summer reads

I had seen both of these books recommended over the past year and gave each a try. Both bestsellers, but wow, two TOTALLY different vibes:

Where'd You Go Bernadette, by Maria Semple
Read this if you're looking for a silly, light summer read. It's kind of a mystery novel, and written in a unique style, telling a story of an eccentric mother's disappearance from her daughter's perspective, cobblestoned together from emails, newspaper articles and other things. I liked it, and I'm going to send it to my sister to read, but it was a little too light for my liking.

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
Read this book if you're looking for something to become completely absorbed in! I will probably finish this one today, and it's the best book I've read in a long time. The writing is rich, the characters are complicated, and the plot twists and turns. This is NOT a light book, and it's quite melancholic throughout, but it's one of those books where I've gotten so attached to the characters that I'm going to be sad when I've finished it.

Also, after leaving my kobo e-reader on the greyhound one day, I decided to give reading The Goldfinch on my iPad a try, and I have been very pleased, to the point where I won't replace my kobo. Pros: you can adjust the screen brightness easily, and you can flip the text so that it's vertical (as in the picture), or horizontal and split into 2 pages, depending on if you want to hold the ipad or prop it against something to read. Still love having a paper copy every once in a while though!!