Escape from the Reading Slump!

Over the last few week I have fallen into a bit of a "reading slump". I've been feeling that a lot of the novels I have been reading are really just previews of the next blockbuster movie. I mean typically authors will end up focusing one element of a story, and forget about the rest. Take the Hunger Game. Suzanne Collins did an amazing job developing the plot and idea of the story, but her novel lacked character development and morals.
                                      

But that rant is for another post. This post is about my plan to get out of my reading slump. So, over the last few weeks I have been talking with friend, family, and searching around the internet for some books that will not have me banging me head on a table. 

What was funny was that my reading list went from nothing to enough books to last a year. So today I finally got around to compressing this list down to eight books:

1. Ready Player One: This book was recommended to me by close friend who has an epic taste in books. What really intrigued me to look into this book is how many elements of pop culture are emphasized.  
2. Shades of Gray: Don't worry, this isn't a twisted parody of fifty shades of gray. I was a bit skeptical about this book because it is a dystopian novel, but I was blown away by the synopsis. This isn't your typical dystopian novel, because it talks about how social standing relates to visual ability. I first heard of this book on the YouTube channel the readables, and her review sounded pretty interesting.
3. Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour Book Store: I was on goodreads and the synopsis sounded cool.
4. The Odyssey: Because having the ability to say that you are reading the Odyssey is just purely awesome.
5. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: My lovely dad brought this book to light, and because he is my dad, I cannot say no. Plus we are both HUGE science fiction fans.
6. The 100 year Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared: I was at Chapters a little while back and was talking to one of the workers about books similar to The Giver and Life of Pi, and she recommended this book to me. I flipped through the first few pages and found myself laughing out loud.
7. The Horologicon: I have always been fascinated by the evolution of language, and the who idea that although we have created many new words, multiple words have been lost over the course of time.  
8. The Guest of War Trilogy: This is another book recommended by a totally awesome friend. Ever since I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, I have gained a new respect for World War II fiction. There are so many epic tales that grew in this catastrophic time period, which makes me think about the various impact on different people.  

I am SUPER excited to start reading these books over the summer! If you are  interested in any of these books or stuck in a reading slump you should check out goodreads and the YouTube channel thereadables. I hope you all have an amazing summer fully of adventures and excitement (or sleeping in). I know my summer is going to look a little like this...