Summertime and the reading is good this year. We’ve selected our seasonal picks, and will surely be spotted toting them on vacation and to neighborhood parks. Here’s what we’ve chosen:
From Karen:
My extremely well read sister has shamed me into reading Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past. Okay, there are a few holes in my education. This is one I’m going to fill.
Then I’m onto two new novels that I can’t want to get my hands on. They’re from two of my favorite contemporary authors.
From Cathy:
My book group never fails to steer me toward books I certainly wouldn’t choose for myself, and usually end up glad to have read. The one I’m reading now is no exception. Even though I’m not much of a nonfiction reader, Missing Man, about a spy who disappeared in Iran, grabbed me from the start. I’ll pass it along to the hubby too.
After that somber read, I’ll need a pick-me-up. And my all-time favorite, Anne Tyler, is just the ticket with her latest–a modern-day version of Taming of the Shrew, coming out on June 21:
What are YOU reading on the deck, at the pool, by the ocean? We need more ideas. Please leave us a comment and share your summer reading picks! (By the way, no need to insert your name or email address when you comment. Just type and hit Post.)
Write Despite 
I’m looking forward to reading “Harmony” by Carolyn Parkhurst when it comes out this August.
I just returned from a writer’s workshop in Wyoming where I met Craig Johnson, author of the Netflix series “Longmire” — working my way through his series will be my task for the two-month “summer staycation” that starts tomorrow (I’m only on the first of about 10 or so). Also on my reading list: “Champagne” by Janet Hubbard, one of the workshop leaders.
I just finished reading “The Aviary” by Kathleen O’Dell (a fun, engaging bit), “The Seventh Bride” by T. Kingfisher (a maybe-not-quite-right-for-the-YA-crowd book even though the protagonist is a 15 year-old girl), and “We’re All Damaged” by Matthew Norman (a Baltimore resident; about second chances and the unusual ways in which they present themselves). Looking forward to “America’s First Daughter” by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, “Everyone Brave is Forgiven” by Chris Cleave, and “Lakota Woman” by Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes (originally published in 1990, winner of the American Book Award). Thanks to all the other replies for the additional ideas!
Great to add so many of these to our Must Read lists. Thanks to everyone for weighing in, and enjoy!
I am reading David Guterson’s novel “Snow Falling on Cedars.” This book was very popular in the mid-1990s, but I never got around to it then. It is a murder mystery, so it contains the fast pacing of a popular novel, but it also deals with the prejudice and racism that Japanese Americans faced in the early 20th century and World War II-era. A wonderful blend of a commercial novel and a literary novel.
I can’t think of a better way to spend the summer than “In Search of Lost Time” chomping a madeleine ot two!” You will be in splendid company Enjoy!
The best of summer is the SUMMER READING LIST!! And Karen, you are going to love Proust!
The new one by Liane Moriarty – Truly Madly Guilty. It comes out July 26th.
Looking forward to the hand-me-down book.
–Cathy’s hubby
Richard Russo’s Everybody’s Fool. Can’t wait to visit North Bath and be with Sully again.
I’m going to dig into “Infinite Jest.” Wish me luck
“Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You.”
Summer is one of those times of the year where I envision reading all kinds of books and then realize I only have time for a few. My education also has a great big hole that I plan to fill by reading “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith. A review said that it is a book where nothing really happens and yet everything happens. I couldn’t agree more and the writing is superb!
Summer isn’t summer without a good mystery, so I am going to backtrack on the Commissaire Adamsberg series and start with “Chalk Circle Man” by Fred Vargas. I have fallen in love with her writing style and her mix of culture and mystery. For just plain poolside fun, I plan to read the second in the Discovery of Witches series by Deborah Harkness. I’ll stop there before I fall into my usual summer trap!
I’m finally getting around to reading this classic adventure story: Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The perils pilots once faced…beautiful prose.
Natashia Deon’s Grace, Elana Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, Dawn Mackeen’s A Hundred Year Walk
I cannot go anywhere without a book on CD in the car. Right now I am listening to (and reading along) David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks. This is my first Mitchell book and I am definitely interested in reading more.