The "If You Loved Gone Girl" Summer Reading List

SCHOOOOOOOL'S OUT. FOR. SUMMER! At least it is for most of us here in the Southern U.S. And you know what that means to most teachers, right? Me time! Time to read a book, yo. Or several books. At the beach, at the lake, camping, by the pool, on the porch, curled up on the couch... it makes no difference where.  We just love to read. But not always educational research...I like my summer reading to be FUN. Can't be stuffy and serious all the time.

Okay, so I might sound basic when I say I LOVE Gone Girl but I don't care!  I'll read that sucker in the middle of a Target carrying a Coach purse whilst wearing Uggs and drinking Starbucks. #basic. Married to an English teacher, I often feel my literary choices should be just that...literary and scholarly and errythang.  I mean, I do love me some Jane Austen and Ernest Hemingway but I love a dark, twisty, thrilling little read as much as the next basic gal. 

I read Gone Girl before there was talk of a film and I could not put it down.  I devoured it.  Then I read it AGAIN because it was just that good and it left me wanting more.  If you haven't read it, READ IT.  If you have, here's a list of some other fun little reads in the same vein. I find it a bit lame that most of them have the word "girl" or "woods" in the title but nevertheless... this is all in good fun and I highly recommend you pick up a couple (or all) of these books!

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (AMAZING.  I couldn't put it down either)

Luckiest Girl Alive (a recommendation from Reese Witherspoon's IG. So good!)

You: A Novel by Caroline Kepnes (creepy. just creepy.)

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison (another creeper)

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica (you won't believe who did it!)

The Girl With No Past by Kathryn N. Croft (not as thrilling as the others IMO but worth a read)

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (damaged heroine)

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (kinda crime-drama-ish)

In the Woods by Tana French (I hear ALL Tana French books are great!)

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (still in the middle of this one...seems promising!)

Ahhhh, sweet summertime:) Porch readin' and day drinkin'

So there you have it.  That should get you through the summer.  I know these Gone Girl lists are a dime a dozen but still... I had to put in MY two cents! At some point I need to shift to some lighter, happier fiction but for now I guess I love reading about girls in the dark woods or something.  

Got any other dark & twisty suggestions? 

P.S. Check out the hashtag #rwbookclub on Instagram or follow Reese Witherspoon.  Her production company made Gone Girl into a movie and is making a couple of these books into movies, too.  She is a voracious reader and always has the skinny on the next best novel!