Three Books For Your Beach Bag

It’s been a while since I’ve shared what I’ve been reading, and now I have three good books to tell you about. Toss any one–or all three–in your beach bag, and you won’t be disappointed.

Before I share my book reviews, I want to talk about new information the FTC has released that explains how the FTC disclosure rules apply to bloggers. They have a new “frequently asked questions” page that specifically addresses social media and blogging, and gives examples of suggested ways to comply. One thing that jumped out at me is that simply tagging a link as an “affiliate link” may not be enough, because your general audience may not understand what that means. With that in mind, I will be adding an image like this to my product review–and book review–posts.

Now, on to the books!

1. Paper Towns by John Green. I saw the preview for the movie version when I was seeing Pitch Perfect 2, and it sounded like it would be a good book.

Paper Towns is a YA book, told from the perspective of Quentin Jacobsen, a nerdy high school senior who has never broken any rules, but is about to break them all for the girl next door, Margo Roth Spiegelman. As the Amazon synopsis says:

After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.

Since I have a “no spoiler policy,” I’ll just say that in his quest to find and understand Margo, Quentin probably learns more about himself–and gives us lots to think about ourselves. I enjoyed reading this book, couldn’t put it down as I got near the end, and then was sorry when it was over. And now I think it will be a good movie. 🙂 

2. The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley. I came across this book while browsing on Amazon, and had it on my Kindle for a while before I got into it. I’m not sure if the first chapters were slow, or if I just wasn’t in the right mood, because I ended up liking it.

The Dead Key is mystery set at the First Bank of Cleveland, told from two perspectives: present-day Iris Latch, a civil engineer charged with surveying the abandoned building, and 20-years-ago Beatrice Baker, a secretary at the bank before its abrupt closure. Where there’s a bank, there’s money, and where there’s money, there’s people trying to get more than their fair share. The “dead key” refers to a safe deposit box key that eventually links the women together.

I found this to be a really interesting story, and loved how so many seemingly loose threads got tied together at the end.

3. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. Cat Bowen gets credit for suggesting this book, and it’s gotten high reviews from other friends too.  

A.J. Fikry is the recently widowed owner of Island Books, the lone bookstore on an island off the northeast coast. His dreary routine first is interrupted by a visit from the new publishing house sales rep whom he finds much less forgettable than the books she was selling, and then by someone leaving a baby at his store. As the book unfolds, A.J. Fikry loses his gruff exterior and starts to see the best in the people around him.

Overall, it’s a mostly heart-warming, sometimes bittersweet story, that was really well-written and a pleasure to read. 

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What books are in your beach bag? 

Next weekend is a holiday weekend, but I hope you’ll still stop by for coffee, and join The Ultimate Coffee Date Link Up!