Reading Recently

Summer is my time to read. Between beach vacations and breaks at work, I have so much more time to read than in the school year. So far I must have read about 15 books so I figured it was time to share my favorites. Recently I have found a love of books based in foreign countries, particularly France. 

    The majority of these books can be placed in one of two groups: living abroad or historical/biographical fiction. These are probably my two favorite literary groupings so this is no surprise. See Me by Nicholas Sparks  is the only one that doesn't fall in these categories but it is still a good beach read. 
    Tout Sweet by Karen Wheeler, A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle, Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes, and Picnic in Provence by Elizabeth Bard all fall under living abroad. The focus is someone who is ready for something new in life and shares their experiences. All of these take place in France with the exception of Under the Tuscan Sun. My favorite of these novels would either be A Year in Provence  or Picnic in Provence. They are both such sweet novels that you want to read more and more. Peter Mayle has two other books about his time in France, and I would fully recommend those as well. It should be noted that Picnic in Provence is the second in the series so make sure you read Lunch in Paris first. 
     The Paris Wife by Paula McLain and The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin  are both biographies. The Paris Wife is about Hadley Hemingway (the wife of Ernest Hemingway) while The Aviator's Wife is about Anne Lindbergh. Both of these are fascinating reads that give insight into different ways of life and people we might not normally think about. 

Which of these sounds interesting to you?

xoxo,

Maddie