Since I launched the 2013 summer reading guide, I’ve had lots of requests for the archived 2012 edition. I don’t want to flood your inboxes, but I also don’t want to leave you hanging if you’re looking for good stuff to read. This is the last week I’ll be sharing a category from the 2012 guide.
If you haven’t yet, head here to snag your copy of this year’s summer reading guide. Don’t worry: summer’s almost over, but these books will be good all year long.
These “new releases” are from the 2012 guide. They aren’t so new anymore. I loved some; I hated others. Head here for the details.
Calico Joe, John Grisham.
Grisham departs from the law to weave a story about rookie baseball player Joe Castle of Calico Rock, Arkansas, who’s called up to the Cubs in 1973 and thrills fans with an astonishing rookie season that breaks all the records–until it comes to a sudden end. This story is nothing like John Grisham’s legal thrillers: Calico Joe is short and straightforward, exploring relationships and redemption–all centered around the game of baseball.
Drop Dead Healthy: One Man’s Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection, A. J. Jacobs.
First Jacobs spent a year following the Bible as literally as possible (The Year of Living Biblically) and then he read the Encyclopedia Brittanica from cover to cover (The Know-It-All). The genre is called stunt journalism, and Jacobs is good at it. In Drop Dead Healthy, he sets out to become the world’s healthiest man, consulting experts of all stripes, test-driving the conventional wisdom on health and fitness, and exploring a lot of crazy new stuff, too.
Dare Dream Do, Whitney Johnson
Part inspiration, part action-plan, popular Harvard Business Review blogger Johnson encourages women to consider shaking up their life, to dream about new possibilities and discover their purpose in life, and to create and implement a plan to bring those dreams to life. Dare Dream Do shines for its rich storytelling and practical advice.
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
To be released on June 5. Amy Dunne disappears on the morning of her 5th wedding anniversary, and of course her husband Nick is a prime suspect. Soon every couple in their small North Carolina town is wondering how well they really know the one they love. This forthcoming novel is billed as a first-rate psychological thriller.