Thursday, June 6, 2013

10 Books on My Summer Reading List

Ahhh summer days are the best!  How many of you are officially on break??  I'm lovin' being able to take my time in the mornings and having time to read before bed.  I asked some of my friends on FB for some reading suggestions and have been filling up my Kindle with some great reads.


I thought I'd share some of them with you, in case you are looking to add to your lists.  There are a few "speechie" type books, but not all of them have to do with special needs.

1.  Carly's Voice ~ by Arthur Fleischmann


-If you aren't aware, Kristin over at [simply speech] is hosting a summer book club for speechies!  Number one on the list was Carly's Voice.  It tells the story of a girl with autism written by her dad.  It shares the struggles and daily life of living with a child with special needs.  She eventually learns to type on a computer to communicate.  Love it so far!


Carly's Voice: Breaking Through Autism




2.  Schuyler's Monster ~ by Robert Rummel-Hudson

-I read this one last week.  This is a similar book written by a father of a child with a communication disorder.  Although I didn't love some of the harsh language and didn't agree with all of his thinking, this book was a very interesting read.  It was good to be able to see through the parents' eyes and think of situations from their perspectives.


Schuyler's Monster: A Father's Journey with His Wordless Daughter



3.  A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations, and a Little Girl Named Penny ~ by Amy Julia Becker


-I'm excited to read this book.  A mother tells her journey of having a daughter with Down's Syndrome and the struggles and joys that come with it.


Good and Perfect Gift, A: Faith, Expectations, and a Little Girl Named Penny







4.  Wonder ~ by RJ Palacio
This book was recommended to me by a couple of my blog readers (thank you!).  It's a fiction story about a 10-year-old boy with facial abnormalities who goes to school for the first time after being homeschooled.  Even though it's written for kids, it definitely piqued my interest.


Wonder





5.  Kisses From Katie ~ by Katie Davis

Katie tells the story of how at 18, she moved from her comfortable life in the US to Uganda in order to serve the people and orphans in Africa and to follow God's call.  She ended up adopting like 14 kids and inspires others to touch lives - one at a time.  


Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption







6.  Is There Anybody Out There? ~ by Mez McConnell
Mez shares his story from childhood abuse, violence, and drugs to ending up in prison.  It tells of how he escaped a world of despair and discovered a hope that changed his life.


Is There Anybody Out There?: A Journey from Despair to Hope






7.  How People Change ~ by Timothy Lane and Paul Tripp

The book description from Amazon says it better than I ever could: 
"What does it take for lasting change to take root in your life? If you've ever tried, failed, and wondered why, you need How People Change. This book explains the biblical pattern for change in a clear, practical way you can apply to the challenges of daily life. But change involves more than a biblical formula: you will see how God is at work to make you the person you were created to be."


How People Change




8.  French Women Don't Get Fat ~ by Mireille Guiliano

Random yes, but good.  This book shares the secrets of how French women stay slim and healthy but do not diet.  It's full of recipes and insight to help women live healthy and full lives.


French Women Don't Get Fat





9.  What Alice Forgot ~ by Liane Moriarty

Gotta have a good fiction novel in there somewhere.  Alice is 29, happily married, and pregnant but wakes up one day to find herself 39 with 3 kids and getting a divorce.  She has to put the pieces of her life together to figure out what went wrong.  


What Alice Forgot








10.  Sons of Encouragment ~ by Francine Rivers

I have read every single book by Francine Rivers.  If you haven't read any of her books yet, I recommend starting with Redeeming Love.  It's one of my favorite books ever.  I realized that I hadn't read Sons of Encouragement and immediately put it on my list.  Any and all books by her are amazing and I know this one won't be any different.


Sons of Encouragement





What's on your list?  Please share!! :) :)



11 comments:

  1. Wow Lauren-all of these have piqued my interest! I also love Francine Rivers and have read all of her books! If you haven't read her "Mark of the Lion" series-it's a must read!
    Allison's Speech Peeps

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    1. Nicole, I loved the "Mark of the Lion" series too! Amazing books! Francine Rivers is one of my favorites.

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  2. I have Carly's Voice and Schuyler's Monster on my summer reading list as well...I also have Defending Jacob, Son of a Witch (sequel to Wicked), Inferno (Dan Brown), and a few others as well!

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    1. Oooh I'll have to check out those as well! Thanks, Carrie!

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  3. I think my book club will be reading Redeeming Love very soon which will be the first book I've ever read by Francine Rivers! I just finished two of Gillian Flynn's books (Sharp Objects and Gone Girl)...both of which were amazing if you like psychological mystery/thriller type books. Oh I LOVE LOVE LOVE to read and discuss books and I love summertime reading fun. Cute post. I'll have to get my summer reading list together and post it...see if anyone else has some really great ideas!!! Thanks for sharing :)

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    1. So nice to know I'm not the only one who LOVES summer reading! Hope you enjoy Francine Rivers. All of her books are so good. I hope you do post your summer list too! I'll definitely check it out!

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  4. Oh my gosh I just found out tonight, my book club is reading What Alice Forgot this month and will be discussing it in the beginning of July. What are the odds???? Ha! Well after you read it, we can discuss!!!! :)

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  5. Another book that is an excellent read is called "Out of My Mind". It is written for upper elementary/Jr. High students. It was on a Nebraska State Reading Award List this year. (The list, "Golden Sower Award" has a list of books for students to read and then vote on the best). It's a story about a girl with Cerebral Palsy and how her life changes when she gets AAC that works. My 6th gr. son and I read it together....was very powerful for both of us. (All the adults in the school were reading it! Made it hard for the students to get ahold of it;+) He was very moved that his mom could actually be doing something like the neighbor did in the book! STRONGLY recommend this one!

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  6. Hey Lauren, did you see that Kristin over at [simply speech.] is doing a book club this summer AND guess what her first book is???? Carly's voice!!! I'm awaiting to hear when the discussion will begin but I bought it on my kindle two days ago and have finished! I laughed, I cried, I went through the rainbow of emotions. Hahaha. I just can't wait to discuss this book with SOMEONE!!!! Thought I'd share in case you missed it...we could all discuss together! Yay! :)

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  7. What a diverse and interesting list of books! There are so many on here that I will have to add to my already quite daunting summer reading list :) My recommendation for you this summer is “The Facebook Diet” by author Gemini Adams(http://www.unplugseries.com/). The author has created a book that illustrates the many weird and wonderful obsessive behaviors that people like myself exhibit as a result of Facebook! The book features 50 very funny cartoons that all start with “You know you’re a Facebook addict when….” It’s not all illustrations though and there are some interesting facts about social media, good suggestions for going on a “digital detox” and lots of quirky and fun observations about our fixation with this phenomenon… Hope you enjoy! have a great summer

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  8. Hey girl, just thought I'd share that I just finished What Alice Forgot! Have you read it yet? I thought it was very good! Shoot me a FB message if you want to discuss :)

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