In today's post, regular contributor Jamie Layton share her Summer Reading List. Lots of great books to consider for your own list!
In my book, today IS the first day of summer. Not the last day of school or June 21 but today, the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. From here on out it is my favorite season of all and as far as I am concerned it lasts until Labor Day Monday. Now, my kid’s teachers may not agree with me. Calendar purists may have their problems with my outlook. But I’m pretty sure I’ll get a ‘thumb’s up’ from all my fellow readers out there who have been putting books aside and saving certain tomes for their Summer Reading List. Friends, it is time to hit that pile!
Here’s how my stack starts out: Alice Water’s IN THE GREEN KITCHEN: TECHNIQUES TO LEARN BY HEART has been calling to me from our cookbook section ever since it arrived a few scant weeks ago and I can’t wait to take it out on the boat. I was also very excited to unpack Rachel Simon’s THE HOUSE ON TEACHER'S LANE the other day- ‘A memoir of home, healing and love’s hardest questions’. Her last memoir, RIDING THE BUS WITH MY SISTER, was a big hit with our book club and a passable made-for-TV movie. Over in the Young Adult section I’ve been dying to pick up BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. Remember the movie Groundhog Day? In this book a popular teen keeps waking up to relive one day in particular- could it be her last?- over and over . That should hold me in the YA department until Suzanne Collins' MOCKINGJAY comes out in August. That’s the finale to the Hunger Games trilogy and it made the Time Summer 2010 hot list!
Ian McEwan never fails me so SOLAR is on the list as is Lev Grossman’s THE MAGICIANS which is being hailed as Harry Potter for adults. However, the book I’m most likely to pick up on this, the first Official weekend of summer (in my book) is, of course, Stieg Larsson’s THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST. How can I go one more week without knowing the rest of Lisbeth's story?
I still have my reading group commitments during the summer so David Grann’s THE LOST CITY OF Z (which should provide my required dose of travel/adventure), The Glass Room by Simon Mawer and SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT (Beth Hoffman) all have reserved spots on the pile. I’m also still contemplating a few possibilities like Justin Cronin’s much touted THE PASSAGE and naturally have left a few openings on my dance card for the incidental book that catches my fancy or the sleeper that suddenly captures the reading public’s attention. In short, I’m beside myself with anticipation and can’t wait to crack that first Summer worthy book!
In keeping with the I Love Summer theme, next month’s blog will feature lots of great new books perfect for the beach bag. Until then, have a wonderful Memorial Day and happy reading!
-- Jamie Layton, Regular Contributor and Manager of Duck's Cottage Coffeeshop & Bookstore
