MUST READ Books for Spring and Summer: Guest Post by The Kimberly Diaries

I first "met" Kimberly through her Gossip Girl blog, Gossip Girl Style Guide, way back when. Kimberly gave me some recommendations for Gossip Girl related things to see/do in New York during my Spring 2009 trip. I had planned on checking out some of the places the show highlights (like the Empire Hotel) but I actually found them filming Gossip Girl while randomly walking down the street (it was the scene with Serena getting arrested outside of the Russian Tea Room). Kimberly is my go to for book recommendations. I found one of my recent favorite books, Reconstructing Amelia, through her. You can see what I am reading here.

Hi, Nautical by Nature readers! I’m Kimberly from TheKimberlyDiaries.com and I'm happy to be making a guest appearance on the blog today. Kate and I have similar taste in books so I thought I’d share a few new reads that are on my radar.


I'm totally obsessed with YA books, although I'm open to reading whatever looks interesting. My literary interests range from the ahem, more juvenile Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (it's like a male Lizzie McGuire, you will love it!) to Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. I love chick lit, such as the Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella, which may or may not be based on my life, and contemporary thrillers, like Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which is definitely not based on my life. Once in a while I'll read a career or time management book also.

But back to YA. My gateway series was The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot, then Gossip Girl, then The Clique, the The A-List, and so on. Several years ago, I picked up a Pretty Little Liars book on a whim at Barnes & Noble, and was instantly addicted. WITH GOOD REASON!

Although keeping up with the books and the show can get a little confusing, I can tell you that if you enjoy Pretty Little Liars the TV show, you will definitely enjoy the books because they're much more suspenseful. Pretty Little Liars #15: Toxic comes out on June 3 and I have marked my calendar because I will plan to stay up until 3 am reading to find out what happens next. Sara Shepard also has a brand-new series, The Heiresses, coming out on May 20.

Jenny Han, author of The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy and coauthor of the Burn for Burn series (with Siobhan Vivian), has a new standalone book coming out on April 15 called To All the Boys I've Loved Before. From the description on Amazon:"What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once?"


Let's just let that sink in for a minute.

!!!!

I remember when I was younger, grown-ups would always say if you were mad at someone you should write them a letter and then rip it up. But what if you SENT IT instead? Major OMG factor here, people.

Another book that I have read about all over the Twittersphere is E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, out May 13. I'm starting to feel like I'm the only person on my timeline who hasn't gotten an advance copy because people will not STFU about this book and how twisty/shocking/amazing it is. I'm having total reading FOMO, and I will definitely be picking up a copy.

If you're looking for something you can buy RIGHT THIS MINUTE, I loved Sarah Mlynowski's Gimme a Call, and her latest book just came out. It's called Don't Even Think About It; a class of high schoolers gets a vaccine with an interesting side effect: ESP. (It's like they have ESPN or something!)

Bonus: I did my nails to match the cover -- you can see them on Instagram here.


And now back to adulthood...

The best non-YA book I've read in the past few months is Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date by Katie Heaney. As a perpetually single girl, this really spoke to me, but I think lots of girls will find that it's relatable regardless of one's relationship status. I read this excerpt over at Refinery29 and I ordered a copy ASAP, which is pretty rare for me because #helpmeimpoor... I try to get books only from the library. Katie Heaney talks about dating as it really is instead of how people *think* it should be, or even how it is in my beloved YA books. Bonus points for her humor and use of appropriate pop culture references (Savage Garden!).

Another memoir that's coming out soon is Save the Date: The Occasional Mortifications of a Serial Wedding Guest by Jen Doll. Weddings are drama, y'all. They're fun, but they're also emotional, stressful, and expensive. #TWENTYSOMETHINGPROBLEMS.

For a good thriller, I recommend The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud. It's about a repressed elementary school teacher who becomes obsessed with one of her students and his family. I couldn't put it down.

What are you reading these days? 

You can catch me on Goodreads if you ever want to talk YA!