Serial Reader

I have this really strange habit of reading multiple books - of different genres and with completely different plots - during the same period of time. There's just something about putting a book down when I'm only halfway through it and picking up another one that gets me even more excited to return to the one I started with (maybe distance really does make the heart grow fonder?) Really, it's just a personal preference and a way to keep my thoughts stimulated and interested.

This summer, I'm beating my own personal record and am alternating back and forth between five books, each one completely different from the rest. Here are my current picks:

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins - Shameful to admit, but I only recently grew interested in reading this book after watching the movie trailer. It gave me goosebumps, so when I saw that it was based off of a novel carrying dozens of rave reviews, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. I've only just started reading it, but I'm already hooked. If you enjoy dark mysteries (think Gone Girl) you'll sink your teeth into this one.

The Opposite of Loneliness, Marina Keegan - I took a social commentary/essay writing course my last semester in college and fell in love with the art of the personal essay. I came across this book after doing some research on best-selling essay collections, and I'm so glad I did. Marina Keegan was a recent Yale graduate living in New York City when she was killed in a terrible car accident, but her talent and legacy live on in this incredibly raw, honest, relatable and humorous collection of essays and short stories. 

Finding Fraser, K.C. Dyer - I'm a huge fan of the Starz original series Outlander, the TV adaptation of the international best-selling novels by Diana Gabaldon. (If you aren't already watching this show, you need to start. It's so good.) This memoir follows Dyer who, following a nasty divorce, decides to pack up all her belongings, leave her home in Chicago and move to Scotland on a whim in search of adventure and her very own, real-life James Fraser, Outlander's male protagonist. I almost had a heart attack when I came across this book walking through Barnes and Noble, because my sister and I have joked about doing the exact same thing. Ladies, if leaving your life behind to move to Scotland and find a fictional character's real-life, modern-day counterpart sounds insane to you, watch or read this series and meet Jamie Fraser. You'll understand.

The Defining Decade, Meg Jay, PhD - My aunt told me about this book after buying it for my cousin, who is my same age. Being in your twenties, especially right out of college, can be a really confusing, stressful and chaotic time. This book covers everything - from relationships and "finding yourself" to finances and reaching your career goals - without feeling too "self-help section." Dr. Jay has been studying and talking to twenty-somethings for years, so she really gets it. It's nice to know someone does.

Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling - The only thing I don't like about Mindy Kaling's books is that she doesn't come with them. Why Not Me? is the actress and television writer's second collection of essays (I read her first one, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns, in about three days). You'll laugh, relive your awkward teen years and feel like you've just made a new best friend.