Natalie's Summer Reading List

I feel like everyone in my life loves reading and I just…. don’t. I myself am more of a coffee table book person. I’m very visual so I appreciate the photography and all of the graphic elements that go along with flipping through a coffee table book.

That’s why to be honest, normal books kind of bore me. I tend to start reading them, get really into it for the first few chapters and then before I even hit the middle my interest dies.

So in an odd change of events, I have actually read not 1 but 3, soon to be 4 new books! This is very unlike. I am surrounded by readers who finish books in less than 4 days, so I know to most that won’t sound so impressive but believe me it is. So here’s a little round up of books I’ve picked up recently and loved. I hope I can get keep the streak going!

The Alchemist by paulo coelho

This book is very widely read. I had seen it circulating for a longtime before I finally read it myself. It came as a recommendation from my boyfriend Liam, he described it as “a light read that is just a nice uplifting story”. And I think that description is spot on. It’s basically about a young man who is trying to pursue his life’s purpose. And along the way he learns about himself and being in tune to what’s around him. He meets interesting people and picks up new skills he never could of dreamed of knowing before venturing out on his trip. If you’re into the idea of “destiny” or that the universe has a plan for you, then you’ll like this book. It’s also very short so if you don’t you own’t be in misery for too long!

Yearbook by Seth Rogen

You may have seen on Seri’s stories a few weeks ago that Seri, Maggie, and I decided to go on a last minute road trip down to Florida to get some work done at Seri’s new house. Well on the way she recommended we listen to this book by Seth Rogen. I cannot recommend it enough!!! First of all, definitely listen to the audiobook instead of reading, Seth narrates it himself and it is literally so funny. I mean it’s Seth Rogen so everything that he says sounds funny but him describing his own life is just what the doctor ordered as they say! He talks about all the things you would expect him to - being Jewish, lots of drugs, and his rise to stardom. The rise to stardom part is actually very interesting because even once he was famous, he didn’t feel like it so him in all of these crazy situations like being at Tom Cruise’s house or at the Grammy’s trying to say hello to Beyonce are that much funnier to listen to.

MANY LIVES, MANY MASTERS BY BRIAN L. WEISS

Lately I’ve been on a spirituality kick… I’m not really sure what’s out in the universe but I’m very interested in hearing what other people have to say about what’s out there. This book came at the recommendation of one of Liam’s cousins that I saw at a family function. But before that, I had kind of seen some people talk about it online. It is a true story told from the perspective of Dr. Weiss, a licensed psychologist, about how he helped treat a patient of his who was suffering from a lot of irrational fears. Traditional methods of therapy did not help her, so on a whim Dr. Weiss decided to put her in a hypnotized state to see if he could enter her subconscious and figure out if there were any underlying reason for all of her fears. His patient goes on to regress MANY past lives, of all different types, time periods, all over the world. It’s very interesting to hear, and none of the dialogue in the book is altered, its only transcripts from their actual sessions. So if you’re into this sort of thing, I highly suggest reading this book. It’s a great way to get into this idea and open your mind up to new possibilities!

Before: Children's Memories of Previous Lives BY JIM B. TUCKER

Reading Many Lives, Many Masters lead to the purchase of this book. Liam and I both wanted to explore the subject a little more and next thing we know we have 3+ books about the subject in our hands at Barnes & Noble. I just started reading it so I’ll have to get back to you on my thoughts but so far it’s been very interesting. People always say children are the most in tune with themselves and what’s going on around them. We as adults, have to make sense of everything which is why we miss so much. Again, whether you believe it or not it’s just very interesting!

PS - if you want to help out the environment a bit and don’t care if a book is new, try this new site I just found called Thrift Books. Some books are hardly used but have major discounts!