summer reading
This summer, one of my goals is to read more. Like a lot more. On quilts in the backyard. With glasses of pink lemonade and happy straws. And I want to read more books for pleasure along with a few books that fall under my "I'll use this for teaching and other business things" category too.
And then I thought of you and how you might be longing to read some new things too (both for pleasure and for "education") and thought it might be fun to compile a HUGE list of books we'd recommend to others for summer reading.
how to play along
In the comments: Share a book or two that you really recommend. Meaning you loved it! Meaning you would tell your best friend to ger her hands on it right now! Meaning you couldn't put it down and carried it around for days (or didn't move until you finished it).
Then in early June, I'll create a blog post with a big long reference list of recommended summer reading that we can all turn to again and again this summer (even on our phones when we are browsing the library or in the bookstore). Can't wait!
Updated: I'm so excited about all the suggestions already!!!! When you leave a comment, it would be great if you would include the author and maybe even the general genre of you book, so the big list can include those details. For example, teen lit, sci-fi, self-help, poetry, and so on. Thank you!
liz lamoreux
Reader Comments (73)
Love, love book lists :) I recommend
Light Between Oceans - M L Stedman - a novel about love and family - what defines these and what we will do for them
The J M Barrie Ladies' Swimming Society - Barbara J. Zitwer - a New Yorker moved to England for a work project and finds another perspective on friendship, age and what really matters in life
The Peculiar Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender - a young girl can taste the emotions of the person who prepared her food
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguo - the story of a butler in an English house, one of the saddest books I have ever read
I could go on but want to stop and go find some of the titles others have recommended :)
Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg... it's one of those all to fast reads that you don't want to end, about a woman who one day gets in her car and just drives off leaving her life behind (like we all imagine doing at one time or another) and eventually finds herself and her own deep sense of happiness. what i love most, is that the story is told through a series of letters she writes to her husband on her journey. love love love. Happy Reading!
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Author: Ann Brashares
Titles:
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Forever Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
(note: I do not recommend the fifth book, Sisterhood Everlasting. It is depressing and does not carry the same tone as the first four. It tries to carry on the story of the sisterhood 10 years later. After ravenously reading the first four books, I found myself hardly able to slog through the fifth book, because it was such a downer. Also, definitely watch the movies after reading the books.)
The Magician by Lev Grossman & its sequel The Magician King ate pretty awesome.
I'm a new follower to your blog - love this post - some great suggestions.
I absolutely loved and devoured The Seamstress By Maria Dueñas - a thriller but not gorey with lovely romantic landscapes set in Spain and North Africa. Also The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani - perfect summer reading ...
Oh I could make a long list but will stick to some of my recent favorites.
Mended by Angie Smith /Inspirational Non-Fiction
Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis- /True story of a teen missionary to Uganda
Dancing with Max by Emily Colson /True story of a mom learning to celebrate her autistic son, ups and downs
Winter garden by Kristin Hannah /Fiction
anything at all by Sarah Jio- I started with Violets of March/Fiction
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins/ Young Adult
More authors to watch for in women's fiction- Mary Alice Monroe, Patti Callhan Henry, and Luanne Rice
Hey, maybe I need to write an entire blogpost on this. What fun! Great idea Liz.
I just read the Great Gatsby, which was much better now then when it was an assignment. Our book club read Defending Jacob, which I loved. I am currently reading on the corner of bitter and sweet, which is really good, too
I just finished Dan Brown's latest, Inferno...excellent!!
Loved Running with Scissors, Me talk Pretty One Day & The Glass Castle
Not new books but I love the series of 4regarding Heather Wells: Size 12 is Not Fat, Size 14 is not Fat Either, Big Boned and Size 12 and Ready to Rock. Mystery fiction with pleny of wit and humour.
Definitely Divergent by Veronica Roth and Delirium by Lauren Oliver
The Island. A brilliant Summer read which is a real page turner. The story of the inhabitants of Spinalonga an island off the coast of Crete. A real tear jerker but ffascinating which unwittingly makes one look at one's assumptions and generalisations. I have since read the author's other books - The Return and The Thread. I was not disappointed. Victoria Hislop is a gited writer. She embroils the reader in her stories which is why you can't put the novels down.
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury - best for summer, about summer))
I absolutely loved 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak.
L'Ombre du Vent - Carlos Ruiz Zafon, best book ever !!!
If I Stay - gayle Forman
Where She Went - gayle Forman
Love them. Greats reads
LOVE this idea! My suggestion is an old one, but its one of my all time faves: Beauty by Robin McKinley.
I recently finished Satuday Night Widows by Becky Aikman and End of Your Life Book Club by Will Scwalbe. Both are non-fiction and are based in death of a loved one. But both are so uplifting and while I don't envy them the pain of their experiences I do hope to find some of the joy in making some changes in my own life.
Two of my favorites:
The art of racing in the rain
- Garth Stein
&
Cutting For Stone
-Abraham Verghese
Just finished The Babylon Rite by Tom Knox. Great book. If you haven't read Tom Knox, I'd highly recommend him. Mixes mystery with history in current day settings. He always has the most twisted killers. Not for the faint of heart.
I just finished The Happiness Project by Heather Rubin and it really gave me some great ideas for improving my own happiness. I especially recommend it for parents of littles. I just started Daring Greatly by Brene Brown and am excited to get further into it. I loved her Gifts of Imperfection and can't get enough of her videos, so I know it will be wonderful.
For a LAUGH OUT LOUD good book, check out FOOL by Christopher Moore...rated R though for crude humor. But he is hilarious and most of his other books are great for a good laugh, too!
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler - fantastic, heartwrenching love story that defies the odds of prejudice. A real tearjerker.
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - Alien apocalypse meets "The Passage" meets "The Host" meets "The Hunger Games". A YA novel that readsmuch older; a real page-turner.
And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini - beautiful, heartbreaking, illuminative, heavy themes on family, particularly sibling relationships. His best work.