Beach Reading

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of my favorite summer activities is spending hours on the beach with a good book. And last week, I was fortunate enough to be able to this about every day! During my week at the beach, I made it through four books and enjoyed them all. Here is what I read:

Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu. 

I loved this memoir of the darling of the 1996 Olympic gold medal winning USA gymnastics team. Dominique Moceanu is the daughter of Romanian immigrants and it was really interesting to read about how that influenced her childhood and gymnastics training. She also reveals what it was like to train under the legendary Bela Karolyi for four years, and her insider perspective unveils a drastically different picture than what the cameras portrayed at gymnastics meets. Moceanu describes the ups and downs of her personal and gymnastics life post-Atlanta 1996, including her comeback attempt in 2006, and the discovery of her long-lost biological sister in 2007. I highly recommend this and it will definitely get you in the mood for the upcoming Olympics!

Leaving by Karen Kingsbury (Book One of the Bailey Flanigan series)

After a couple friends gave me glowing recommendations for Karen Kingsbury's Christian fiction novels, I had to check them out for  myself! Leaving is the first in a series of four books. Main character Bailey Flanigan is 21 years old and is preparing to leave her close-knit family in Bloomington, Indiana to head to New York City to pursue a dream of singing and dancing on Broadway. She is also seeking God's will for a blossoming friendship with her co-star from her recent movie and coping with the pain from her first love Cody walking out of her life. The minor characters and subplots in Leaving are intriguing as well and I look forward to reading the next book in the series!

Thin Rich Pretty by Beth Harbison

This chick-lit novel chronicles three young women who originally met at summer camp when they were thirteen. Holly and Nicola have stayed in touch the past twenty years and remain best friends. One day Holly unexpectedly runs into Lexi, her and Nicola's arch-rival from Cabin Seven, and is shocked at how things have changed. She and Nicola then set out on an adventure to right a wrong that they committed all those years ago. The book alternates between the past at summer camp and the present-day.

Oceans Apart by Karen Kingsbury

This riveting stand-alone novel by Karen Kingsbury tells the story of Connor Evans, a pilot who is a happily married father of two. His world as he knows it is shaken apart when he gets a phone call and learns that the Hawaiian flight attendant he had an affair with one dark stormy night eight years ago has died in a plane crash and left behind her seven year old son Max who happens to be Connor's son as well. Max has no family and his late mother stated in her will that she wants her son to spend two weeks with his father before being turned over to the state. Connor must then confess to his wife about both the affair and the son he never knew he had. What follows is a powerful tale of forgiveness that is only possible through Christ. I was in tears at the end! You won't want to put this one down!

What books have y'all read and enjoyed lately? I'm always looking for more great ones to read!

-L

xoxo