Summer Spectacular
This year I am leaning into the season. In recent years, summer has been on my naughty list - too hot, too humid, too long. I miss our pool and we live so far from the ocean. This year I am embracing what I like best about summer - the starry nights and fireflies, the kids home from college, the best fruit (peaches, watermelon and berries oh my). I am also planning to lean into summer reading. I want to read books with serious summer vibes - books about people on boats and in pools, hosting bbqs and going on vacation. Books where the past is revisited through childhood friendships and where romances are kindled. I want sand and sun, mosquitos and butterflies. I want to feel the best parts of summer in my reading. In honor of this plan I have created a Summer Bookish Bucket List.
To get you started, here are three lists to check out: books that feel like summer, books with summer vibes, and backlist books that feel like summer. And below are some guides that can inspire your reading:
Ann Bogel’s Minimalist Summer Reading Guide
I could have listed so many - every bookstore, publisher, major newspaper and morning show seems to have a summer book list this year. The ones above are from trusted sources that I either listen to their podcasts or read their newsletters regularly.
Bookish News & Links
Did you see this news from Elizabeth Gilbert? She is not publishing her upcoming book because it is set in Russia. The Snow Forest takes place in 1930s Siberia, and is based on a true story of a family that hid in the forests to resist the USSR government. Gilbert states she received an outpouring of criticism via one star reviews on Goodreads by Ukranians (note: the book has not been published yet so no one has read the book.) I find this whole thing strangely disconcerting and I am not the only one. See this & this.
On a more joyful note, I enjoyed looking at this list of childhood favorites and seeing how many I have read or read to my children. I checked off 15 of the top 20 but after that, it is hit or miss.
Cormac McCarthy just passed away at 89. The Road is my favorite apocalyptic novel. Using the sparsest of language, he conveys a depth of relationship between father and son that is beautiful and memorable while also telling an intense “can’t stop turning the page” story.
I loved this fascinating deep dive on the You’re Dead To Me podcast into the life of Agatha Christie. I am a huge fan of Christie and learned so much listening to this. I also recommend The Woman on the Orient Express as an excellent historical fiction novel based around Christie’s time in Iraq after her divorce.
Recent Reads:
The Half Moon is my second book about marriage in as many months, but this time it is fiction. Malcom and Jess are at a crossroads. Their once solid marriage is showing signs of cracking under the weight of unfulfilled dreams. Malcom has spent his adult life as a bartender at The Half Moon and finally is the owner. But he quickly finds out that running your own business is more difficult than anticipated. Just serving up nightly beers and chit chat isn’t enough. For Jess, a hard working lawyer who really just wants to be a mom, time and her body are working against her. Does she need to say goodbye to her most precious desire? Ultimately, this couple must decide if they are better off together or if it is time to part ways. These are hard things and yet Keane writes with a sense of life and hope. The characters, though imperfect, are likable and realistic. I enjoyed the setting in this small Massachusetts town and specifically the Half Moon Bar. There are some other subplots that keep the book moving and provide a bit of a mystery as well, and a good chunk of the book takes place during a big storm when the power goes out. Overall, The Half Moon is completely enjoyable while containing human insight and heart.
What Could Be Saved is an excellent immersive family drama. Set currently in the Washington DC area and in Bangkok in the 1970s, the Preston family is forever changed during their time abroad. One year is what Robert tells his wife when he uproots the family to Thailand to work on an engineering project. One year turns into three, and as the parents begin to live lives of their own, the children are left in care of the plentiful servants. When one of the three children vanish, their lives are forever changed. The story looks back, through various perspectives. In 2019, one of the daughters gets a call from someone who claims to have found her lost brother. This novel examines what led to the disappearance and what came after. My sister and I read this together and both really enjoyed this novel. I love a book with complex and interesting characters and a chance for restoration and hope at the end; this story offers that in spades.
All the Beauty in the World is a memoir by a former security guard at the NY Metropolitan Museum of Art. For over 10 years, Patrick Bringly stood guard, observing both the public and the art. Becoming a guard as a way of escaping life and the grief he felt over his brother’s death, Bringly had endless time to stand, to think, to look. So little was asked of him and yet the world opens up around him. The author details the nitty gritty aspects of the job, while providing astute observations about the Met’s collections. I enjoyed both aspects of this book. It expanded my view of a job that is often one the public diminishes or takes for granted. And, of course, it made me want to visit the Met. I found myself highlighting so many passages in this book. His wisdom and insight about art can be applied to any museum. If you enjoy visiting museums, if you like books with a slice of life, if you enjoy art and history, this is a great read. And here is a fun link to a short video exploring The Met.
How fun to find this older Simone St. James on the shelves of my hotel in Florence. I left a paperback and dropped this into my carry-on bag. [Note: While I absolutely loved The Sundown Motel, her most recent novel The Book of Cold Cases fell short for me.] The Broken Girls is a terrific supernatural mystery set at an abandoned boarding school. Fiona is a small town reporter trying to put her life on track. When she begins to look into the renovation of an old boarding school that happens to be where her sister’s murdered body was found a decade earlier, she finds herself embroiled in mysteries from the past and present. Fiona’s investigation uncovers things that have laid dormant for years, but also some things that may put her in danger now. High marks for the strong sense of place, character development, mystery, and the addition of supernatural occurences. This is a sweet spot in my reading life!
Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter. Please share with anyone you think would enjoy all the bookish fun. Happy Summer Reading!