According to the calendar, we still have some 19 or so days until summer is over. But the onslaught of back-to-school, parent meetings, and the unseasonably chilly weather have set our mind into believing that winter has settled in. The Labor Day weekend doesn’t help either; we all know it’s summer’s final dance.
In reality, we still have time left, and you might as well make yourself a lemon shakeup and dance. Nothing can put me into the mind-frame of summer like a light and easy summer read. Reading a novel, is what Joseph Campbell once referred to as an escape from ordinary life. And in this time of watching summer come to a close, couldn’t we all use an escape?
The books are here in alphabetical order, so feel free to browse and jump around… I won’t tell, which order I prefer… from best to last… because I just don’t know!
Rich. Rich, vivid and intimate. The story begins with a woman, wife and mother, coming to terms with the fact that her very presence took a life. But something else is amiss; this she knows, but will not name — until her life moves so out of control that she finally names the fear that grips her — yet is holding her hostage. Meanwhile, we are taken on a journey to the past where friendships and relationships were formed, and mistakes were made, leading to a future that can no longer be supported in this life. Things must change, and they do…
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vintage)
OK. I have not read this one yet; and this thriller/crime is not usually my cup of tea. However, the friends that are raving about this book are not, I thought, thriller/crime cup of tea books either! So, based on the recommendations of friends, the raving reviews, The Dragon Tattoo is going on my list. (And, why is the word VINTAGE tagged on at the end?)
Good Things
This book made me laugh out loud, all the way through. Although, I did carry a sense of self-identification with Deidre, the suddenly un-employed heroine, who finds herself alone at a friend’s lake house where conditions were so bad that she had to spend her first night sleeping in the car. (Remember my first week at the lake?) Deidre stumbles along, trying to recover financially after her own TV show was cancelled, and ends up making muffins for a restaurant just for the cash. Soon, she finds that love, and an abundant career, were right under her nose, all along. This was the uplifting book of the summer.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
I’m still waiting for this from the library… It must be good.
Nice to Come Home To
Beautifully written story about self-discovery, this story is masterfully written with metaphor, a hint of the novel Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and the belief that we cannot plan for everything. Life sometimes steps in and pulls us into that place where we can dance our way through to the right spot. The author has intelligently placed words in the story early on that lead us to the end… Pru, Flowers and their various names, and eventually peach, without a capital P. You’ll soon discover that there’s more to this story than the sentence you’re reading, Plus, Rebecca Flowers, the author, has her own blog, and came up with a cheap and easy way to feed her own kids; a dinner solution that I think you’ll love.
I love (notice the present-tense use of this word — I’m still carrying it around in my heart) Sarah Addison Allen’s book, Garden Spells, for its blend of magic, gardening and food, and the rally of women supporting each other and themselves. The Sugar Queen is again a blend of magic and food, and the transformation of Josie — who finally finds her voice. I love Sarah Addison Allen.
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Read soon, before you see the movie.
And there are more… please add to the list…
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I adore The Time Traveller’s Wife and I wish I had time to read more nowadays. Enjoy the end of your summer. It feels like it will never warm up here….
I appreciate your lists! Have followed your top yoga CD list and like you top summer reads as well. Your writing is a pleasure! Your blog is actually the first I’ve followed. I am not typically interested, but your posts intrigue me. Thank you!
Thanks for the recs. I’ve read a couple of these, but am looking for some new reads, so I’ll check out the others. Have you read A Fine Balance? It’s not uplifting, but it’s so thoughtful – truly, I was thinking about it and the issues it raises for weeks after I finished it.