Books, Part Two

Happy Monday everyone! I have read a few good books lately and would love to share them with you.

1. Letting Ana Go by Anonymous. This is an anonymous journal belonging to a girl who died from anorexia. If you’re familiar with the popular book Go AskAlice, it is basically the same as that. The book documents the struggle of a girl named Ana with her eating disorder, all the way to her death. The book is obviously very sad because it is the real journal of someone who died, but it is incredibly interesting (and disturbing) to have the insight into the mind of someone with this disease. It is not a light-hearted read, but it profoundly affected me and it is worth sharing.

2. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. I mentioned this book in my previous post about books, and have finally finished it. This book is the memoir of author Frank McCourt, documenting his time growing up poor in Ireland, through his moving to America when he was 19. Again, this isn’t exactly a light-hearted read, but hearing of McCourt’s rough childhood and seeing him overcome it was interesting. I didn’t particularly love this book, however. It was really hard for me to get through because it seemed to just drag on and on without too much happening, but it was also the first memoir I’ve read, so maybe that just isn’t my thing.

Mindy favorited my tweet. We're basically bffs.

3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. I freaking LOVED this book. This is essentially a collection of essays by the wonderfully smart and funny writer, comedian, producer, and actor, Mindy Kaling. Mindy wrote and starred on NBC’s The Office and now has her own show, The Mindy Project. Kaling is incredibly relatable in this book and she is also hilarious. Please, please read this book. Also, I tweeted about loving it, and Mindy favorited it. Holla!

4. It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizinni. This book is about a 15-year-old boy named Craig who checks himself into a psych ward after he contemplates suicide. Although this book sounds like it would be depressing, it’s not at all. There are some funny parts, and I really enjoyed it. Apparently it was made into a movie a few years ago. Check out the trailer here. Judging by the trailer, the book is approximately two hundred times better.

5. 642 Things to Write About by the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto. Just as the title suggests, this book is filled with pages of 642 things to write about. Prompts range from writing an ode to an onion, to writing a scene in which the only words spoken are “uh-huh,” “Umm,” “Urrrrr,” and “Mm-mmm,” to documenting the difference between the first death you can remember to the most recent one. Although this book isn’t a novel like my other suggestions, it is super fun and I love it.

Use the rest of your summer well and read some of these lovely suggestions. Have a great week and thanks for reading :)