This summer was filled with canceled plans due to new restrictions and a massive heatwave that felt like the end of days. While it wasn’t the ideal summer where I was sitting on a boat drinking a nice cold Truly while listening to Harry Styles, it was a summer filled with adventures and experiences brought to me by pages bound together.
Here is a list of books that swept me away from the four walls of my room and took me on a very long road trip.
- The Hunger Games Series (Books 1-3)
While I am sure most people are familiar with this story, here is a brief summary. The Hunger Games is an event that is held every year where one boy and one girl between the ages of 12-18 from each of the 12 districts is chosen to participate in that year’s games. The games are publically televised and will be until there is one victor remaining. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are both chosen out of District 12 and are forced to fight the other 22 tributes and hopefully become the next victors. This book series has always been a fan favorite on my shelf, and if you do not currently own it, I recommend it!
- Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three
I, like many others, am a true crime junkie. Learning about cases that shook the courtroom and changed the way we look at things now, always gets my adrenaline pumping. The West Memphis Three case is one of those where even if you are not very aware of jurisdictions and how criminal investigations work, your red flag meter would be going off. This book follows along with the 1993 murders of Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch and how the three teenagers accused of the murders were brought to the stand based on this “satanic panic”. You will find when reading through the chapters that there was not one piece of legal evidence tying Jessie Misskelley, Jason Baldwin, or Damien Echols to this case, yet they were forced to spend 18 years in prison before being released. This case remains unsolved but if you were to lay out new facts and evidence, I can almost bet that you and I would have the same assumption.
- The Twilight Saga
It is really funny how one book series can change your entire life. I have mentioned in my previous articles about my secret Twilight life and how many connections I have to this series. These books and the movies have created a world that you can literally travel to and experience without the cameras and actors around. Sadly, this year I decided to forgo the FTF Festival due to my girl Rona sticking around, and instead I read through this series with my BB Dakota jacket and converse.
Whether you spent your summer on a boat overlooking a beautiful lake or were stuck in your room watching Netflix until the week ended, I hope this list can inspire you to sit down and relax your mind with a new or loved book.
Stay tuned for my new topic of the month: Cold Cases
HCXO