We have been very into psychological thrillers in our little book club lately, and that is certainly true for August’s book, The Good Girl.

And man did this one suck you in and then spit you right out.

I had a feeling something good was coming when you guys started posting in our FB group when you got to the end and the general consensus was very much like this comment: “I just finished – holy shit whoa!!”

Let’s just say, no one seems to have seen the ending coming and everyone seems to have been very satisfied with it.

But let’s stop talking around all of the twists and turns and jump right into them…

Please note: there are MAJOR spoilers ahead that will ruin the book for you if you haven’t finished it yet. Proceed with caution. 😉

By now you’ve probably heard of the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, right? It’s basically a guide to decluttering written by Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo. I was seeing it again and again in my Instagram feed and heard it mentioned in a few of my favorite podcasts. The more I heard, the more it sounded like people loved it and truly found it life-changing or they just didn’t get it and couldn’t get through.

I became obsessed with knowing which camp I fell into.

At first, I had a sort of love-hate relationship with the book. The kind where sometimes you’re all nods and warm fuzzy “hell yeahs!” and the next you’re envisioning yourself throwing your Nook directly at your window because watching the glass shatter would bring you so much more joy than reading one more sentence (Kondo’s whole method of decluttering centers around holding something in your hands and deciding whether or not it brings you joy).

But then it started to sink in a little. To sort of melt into the folds of my brain and really make me think. This book isn’t just about cleaning. It’s about life. It’s about consciously choosing joy every single time you make a decision. That’s where the whole “life-changing magic” comes in.

It feels like it’s been so long since I read this book. It was one of those that grab you tightly and pull you in so that you absolutely need to know what happens. You know, the kind that you stay up way past your bedtime reading.

Needless to say, I finished this one early in the month and have actually gotten through a book and a half since then—which is major for me considering the girls are on summer vacation and I’ve felt like I’m getting nothing done lately.

The overall consensus in our virtual book club is that this is a good one. The girls who weighed in all seemed to be just as sucked into the story as I was. My biggest issue was the ending. With all of the drama and twists and turns, I expected a serious wallop at the end. But I was left feeling a little meh.

I like lists. Like, a lot. In fact, I have way too many of them.

One of my many lists is an Evernote note full of books that I really want to read. I keep it in Evernote so that I can add to it no matter where I am—whether I’m at my computer or out somewhere and using my phone, I can pull it up and add to it. It cuts down on the 47 half lists that are usually floating around my house and purse and pants pockets.

Since my list is getting long, I thought I’d share a few with you guys to see if you’ve read any of them or if you have any that I need to add.

It’s book talk time!

Personally, I think The Vacationers was the perfect way to start off the summer—it’s light and beachy, but still juicy enough to sink our teeth into a little. Like I mentioned at the beginning of the month, this book helped me get back into a reading groove last summer and I thought it would be great for anyone who had fallen off the book wagon a bit.

I can’t wait to hear what you guys thought! Let’s start with some discussion questions…