Books to the Ceiling, Books to the Sky...

I've been reading an absurd amount of books since I finished my Masters Degree last December. It's amazing how free I feel when reading a book for pleasure and not another boring academic textbook. There is no way you can compare The Help with the The PMI Guidebook to Program Management.

So what have I been so enthralled with over the last several months? Here are a few of the major ones:

1. The Charles Lenox Series of Mysteries by Charles Finch:
A Beautiful Blue Death
The September Society
The Fleet Street Murders
A Stranger in Mayfair
A Burial at Sea

I stumbled upon this series purely by accident; I was in Barnes and Noble one day late last year, and picked up The September Society by chance off the paperback fiction table. The books take place in Victorian London, with detective Charles Lenox stumbling upon Sherlock-Holmes-esque murder mysteries to solve. I really enjoyed all of them, and many of the characters continue through the entire series of books. 

 2. The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon:

Outlander 

Dragonfly in Amber 

Voyager 

Drums of Autumn 

The Fiery Cross 

A Breath of Snow and Ashes 

An Echo in the Bone 

The Outlander series was recommended to me a few years ago by a friend, but seeing as the first novel is over 700 pages I didn't want to start them until I was finished with school. Well, I began reading the first book of the series, Outlander, on December 25, 2011, and finished the seventh book of the series, An Echo in the Bone, on March 2, 2012. Each book averaged between 700 and 1400 pages (on my Nook) and I enjoyed every last minute. Don't let the length of the books scare you off, they are extremely fast page turners. The series begins in 1940's Scotland, revolving around the main character Claire, as she and her husband are having a second honeymoon, reuniting after years of separation during WWII. It involves time traveling through a ring of stones, 1700's Scotland, plenty of Scottish History (Culloden, Bonnie Prince Charlie), and a handsome Highlander named Jamie Fraser. If you love historical fiction, with a good balance of drama and romance, you'll absolutely fall for this series. I could not put these books down. They were amazing. Supposedly an 8th novel is in the works. I highly recommend the Outlander series. 

3. Everything written by the witty sarcastic Jen Lancaster:

Bitter is the New Black

Bright Lights, Big Ass

Such a Pretty Fat

Pretty in Plaid

My Fair Lazy

If You Were Here (Fiction)

Jeneration X

A friend recommended Bitter is the New Black a few years ago, and I laughed while reading the majority of the book. Jen Lancaster's first novel is about her fall from being a young executive at an HMO and facing the unemployment lines while carrying a Prada Bag (not kidding, this is even included on the book's cover). I finally picked up the rest of her books on my Nook Tablet this year. Her auto-biographical books continue as she struggles to become a successful writer, gains control over her body, examines her preppy plaid beginnings, seeks worldly enlightenment in a pop-culture society, attempts a John Hughes home renovation of epic proportions, and finally begins to check off the list tasks that consist of "being a grown up." That's a pretty succinct summary of all of her novels to date. If you're looking for a funny beach read, pick up any one of her books! You'll most likely find yourself reading parts of her books out loud to friends/loved ones to explain your laughter like I did!

Hope you decide to pick a book and dive in!