When I was younger I used to be a voracious reader. I always had a book in my hand. It’s why I was an English major in college. But as soon as I graduated I pretty much stopped reading. I think my brain was fried from reading stories written by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Reading had become less fun, and more work.

I’m sad that the number of books I’ve read since graduating has been fairly minimal. But on the other hand, when I read a good book I REALLY love it. So I’m excited to share with you two of the best books I’ve read over the past few years.

The first book is Prep: A Novel, which was written by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Prep is the coming of age story about a girl from Indiana who gets accepted into and attends a prestigious East Coast boarding school. I know some people who have refused to read this book, dismissing it as “chick-lit.” But I personally thought the book was very relatable, and more a novel than true chick-lit. Once I finished reading the book, I couldn’t stop thinking about the characters. The book took me back to high school – in a good way!

You can find Prep at any used bookstore, or Amazon is selling it for $10.98.

The second book is Something Borrowed, by Emily Giffin.

I picked this book up on a whim when I was perusing the endless aisles at Powell’s Books in Portland. I needed something to read on a long plane ride, and I had heard nothing but good things about Emily Giffin’s writing. And how! From the moment I opened the book I couldn’t put it down.

Emily writes about adult female characters and does a great job of making them believable and complex. The characters aren’t always likable, but then again, few people are. Something Borrowed made me laugh, it made me grimace, and it made me sad. It was thoroughly entertaining. (BTW, Something Borrowed is the first part in a two-part series. Something Bluefinishes the story.)

You can find these books anywhere at this point, although Something Borrowed is now being sold as a mass paperbook. Read=Super Cheap.

Have any of you read these books? What do you think?