I love non-fiction and I spend plenty of time reading it, especially biographies, but it's pretty rare for a work of non-fiction to crack my favorite books list. "Favorites" to me are books I absolutely loved, highly recommend to anyone who will listen, and read over again, and Going Clear has achieved two out of three and is well on its way to repeat readings in the coming years.

Rather notoriously, this book is partially to blame for the Paul Haggis break from the Church of Scientology, as well as a very controversial HBO documentary. It is as much a biography of L. Ron Hubbard as it is an exploration of the Church of Scientology, and Hubbard bios not endorsed by the Church are few and far between, making this a really essential book. It is so thoroughly researched and elegantly written and it will make you marvel at the sheer accomplishment of putting together a book this demanding.

The Bookhive List is a weekly recommendation of my all-time favorite, must-read books.

I have always hated the phrase "beach read," and the notion it represents, that somehow your vacation is the only appropriate time for pleasure reading or genre fiction. It seems like the kind of unrealistic trope that is exacerbated by magazines, like you should buy some sunglasses based on your "face shape" and a swim suit that emphasizes your "small bust" and get a "beach read" for your vacation. I have a tendency to bring on vacation any book on my TBR list that is compact and lightweight, i.e. paperback, and there is usually no rhyme or reason to it. That said, I can concede that people often want good books for vacation time with the implication being that they'll be sitting in a hammock, on a beach, or poolside for long stretches of time and need a book that they can really disappear into. Thus, the following, my recommendations for beach books this summer: