5 Books You Must Read

During the summer I love to read as many books as possible. As a professor, I am home for the summer, which gives me lots of time to pursue some of my favorite things to excess - and this includes reading! I wanted to give a quick rundown of the books I read this past summer for anyone else looking for a great read.

"Make It Happen" by Lara Casey

This book was incredibly inspiring as it focused on surrendering your fears in order to create a life you'll love. It was the perfect book to start my summer with. I have followed Lara on Instagram for quite some time, and love her positive, raw, and real personality. Her book did not disappoint.

"A Walk In The Woods" by Bill Bryson

This book was so amazing I wrote an entire blog about how it changed me. You can read that here. But ultimately, it was the story of a couple of unlikely older men who decided to hike the Appalachian Trail. The book was so hilarious and forever changed my view on thru-hiking.

"The Lost Girls" by Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett, and Amanda Pressner

This book focused on 3 young women in their early to mid 20s, who decided to quit their jobs and travel for a year. At first I thought the book would be about some spoiled women in their 20s, but I was so surprised! It was an incredible book of women who gave back as they travelled. It was so much fun to live vicariously through them! I wish they would turn this book into a movie!

"It's Not Supposed To Be This Way" by Lysa Terkeurst

This book is one of those books that I read, not because I needed the message right now, but because I like to be equipped with the tools when an event arrives. These books are kind of like counseling - good to do when you are feeling well, rather than always when things are in the dumps. I feel that I understand the content more when I am not in the midst of trauma. Lysa opened up about the affair in her marriage, and offers practical bible based encouragement for anyone in a situation they feel is just plain unfair.

"A Love Letter Life" by Jeremy and Audrey Roloff

You may have heard of these authors prior to reading this book. However, I actually never had. Jeremy was one of the children on the show "Little People Big World". And actually, after finishing this book, I decided to watch every single season of the show, because I wanted to see for myself, many of the things that Jeremy and Audrey refer to in their book. This is a great book for not only young men and women, but also those that have been married for any amount of time. It was so much fun to read about how they pursued each other intentionally as a young dating couple and how they continue to do so even now. I was very inspired by how smart these young people are.

Have you read any of these? I'd love to hear what you thought of them!