Busy Momma's Summer Reading List - 2013 Edition.
If you read NOTHING ELSE this summer - you MUST, MUST, MUST read Amor Towles completely amazing book Rules of Civility. This was my absolute favorite book of the year so far. It is kind of Great Gatsby-esque in its setting - think greed, excess and gilt. But the characters are very different than Jay Gatsby and crew. It is the story of 2 girls who meet a man who intrigues them both...and the inevitable chaos that ensues. It makes you really think about responsibility, duty and loyalty - and the implications of one's behavior and choices.The plot moves quickly, the characters are beautifully written and it is the type of story that leaves you thinking - really thinking about the decisions made and if they were the right decisions. Again - a MUST read.
OK, OK - I know that some people do not like Dan Brown. I, however, am not one of those people! Inferno is sitting on my Kindle, waiting to be read. I loved all of Brown's earlier works - The DaVinci Code; Angels and Demons; and The Lost Symbol. I have very high hopes for Inferno.
I like easy, light reading over the summer. If it lives up to its predecessors, this one promises to be a page turner and a fantastic ride!
Now - those of you who read my blog faithfully - all 4 of you - might recognize Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead as one of lAST Year's books. I am NOTHING if not ambitious with my summer reading lists. I did NOT get to this one last summer, and since it takes place in my favorite summer destination - Cape Cod - I decided to wait until THIS summer to read it! So, as my children are diving into Gull Pond or boogie boarding themselves to exhaustion at Marconi Beach, I will be digging into what promises to be a GREAT read. This is the story of a very WASPY family throwing a Cape Cod wedding for their daughter. The plot promises to revolve around horrible behavior, seduction, family secrets, betrayal, and adultery. What else do you need in a summer read?
There is NOTHING I like better than a multi-generational tale that spans decades and takes place on many continents. That is why I am really excited that my book club: The Dewey Decimal Divas - chose Khaled Hosseini's newest tome: And the Mountains Echoed as our next pick. If you had the pleasure of reading The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns, you know that Hosseini is a master at his craft. He can tell a story like no other. His newest work explores family - how we love, hurt, betray, take care of and nurture one another. I've learned to read his books with a few tissues nearby. Consider yourself warned....
I LOVED this book! Yes - I already read it, and it is WONDERFUL! The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout tells the story of one very dysfunctional family. Their lives are marked very early on by a tragedy that affects them all very differently and shapes the course of their lives. The story revolves around three siblings who have no choice but to come together when a member of the next generation of Burgess kids gets himself in a HEAP of trouble. This story will have you thinking about your own family, how, when the chips are down - all we've really got is one another - and forgiveness. I don't want to say too much and give the big plot twist away - so all I will say is - if you like surprise endings - you'll like this one.
The next few picks intrigue me. I'm not making any promises - but I decided to take my chances on them! The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud is the story of a woman who lives a life that she doesn't particularly want or love. She is a school teacher in Cambridge, Mass. and by all accounts, is living a life without passion. She compromised her dreams long ago and has become - the woman upstairs - a nobody, living on the fringes of other people's lives. Until she meets a glamorous and mysterious family and becomes attached to their young daughter, who also happens to be her student. Her interactions with each member of the family promise to change her and reawaken a passion within her. Looking forward to this one.
This one has intrigued me for some time. In The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer, we meet a group of friends who have been together since their teen years. They all meet a a summer camp for the arts and the book follows the course of their lives as some become shining starts and others become - well - not so shiny. It looks like it is a story of success, failure and something in-between - and how we, as adults handle the fact that some of the dreams we had for ourselves and our futures didn't and will not ever come true.
I am on the fence about this one because it looks kind of weird. I think I am going to download a SAMPLE on the old Kindle before I commit. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson explores what would happen if we are born again and again and again - living your life over and over again until you got it right. Interesting - n'est pas? It has gotten STELLAR reviews and looks like it could be fantastic. I'm going to give it a try.
I am NOT a big fan of non-fiction or memoirs. That being said - I am going to give Wild by Cheryl Strayed a try. I am trying this one because I like the concept - the author sets off on a hike of over 1100 miles ALL ALONE, without previous hiking experience. She does this because she is so broken by her circumstances that she needs to do something big, something amazing, to start her healing process. I like books about broken people picking up their pieces and parts and putting themselves back together again. So, I am going to try this one out.
In the category of good books I read this year - we find Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruins. This one is a great beach read. It is the story of long lost love, misunderstanding and ultimate redemption. It spans decades and takes place between a seaside village in Italy and the Hollywood of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I think it's out in paperback - so if you find it, throw it in the pool bag and enjoy getting lost in this gem of a story.
If you're looking for a spooky mystery that is full of magic and spine chilling events - you've found your book! The Night Circus is a GREAT story about a troupe of travelling performers who entertain in a circus...that only performs at night. Every character is cloaked in mystery and intrigue. You'll find yourself staying up late to read on and see how it all turns out at the end....and I promise - you WON'T be disappointed!
If you're looking for a spectacularly fun and funny read - here's your book! Where'd You Go, Bernadette? is a joy. If you've ever had your kid in private school and looked around at the pick up line and said to yourself: "What the HELL am I doing here with these people?" you will love Bernadette. The title character is a brilliant architect who mysteriously gave up what promised to be an absolutely white hot career to be a wife and mother in suburban Seattle. I promise - you will laugh while she fights to maintain some shred of her true, authentic, off beat self in the land of Microsoft Stepford wives who are uber concerned with the private and oh so snobby middle and high schools their children are destined to attend. I laughed out loud several times as I read the book. When Bernadette disappears - you will wonder, along with her family where the heck she went! What happened to her? How does a housewife in Seattle suddenly disappear of the face of the earth? And what will it take for her to come back?
Have a newly minted tween or teenager on your hands? Negotiating some rocky terrain? Asking yourself how different IS it being a teenager today than it was when YOU were reading Tiger Beat, crushing on Ricky Schroeder, Jason Bateman and listening to the Thriller album on your record player? OK - if you know what a record player IS because you had one before you got a boom box with a tape deck in it - you REALLY need to read this book. Because, even though many of us were tween and teenagers a mere 25 years ago...and I'm being generous there - MUCH has changed. Today's tweens and teens live in a very different world. A world that we didn't have to negotiate when we were growing up. We didn't have social media and all of the joys and dangers that come with it. We didn't have the internet - I didn't even have a COMPUTER in my home until I got my second professional job. When I was a teenager - social media was what was written on the bathroom stall doors in the River Edge diner! Our kids have so much to contend with - yet they are still children. Children who are thrust into a VERY grown-up world, exposed to some very grown-up concepts while they are still looking at the world through the eyes of a child and with a mind that is not fully developed. A very good friend of mine mentioned that this was her and her sister's GUIDEBOOK as their kids navigated their teen years - and they turned out ok. So I picked it up. It is GREAT. It talks about how teenagers develop - how their minds develop and how they think. It gives great strategies and suggestions for talking to your teens, getting them to WANT to talk to you and to trust you. The author is a parent and therapist and he has definitely walked the walk. The book deals with every situation under the sun - many of which I hope we NEVER have to deal with. It is definitely worth a read - especially if you're looking at a creature that LOOKS like the kid you've been raising yet behaves like a complete and total stranger and FORBIDS you from doing ANYTHING NORMAL like kissing her goodbye at the bus stop or singing in the car if anyone who might be "cool" is within earshot or wearing anything that might "totally humiliate" them. Like any or all of your clothing - then this book is for you.
Other Reader's Picks:
I am looking forward to reading Vanessa Diffenbaugh's The Language of Flowers. This one was HIGHLY recommended by a pal. This story revolves around a former foster care kid who has had it rough. Flowers are her only way of connecting - truly connecting - with others. Anytime a review says; "but an encounter with a mysterious stranger forces her to question what's been missing in her life." I'm all in!
This one looks like a winner! My friend Denise highly recommends BirdSong by Sebastian Faulks. Denise and I have very similar taste when it comes to books - so I am really looking forward to this one. Again - one of those sweeping novels that takes us from the first World War up to present day! Denise says that it is "so sad and so tragic but oh so good!"
This is QUITE an ambitious list for what - a 12 week span of time? But that's what is SO great about books - they're not going anywhere. I'm sure I won't get to all of these - but I will get to SOME. Let me know if YOU get to any of them and what you think! I love to get good reading suggestions.
Happy Summer Reading everyone!!!!!!!
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