Summer Reading List!

Well…a lot has been happening! I have finished grad school, and will actually receive my diploma in August when I finish my thesis. WOOHOO. Needless to say, I am glad to be finished with school for now (forever?). 

I’ve started my own business as a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant. Basically I get to help women look and feel their best, and help provide for my family. I’m learning so much about setting and achieving goals, and the importance for any endeavor of putting your faith and family first (as Mary Kay Ash always said). I’m going to – hopefully – post more about this soon!

I’ve also assembled my summer 2009 reading list. I’m really excited for summer reading; though this summer I may not get through everything, since I will also be reading for the thesis and doing a ton of other stuff. But I love picking out books and making lists, so here it is! If I don’t get them all read, I’ll make a Fall 2009 reading list. 🙂

I’ll start with the books I’m already reading:

1. The Mary Kay Way: Timeless principles from America’s Greatest Woman Entrepreneur by Mary Kay Ash. She is a-mazing. Seriously. 

2. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I know, I know. BUT, this book is definitely less anti-Christian than the DaVinci Code. Professor Langdon is trying to save Cardinals from being murdered by the Illuminati. It’s also really interesting and entertaining. I read it in college, and wanted to read it again before the movie comes out, since I actually enjoyed reading this book (as opposed to the DV Code.)

3. Love the One You’re With by Emily Griffin. Fluffy chick lit. Every summer reading list must have one. It’s a novel about a couple in their first year of marriage. 

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling. I’ve read this one twice before, but I’ll read it again in preparation for the movie, which will open July 17th (while I will be in the woods camping…sad.)

5. Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult. I’m a big fan of Jodi’s – this is her first novel, published in 1992, and I’m excited to read it. You can tell a lot about an author by reading their first published work. 

6. The Girls From Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow. This book looks so good! It’s a non-fiction account by a man who writes for the Wall Street Journal about the friendship this group of 11 women has had for forty years. The women are from Ames, Iowa and it is basically him telling their story. It’s like a huge human interest newspaper article. I love reading about women’s friendships. It’s fascinating. 

If you haven’t created your summer reading list, get to it! 🙂