One of my favorite summertime activities is to read books. I usually grab a teen romance and live my love-life vicariously through books, but recently I have been reaching for different types of books along with sticking to my romances.

Nowadays, people reach for their phone on a long car rides or a trip to the beach rather than grabbing a book. Reading expands your knowledge, you continue to learn with every sentence you read. My favorite thing about reading is that you can live another life through the character in your book. Below are a few books I recommend reading this summer.

1. "The Summer I Turned..." Series

I read this series in middle school and have loved them ever since. There are three books in this series; "The Summer I Turned Pretty," "It's Not Summer Without You," and "We'll Always Have Summer" all by Jenny Han. If you want a fast and easy read, pick this series up. It is about a girl who lives for her summer vacations at her beach house with a family that she has known since her first summer at the beach. This family consists of Susannah and her two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. The stories follow these characters throughout their summers.

2. "You Are A Badass"

What better time to work on yourself and your personal mindset than the summer? This is an interesting self-help book by Jen Sincero. She wrote a realistic and entertaining book that contains different stories, advice, and exercises all to help you believe in yourself, your abilities, and your strength. You are a badass, don't forget that!

3. "The Hate U Give"

This piece by Angie Thomas is a very real book about a girl who travels between two different worlds; a poor neighborhood and a wealthy suburban school. She sees police brutality and racism first hand. These are two unfortunate topics that we continue to see these days. This is a book that will leave you wanting to make a change. If you want to make a change in the world pick up this book and after finishing it, think of ways that you could help. Whether you have big or small ideas, they all make a difference.

4. A biography

Whether it is about a musician, actor, chef, politician, or anyone you find interesting grab their book and learn more about them. These types of novels are a great read because you can live another real life, you can experience things you've never experienced before.

5. "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"

This book has it all: murder mystery, romance, family struggles, and more. This is one of those book that you won't be able to put down. Perfect for a long beach day where all you want to do is tan and pass time.

6. One of Rupi Kaur's poetry novels

Rupi Kaur wrote two books: "Milk and Honey" and "The Sun and Her Flowers." "Milk and Honey" is a book that some may be able to relate to. It focuses on abuse, love, loss, and more. This book has short poems that will make you feel something different with turn of the page. The Sun and Her Flowers is about growing up and focusing on our roots. These are two great books that you should take a look at these summer!

Enjoy these books throughout the summer, you won't regret it.