After the Spring semester, I jumped right into Summer classes and now that those are over, I can finally spend time doing what I love the most; reading. I'll honestly read anything; I'm really not all that picky about what I read. Well, it has to be well written of course. But that's about my own limitation. So far, these are the books I've found myself loving this summer and I highly recommend them to you, too!
1. "The Last Kingdom" Series by Bernard Cornwell
This series, also formerly known as "The Warrior Chronicles" as well as the "Saxon Stories," so far holds 10 books in it and with some of the research I've done, Cornwell doesn't have any plans to stop. I'm currently on book six "Death of Kings." Yes, it's that good that I've read six books in about two weeks. I came across this series after seeing the BBC/Netflix adaptation of the books. Each season focuses on two books and there are only two seasons out right now. I highly recommend both the television series and novels. I've never been so captivated when reading something before. The series focuses on the reign of Alfred the Great and his descendants, but through the unique view point of Uhtred of Bebbanburg who was born a Saxon, raised a Dane and is now the sword of the Saxons, despite his hatred for them and their religion.
2. "Zombie, Ohio" by Scott Kenemore
"Zombie, Ohio" is a very strange book and I was apprehensive before I read it. I'm not big into science-fiction or zombies, but trust me - that's not the focus of the novel. The main character, Peter Mellor, was a professor at a rural Ohio university when he gets into a fatal car crash and dies...just not in the way he was expecting. Mellor wakes up as a zombie but a zombie that knows he's a zombie. It's a case of double-consciousness and it truly makes for an interesting read. The book takes you on a journey of Mellor trying to decide who he is and how he should live his life, as a zombie or a human. It's definitely a different take on the numerous zombie depictions that are out there and it's hilarious while covering a serious topic.
3. "Kindred" by Octavia E. Butler
Yes, another science-fiction novel. This time, we're dealing with time-travel. Butler uses time-travel to transport Dana Franklin from California in the 1970's to a Maryland plantation before the Civil War. Franklin doesn't go back for a history lesson, but she goes back to actually save her bloodline time and time again. It's definitely a harder read than the other books on this list, but it's well worth it.
4. "The Hacker" Series by Meredith Wild
For about two or three years straight, I refused to read any genre if it wasn't romance. I got hooked, admittedly with the "Fifty Shades" series by E.L. James and I've rarely put them down since. There are five books to this series, and similar to "The Last Kingdom" series, I read them all in about two weeks. The books follow Erica Hathaway, a business entrepreneur, and Blake Landon, a rumored hacker and one of Erica's possible investors. Both of their pasts constantly come to bite them in the ass, but I promise you that there's a happy ending.
While you read through this list and, hopefully, consider reading at least one of them, I'm going to get back to sipping my tea and zipping through what's left in "The Last Kingdom" series for me. Happy reading!
