Book Review: Girls in White Dresses

Girls In White Dresses was the second book I downloaded on my Nook!

After seeing it on a pin of "20 Books for 20-somethings" I decided to download it.

It has been one of the best books I've ever read! I LOVED IT! I want to read it over already. GIWD is about a group of 20-somethings that have graduated college, look for jobs, move, find relationships, fail at relationships, don't find relationships, get fired, find other jobs, get married, don't get married, have families, get dogs, everything. It follows a cute group of friends, but features short side stories of other friends that the girls have from work, college, or through their boyfriends even. It is realistically written and I liked (although as I'm typing it, I sound so morbid) that things didn't always work out for them. The girls often struggled, one was out of a job for months and couldn't find anything (I found her particular story endearing), one could never find a guy she liked enough to be serious with, and some struggled in many other ways. There were also major success stories including finding "the one", moving apartments, and even having children for some of the characters.

If you're a 20-something, which I know many of you are, Girls in White Dresses is worth a read or download. I truly felt like I was a member of this group of girls living in New York City and I even found myself laughing out loud at times when the girls were in crazy situations. I also appreciated that the girls in this book were all SMART. They were driven and realistic and not going on crazy shopping sprees in New York City like you read in so many other 20-something books.

Amazon's review had a line that I loved, "Through it all--through drunken nights and hungover mornings, evil bosses, cancelled engagements, and that time Mary lost her mind and named her newborn baby Gertrude for three days--their friendships remain a constant."

I wholeheartedly recommend this book and I hope you'll find that you enjoy it too!

xxKatie

Beach Bound: Books, Nooks, and Everything in Between!

Books are an absolute must have for me while I'm at the beach! Like I said a few days ago, I tend to get a little bored along the coastline because I'm not a good beach napper. There is decent people watching and I always laugh when the lifeguards signal each other from stand to stand. A million years ago when I was a little kid, we joked around that they were all putting in their lunch orders!

"I'll take a cheesburger, no mustard!"

Anyway since I like to hang out on the beach and manage my tan, I enjoy bringing books with me on my trips! I currently am reading 2 books (which is rare. I always read one and go onto the next one after I finish completely!) but they're very different. One is all about economics and why people make some of the decisions they make while the other is about a woman in South Carolina beginning to re-evaluate her life upon the arrival of her 46th birthday.

Nudge is my economics book that I mentioned. I'm about halfway through, but the information is pretty dense so it's not exactly pleasure reading. I'm learning SO much from it and I really enjoy econ. If you're interested in business/economics/reading as an undergrad, my professor from the spring semester made sure to tell us to check it out!

Lowcountry Summer is the second book I talked about! I knew I was going like this book when they said that the son in the novel went to the University of South Carolina along with his cousin! Obviously it's going to be a good read. I'm only twenty-some pages into this guy, but I'm excited to see what other SC references are in it!

Now I haven't quite jumped on the bandwagon of e-readers, but I'd definitely suggest these two books for download as well as The Art of Racing in the Rain, which I read earlier this summer. That was an easy read and would make a good beach book for sure! 

What summer reading have you done? Anything I have to add to my lists? Do you like to read on the beach or are you a napper? Let me know!

xxKatie

Summer Reading: The Art of Racing in the Rain

I just finished The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein on Friday. I bought it on Friday as well. Spending the better part of the day reading this book I couldn't put it down. To preface this review, TAORITR is easily in my top 3 books ever. I'm not a pet owner (however I plan on getting a Westie eventually) but this book made me understand so much about owning a dog.

I don't want to give too much away because I want everyone to go out and read this! A very brief summary, but this novel is about a man named Denny who adopts a mix-breed dog named Enzo (named after a famous race car driver, there is a big racing theme) and their life together. The beginning is rocky but it goes through their entire shared life from bachelorhood to old age. 

Never in my life have I cried as much in a book as in The Art of Racing in the Rain, but I also couldn't put it down. The last 15 pages were straight tears as were other parts of the story. It was a WONDERFUL book whether you're a dog owner/lover/anything or not. I absolutely recommend this book to any and everyone so please go out and snag this book or download it on your kindles and nooks ASAP! There is no question in my mind why this is a NYT Bestseller! 

xxKatie

PS: This book is the first book I've read this summer. Keep an eye out for other book reviews. I have 4 more books currently on the shelf ready and willing--it's just the beginning!