summer reading list

I really have no idea why I don't write about books more often. It's how I've made my lively-hood for the past 10 years so I do have a few things to say about the subject. Today I'm going to share some of the titles on my reading list as well as a few of my recommendations for summer reads.

Teen Dystopian Novels are the new Vampire Romance. Blame it on the Hunger Games (haven't read it? stop reading this blog and go get a copy...I'll wait) but this theme is all the rage. Here are a few that I've read or plan to read this summer (which shall also be known as The Summer I Read Way Too Many Teen Dystopian Novels)


Wither by Lauren DeStefano - I devoured this one. Imagine a future where all diseases have been cured, but girls die at 20 and boys die at 25. The main character is a very strong girl (no weak love-lorn, vampire dating wimp) who is kidnapped and sold into a marriage. It reminded me a lot of A Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. Very spooky.

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Dystopian Chicago. 16 year olds tested for aptitude. Choices to be made. A main character with a cute shortened nick name.

Matched by Allie Condie. Another Mormon writes a book I'm sure to be obsessed with. With names like Xander and Cassia and big brother watching this is sure to make my heart race.

Also on my summer reading list...

Beaten, Seared and Sauced: On Becoming a Chef at the Culinary Institute of America by Jonathan Dixon. Because I'm clearly not going to be attending the CIA any time soon.

Try This: Traveling the Globe Without Leaving the Table by Danyelle Freeman. I love my food writing. Freeman has a website called Restaurant Girl and was a guest judge on Top Chef Masters.

The Map of Time by Felix J.Palma. The plot reminds me a bit of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde, but this book has been a bestseller overseas so I'm going to give it a shot.

Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent. Because I'm an educated drunk.

Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks by Juliet Elperin. There is a secret shark week fan buried deep inside of me.

Witches of East End (Beauchamp Family Book Series #1). Family of witches? Count me in!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. This books is a mix of fiction and photography. Seems like it might be a darker, more twisted play on Series of Unfortunate Events.

Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal. That right, Elizabeth and Jessica all grown up!!!

Other pics for summer reads

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. A work of historical fiction told from the perspective of Ernest Hemingway's first wife.

Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef. A fantastic descriptive work of food writing.

Bossypants by Tina Fey. Laugh your ass off funny.


Life, on the Line: A Chef's Store of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death and Redefining the Way we Eat by Grant Achatz. Local celebrity chef. Never going to be able to afford to eat his food so I got his book.