Top Five: Summer Reads

Don't you just like those nice comprehensive lists? I know I do. I love spying on other people's top lists, see if I know any of the books they read and enjoyed. It's the reason I have stalked around on Goodreads for almost three years now, and the reason I'm going to do a series of posts highlighting my Top Five somethings!

Obviously, there are several "Top Number" memes out there, and this has been inspired by those.

The sun is finally showing its wonderful head here in the Netherlands, and I thought I'd kick off this series of posts with my Top Five Summer Reads!

#5 The House of Silk by Anthony Horrowitz

Don't you just love letting other people do the hard detecting work while you are relaxing in your chair with a nice cold beverage? Especially when those other people are Sherlock and his trusty sidekick Watson.

The House of Silk is one of those books I thouroughly enjoyed, but never reviewed. Well, here it is. This book is awesome, especially if you have a little Sherlock Holmes crush. Not that I have one of those.

#4 Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

This is one of my worst guilty pleasures.

I don't even really know why I adore these books as much as I do. J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood books are straight up paranormal romance books with kick ass tortured alpha males that swoop their eternal loves off their feet.

Maybe every girl needs some swooping once in a while.

#3 Angels by Marian Keyes

Angels was my first foray into chick-lit territory. You know, that scary world where there are no zombies, vampires or werewolves to keep you feeling safe and comfortable? That's the one.

And quite amazingly enough, I very much liked it. It's not something I would want to read all the time, but fast-paced, light but not fluff, full of hilarious friends Angels works very well to keep you company while getting a tan.

#2 The Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

During summer is actually the only time in the whole year that I feel like I have the time to read a massive fantasy book, like the Sword of Truth series. There is nothing like being fully immersed into a world so different from ours, a world so fascinating and full of all these wonderful characters I would just love to know in real life.

This is definitely one of those series that has everything to keep you entertained during quite some summer weeks.

#1 Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

I'm starting to get the feeling that at one point or another, Harry Potter always shows up in Top lists. Doesn't matter if it's summer reads, winter reads, awesome reads, favourite reads, best character lists, favourite worlds... I almost feel compelled making a list of the lists Harry Potter dominates. But I'll save that for another time.

There is no denying that Harry Potter has grown dear to me. To hell with Twilight, Harry Potter is what got me hooked on reading. I grew up with these books, and I will continue reading them in sickness and in health, until I die.