I promised myself, and said so in another article, that I would find my love for reading again. And I have. This past month, I've been able to purchase a few books to keep me busy. Most of them have revolved around my love for mystery and thriller novels, but a couple have strayed outside this genre. Each is unique in its own right, having immediately caught my eye one way or another.

For some, it was the front cover and binding. While the saying goes, "You should never judge a book by its cover," I feel as though this is the one scenario that it is appropriate. I often find that if the cover of the novel is intriguing, then so are the plot and characters within. But, sometimes covers are not the prettiest and have to picked one way or another. In these cases, I find that reading the first few sentences,5. maybe even the entire first page, are what will pull me in. Or simply the description and synopsis on the back cover will do. Either way, I find that a vague introduction to the plot is needed.

The books that I have on hand now are the following:

1. "The Butterfly Garden" by Dot Hutchinson

2. "Into The Water" by Paula Hawkins

3. "The Geography of Genius by Eric Weiner

4. "The Beekeeper" by Dunya Mikhail

5. "The 7 1/2 Death of Evelyn Hardcastle" by Stuart Turton

I would wholeheartedly recommend each and every one of these, even if I haven't read all of them. I can tell you, just from the few pages I've read, that they're all amazing. Some (or a lot of them) can be read simply for fun, while one or two of them you can learn from, whether that be interesting facts or a real-life story. I hope that you take the time to read them, and maybe give me some feedback about what you thought!

I haven't had much time to read, between volunteering, working, hanging out with friends, and sleeping. But, when I do get the time, it seems as though no time passes as I get dragged into the storyline. Some will take me a while to read, others a few days, and then there are those chosen books that I could read in one sitting.

Each one is as, if not more, interesting than the last and for the love of all things on this earth, I cannot understand how I let myself take a step back from this wonderful hobby. Maybe it's because of the stereotypes associated with the activity. We've all seen the TV/movie stereotype that people who enjoy reading are typically "nerds and geeks" with introverted tendencies. But, that's not always the case. Or maybe it's like I said before, the fact that I was no longer reading for myself but for school and others. Either way, I'm now finding that it's easy to balance my favorite things to do and having a social life.

I hope that you all find something you enjoy, whether that be reading or some other hobby/activity. And to those who are avid readers, I need some recommendations! What books have you read and would you care to share?