Summer Reading...Suggestions???

tictoc

New Member
Hi all,
Just wondering what books any of you might recommend for summer reading (for me, that is). I like everything...historical fiction, chick lit, mysteries, memoirs, and serious literature. If it has words, I like it. These are the best books I've read lately:

Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, also by Lisa See
The Help, by Katherine Stockett
Every Last One, by Anna Quindlen
An Unquiet Mind, by Kay Redfield Jamison

Thanks for any ideas you have.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Don't laugh... I am re-reading the Twilight saga, in preparation for taking B to see Eclipse next week...
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I just read the new Michael Connelly/ Harry Bosch (Nine Dragons) and tonight I will finish the new Jeffery Deaver/ Lincoln Rhyme (The Burning Wire). Also, recently read the latest Elizabeth Peters/Amelia Peabody (A River in the Sky) and I'm looking forward to the new Janet Evanovich/ Stephanie Plum Sizzling Sixteen).
 

svengandhi

Well-Known Member
I just read Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, about the Battle of Gettysburg. It's on the rising junior list in our school and I got it for difficult child but started reading it because he wasn't finished with his tests.
 
This summer I have read the book by Elizabeth Gilbert Eat, Pray and Love. I enjoyed her journey to find herself so much. It is an awesome book and will be made into a movie in August! Also I have heard The Help is good to. That is going to be my next read!~
 

smallworld

Moderator
Believe it or not, I'm going to be reading some of the books on my kids' summer reading lists:

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Knogsburg
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

If you like Jodi Picoult, I just finished House Rules (about a young man with Asperger's) and thought it was very good.
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
Just finished two I borrowed from my Sis-in-law...

A Sister's Heart by Wanda E. Brunstetter
Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas

I enjoyed Prayers for Sale, the other, not so much. Am currently re-reading a biography of Lillian Gilbreth - called Making Time by Jane Lancaster. Very interesting..she was truly ahead of her time. Heard Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (one of the "Cheaper by the Dozen") speak several years ago.

I want to read House Rules...guess I'll go check out Sis-in-law's bookshelves again and see if it's there.
 

tictoc

New Member
Thanks for the ideas!

Smallworld: I loved "Interpreter of Maladies." I revisit in now and then. difficult child and husband are currently reading "The Lightning Thief" together.
 

witzend

Well-Known Member
I'm starting the 22nd Richard Jury novel by Martha Grimes, "The Black Cat". Not sure how much I'm liking it yet. I couldn't abandon the charaters, though. She can be quite mrorose at times.

When I am done with that, husband and I are going to read Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich together. She's always good for a laugh.
 

Bean

Member
The Glass Castle
Secret Life of Bees
Interpreter of Maladies
The Book Thief (kind of long, can't say I actually finished it but my bookclub read it and 90% loved it)
The Other Boyeyn
 

JJJ

Active Member
Mostly teen fiction as I look for appropriate material for Piglet and my nephew:
Hunger Games, Catching Fire
Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras
Percy Jackson series (Lightning Thief, etc)

I read Push (book the movie Precious is based on). Totally overwhelming.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Usually I'm on the reading bandwagon but the last two books I read were so unforgettable...I've forgotten the titles and authors. Bummer.

Does anyone have a reference book that lists books that are classics and worthwhile reading? Years ago I had a book that was entitled something like "a guide to books that educated people should have read"..or something similar. My intention was to pick up the missing pieces in my literature education by reading the synopsis of great and popular literature. Not. The book got lost with the last move. I'd like to get a replacement. DDD
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I don't have a list of the best books ever but I have been reading my way through Time magazine's 100 best English language books published since 1923.

I've found a few real gems and a few that make me question their judgement but it has been a fun adventure. I had already read quite a few of them and most of the rest have been available through the library.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Thank you, thank you and thank you, Mutt. This will serve the purpose beautifully. It's stored in my Favorite Places so I don't lose it........like I always lose my wings recipte, lol. You're great. DDD
 

SRL

Active Member
Usually I'm on the reading bandwagon but the last two books I read were so unforgettable...I've forgotten the titles and authors. Bummer.

This is why I've been reading YA fiction, along with my usual non-fiction.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Hmm... I have several, worn and dog eared, that I keep...

Wuthering Heights
Pride and Prejudice
Lady Chatterly's Lover
The Man in the Iron Mask
The Great Gatsby
MacBeth
Romeo and Juliet
To Kill a Mockingbird

...And bunches of stuff like The Cricket in Times Square - for me, an hour's read. I love Chester Cricket, Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat!
 

Marguerite

Active Member
The Book Thief (kind of long, can't say I actually finished it but my bookclub read it and 90% loved it)

I've met and talked to Markus Zuzak (author of "The Book Thief"), several times. I attended a writing workshop of his late last year.

Book recommendations - my favourite author is Terry Pratchett. He's a family favourite. His Discworld series has been described as "Tolkien on acid." It's fantasy satire. Nothing is sacred. But in there he also includes detective fiction, historical, music, magic (from a different point of view). I would suggest a book of his to begin with would be "Wyrd Sisters". it's got overtones of Macbeth (and a lot of other Shakespeare references). But form the witches' point of view. Other similar ones are "Carpe Jugulum" (a different look at vampires, very funny but also a lo of fun). After "Wyrd Sisters" a sort of sequel is "Witches Abroad". Then you could read "Lords and Ladies" before getting into "Carpe Jugulum." But you can read them in any order and still enjoy them immensely.

If you like detective fiction plus historical fiction, try the Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. It was also made into a TV series starring Derek Jacobi. The first book is "A Morbid Taste for Bones" but perhaps the easiest book to read to begin with, is the second in the series, "One Corpse Too Many". I especially like, for beginners, "The Virgin in the Ice". Or "The Pilgrim of Hate". Although it is a sort of medieval forensic medicine, there is a sense of peace and tranquility to these books, I have found them a restful but stimulating read.

Marg
 

trinityroyal

Well-Known Member
Marg, I love the Brother Cadfael books. And Terry Pratchett is a blast.

Have you ever read any of the books by Tom Holt? Overtime. Who's Afraid of Beowulf, Snow White and the Seven Samurai. Lots of other titles, but these are the ones that come to mind. His work has a similar approach to Terry Pratchett's in the fantasy-satire, but he throws in a lot of historic characters (and then hijinks ensue).

Years ago, I read a book co-authored by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman called Good Omens. It was very entertaining.

Right now I'm reading Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity by John Stossel (the dude from 20/20). I've been reading a lot of books on politics, history etc. lately, and I needed something a bit lighter.
 
Top