When I was a little girl, my father would develop a summer reading list for me. Written in his tiny, illegible to all but me handwriting, the list would fill a page of a legal-sized pad. I loved these lists, populated with treasures like Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Orwell’s 1984 and Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. My dad fueled in me a love of reading and of wanting to be a writer; as I read books of lesser quality than those on his suggested reading list (piles of Nancy Drews, for example) I often thought, “I could do this.”
One guy who can do this, and does, is my blogger buddy Dwight Wannabe, who has published a reading meme this week; go see what you’ve read on his list. I published a slightly different version of this on Writing the Good Read (my long-neglected reading and writing blog) last year. I don’t have the energy to go through the exercise again, but note with some pleasure that I could check several more on that list as read.
My sister sent me an e-mail with a request for summer reading recommendations. I have a few, so I thought I’d share with the lot of you.
The Marijean Jaggers Summer Reading List
Disclaimer: This list is not for the feint of heart or wily-nily, namby pamby readers; nope, this is for the hard-core, plow through a novel in two days types. Yeah, the two of you reading this blog. You guys.
The Last Summer (of You and Me) A departure from my usual taste, this novel is the quintessential beach read. Read with sand under your butt and a drink, preferably with an umbrella in it, in your hand. It’s just this side of schmaltz, but engaging enough to get you through a long flight or an interminable car ride.
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union Say it with me: Sha-bone! This is the first Michael Chabon book I’ve read and ya know? I think I get the buzz. I liked this book enough to highly recommend it to the other high-level discerning reader in my house. It’s funny and charming.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Foer’s style is so incredibly engaging I had a hard time putting this down. As a 9/11 novel, as it appears, there is a sort-of sub-genre that has emerged, I really like the way that event is treated and how it is not the core of the book, merely a character. If you like this, read Everything is Illuminated too. Foer is a genius.
Life of Pi If you’re vacationing on a beach or worse, on a boat, skip this till you’re inland for awhile but I promise you’ll enjoy it as thoroughly as I did.
My Mistress’s Sparrow is Dead I’m having a long, drawn out love affair with the short story. I know it’s not popular or profitable but damn it, I love short fiction and always will. This collection of short love stories is edited by Jeffrey Eugenides, of Middlesex fame. Not all love stories have a happy ending and some are all the better for it.
Those Who Save Us Some books I read fade like the light at the end of the day from my memory. This one, though I read it several months ago HAUNTS me. The images created are as clear to me as if I’d hidden and glimpsed them inside a lighted window. I am forever changed for having read it.
(To paraphrase Dwight): Go read something.
You must read The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian. It’s thrilling and especially wonderful if you’re a fan of The Great Gatsby.
Life of Pi. One of my all time favorites. My husband and his family read it as part of their book club. It was very emotional for me. I don’t usually get that way.
Also, Entertainment Weekly published the top 100 best books of the last 25 years (I think). In case anyone is interested. Not all Pulitzer material, I’m sure, but there might be a gem in the bunch.
[...] STLWorkingMom » Summer Reading List “Disclaimer: This list is not for the faint of heart or wily-nily, namby pamby readers; nope, this is for the hard-core, plow through a novel in two days types. Yeah, the two of you reading this blog. You guys.” [...]
Loved the one thing I have read (listened to) by Chabon–Tha Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay–and intend to check out the latest sometime soon. On my summer must read list, all, is Bobbie Faye’s Very (very, very, very) Bad Day and Bobbie Faye’s (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels by Toni McGee Causey. I promise many laughs and I promise your troubles will seem tame compared to Bobbie Faye’s. Oh, how I love that gal. Causey is a bit Hiassen, bit Evanovich, and a ton of fun. Jennifer Weiner has a new one out, as do Mary Kay Andrews, Emily Giffin, and Sophie Kinsella–favorite beach-read authors of mine, all. I also highly recommend The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Most of you probably know of her as the author of the Twilight series, much-loved by teens (and adults) everywhere. This one is more for adults, though suitable for all, and deals with some very interesting themes on several different levels. If you want some good, girl kicking-ass reads and enjoy a bit of the supernatural, check out St. Louis author Laurell K. Hamilton.
I forgot to mention Laurie King’s Mary Russell novels–very intelligently written, and Mary Russell is the quintessential feminist in a time when it wasn’t cool to be so. Also, Jane Smiley’s Good Faith is a very interesting novel set in the 80’s when suburbs were being born–very interesting as I was growing up in this time, so it was most interesting to look back on something I was unaware of as a child. Also, the conflicts among the characters are very real and honestly dealt with.