmas (yeah, I was that kid).

In high school and college I didn’t read as much as I would have liked. But now, I always have a book in tow. The app Overdrive is my favorite app ever because it connects to your library account, and you can check out books and audiobooks.

In the past year, I’ve read more books than I have in any other year. So I wanted to share the list of books I read and how I would rank them.

I’d like to preface this by telling you a little more about the books I like to read.

Gone Girl is my favorite book! I read it when it first came out, so I didn’t know anything about the plot and it was SHOCKING! I won’t reveal anymore in case you haven’t read it yet.

I also LOVED the Hunger Games and Harry Potter, and I like to dabble in historical fiction. That being said, here’s the list of books I’ve read in the past year…

1.     The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

a.     Yes, yes yes! I loved everything about this book. Obviously they’re making it into a movie, BUT you MUST read it before you see the movie. Some people have been calling it the British Gone Girl. Other people don’t like that it’s being called that. I don’t care either way, but I definitely love it!

2.     Cartwheel by Jennifer DuBois

a.     Another one of my favorites! The plot will remind you of the Amanda Knox story.

3.     Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

a.     As with all Gillian Flynn books, this one was crazy. And I loved it.

4.     Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

a.     While I was reading this book, I could not stop thinking about it! So good!

5.     Dare Me by Megan Abbott

a.     Nah, didn’t care for it.

6.     Everything I never Told you by Celest Ng

a.     This had potential to be interesting, but in the end I give it a thumbs down.

7.     Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

a.     Mindy Kaling is obviously hilarious. There’s a reason she was a writer and then actor on The Office. Her book is everything you would expect and more! I highly recommend it!

8.     Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

a.     See above answer.

9.     Mean Streak by Sandra Brown

a.     Two thumbs up! I couldn’t put it down!

10. Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin

a.     Ehhh it was funny in some parts, but I wasn’t excited to read it.

11. Bossypants by Tina Fey

a.     Hilarious! And Tina dishes out some good life lessons.

12. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

a.     I think this book had a meaningful message – a message that I think about almost daily. However, it definitely wasn’t an exciting read.

13. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

a.     Amy Poehler is hilarious. Enough said.

14. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

a.     This was not what I thought it would be at all. It was like he did a study on online dating and then reported on the results of the study. I didn’t find it interesting.

15. Lean in for Graduates by Sheryl Sandberg

a.     I liked this book, but I ended up skipping around a little bit. It’s an advice book, and those type of books don’t always keep my interest.

16. Me before You by Jojo Moyes

a.     It was a good book, but the ending was just ehhh.

17. The Fault in our Stars by John Green

a.     This book made me actually cry. They were happy / sad tears, but they were good tears nonetheless. It was a beautiful, beautiful book about young love.

18. Paper Towns by John Green

a.     It was okay. Just okay.

19. Looking for Alaska by John Green

a.     It started out really good, and then it wasn’t.

20. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

a.     Ehhhh. I’ll leave it at there.

21. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

a.     Wow. Just wow. This book really changed my life and my perspective on life. Read this book!!! It’s truly amazing what our veterans endured during the wars.

22. American Sniper by Chris Kyle

a.     It was good! It had a happy ending which is sad because he wrote this book before he died.

23. Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

a.     Everyone should read this book! Once again, it changed my perspective on life. Soooo good!

24. Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

a.     It was definitely very interesting.

25. We are all Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

a.     It was okay. I wouldn’t put it on your “must read” list.

26. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

a.     I enjoyed about 80% of the book.

27. Not that Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

a.     Very funny! But I rank it below Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler’s books.

28. My Story by Elizabeth Smart

a.     I could not put this book down! Her mindset and brain as a 14-year-old is incredible.

29. Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

a.     The book started out slow, and then 60% of the way through I loved it! And then the ending was not good.

30. All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

a.     Ok so I’m still kind of mad at this book. It’s as if the author forgot to write an ending.

31. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

a.     Everyone talks about how good of a movie this is. And I have never seen the movie, so I can’t comment on that. But I decided the book is not good.

32. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

a.     I give it one and a half thumbs down. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve ever read, but I didn’t enjoy it.

33. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

a.     Sooooo good! I couldn’t put it down.

34. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

a.     Don’t read this book. That’s all I have to say about that.