summer reading list: vol. I

(alternate title for this list: books I re-read compulsively at the start of every summer)

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

This book has a special place in my top-five-books-of-all-time list, especially if Harry Potter isn't up for consideration. If you've already read it, I also highly recommend Unaccustomed Earth. Or basically anything else Jhumpa Lahiri has ever written.

The Beach by Alex Garland
SO much better than the movie. Seriously, give it a chance. Especially if you're like me and entertain fantasies about living on a beach in Thailand. 

*In the interest of full disclosure: I read this book while traveling through India with my then-boyfriend-now-husband (more on the whole wedding thing soon, I SWEAR) so I might be slightly biased.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling rocks, and her first book is just as clever/entertaining/hilarious/truthful/awesome as you'd expect it to be. (If you don't already know who Kaling is, please consult Google.)

It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig

If you're interested in learning more about how food affects us -- both physically and psychologically -- this is a fantastic read. (I also enthusiastically recommend their Whole30 program, but that's another post.)

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Don't judge me.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

I first read this book during freshman year of college and I still have so much love for it. Don't even get me started on the copyright page or the appendix that was added to later editions. I die.

So what's on your summer reading list?