The 2016 Summer Reading Guide is here. This year’s guide contains 6 categories of 5 books each, but just for fun (and just like in previous years) I’m narrowing the choices down to 5 total. (Minimalists and decision haters, rejoice!)
These top 5 titles are hugely entertaining, have broad appeal, and are perfect for the beach, pool, or backyard.
These stories will keep you turning the pages, sure, but they also have substance. While easy to read, these titles are wonderfully thought-provoking and discussable.
If you want to read these with a book-loving community, we’ll be reading through these titles together at the first-ever (!!!) Modern Mrs Darcy Summer Reading Club.
My top 5 picks for the summer season:
The Nest
This is that rare bird: a literary page-turner. In this wonderfully written, multi-layered, fast-moving novel, Sweeney tells the story of the dysfunctional Plumb family. When the eldest blows their collective inheritance (by crashing someone else's Porsche, while drunk and high, direly injuring the 19-year-old waitress who was not his wife), the four Plumb siblings are forced to actually communicate for the first time in ages. They're also forced to grow up, and watching that painful process unfold on the page is highly entertaining (and a little cringe-worthy). I loved this for its depth, complexity, and supremely satisfying ending, but if you need characters you can root for, this isn't the book for you. Strongly reminiscent of Rules of Civility. For what it's worth, Amy Poehler and Ellie Kemper loved it. Heads up for language and racy content: I'd like to give this novel an 8-line edit.
More info →The Forgetting Time
Janie knows her 4-year-old son Noah is not like other children. He's terrified of water. He asks for his "other mother." And he always, always wants to go home—even when he's in his very own bed. But one night, thanks to a late-night bourbon-fueled internet session, Janie stumbles upon the work of an eccentric scientist, and begins to confront the possibility that her precious son not only lived a previous life, he'd been murdered in it. The plot resists simplistic solutions and easy answers which keeps you glued to the page. If you have a friend or loved one obsessed with reincarnation, this book is obviously for you—but you don't have to buy the premise to find this a satisfying read. Published February 2 2016.
More info →Before We Visit the Goddess
One of the most recommended books on the What Should I Read Next podcast, this novel-in-stories tracks three generations of Indian women and their fraught relationships. The title comes from a chance encounter one of these women has with a stranger, which is fitting because my favorite parts of the story deal with the small moments that change the course of a person's life, and the unlikely friendships that do the same. Chatting with the author for the MMD Book Club only heightened my appreciation for the story.
More info →The One-in-a-Million Boy
I NEVER would have read this if a trusted bookseller hadn't pressed it into my hands and said READ IT: the plot summary would have made me put it right down. But it's one of my favorites of the year. I went into this novel knowing nothing and I liked it that way, so I'll just say Wood explores themes of love, loss, and identity through a quirky 11-year-old boy who loves making lists, a wily 104-year-old woman, an absentee father, a Boy Scout project, and the Guiness Book of World Records. Perfect for fans of The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and A Man Called Ove.
More info →Everyone Brave is Forgiven
I knew I had to read this when my husband (who beat me to it) couldn't stop sharing Cleave's well-turned sentences aloud, and even many years later, I still think about this book all the time. This tale of four young, warm, wise-cracking friends in wartime England is a standout in the WWII historical genre. Through their characters, Cleave throws issues of wartime morality, race, and class into sharp relief. This is for you if you love a great story and admire a beautifully-rendered, wry turn of phrase. Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club got to chat with Cleave and hearing him discuss his own work made me love the novel even more.
More info →
34 comments
Yay for a minimalist guide. Thank you!
Thanks for narrowing the SRG down to this minimalist list. I have them all!
I am so excited to see Everyone Brave is Forgiven on this list. I downloaded a sample of this book to read, but I hadn’t made up my mind about reading the whole book until I saw it on your short list. My to-read pile just got a bit taller.
I love having a place to start with your guide 🙂 thanks!
This is great. I can’t wait to read Everyone Brave is Forgiven (I loved Cleave’s novel Gold). And I am so intrigued by The One-in-a-Million Boy and Before we Visit the Goddess!
Love the guide – the complete and the minimalist both. Is there an book club option for those of us not on Facebook?
Join my page – Watertown Book Club. We are adding these to our reading this summer. I would love to have people start discussions or reply to them!
Thanks for making a minimalist list! I recently read (and enjoyed) Harold Fry, so I added The One-in-a-Million Boy to my “to read” list.
Oh wow! Those all look great! I wish I could join the book club, but I just spent my last book dollars on reading material for my nieces and nephews. Have fun!
Love how you distilled down the big list, which I also loved, by the way! Loved your 6 categories.
Can’t wait to start reading!!
Nice! I’ve already read The Nest and The Forgetting Time and I am currently reading One In A Million Boy. Three down and two to go (at least from this list 🙂 ).
Like Heather, I’ve read The Nest and The Forgetting Time – how funny! This makes me want to read the other three – I can do it!
Love this list – all the books I have chosen from your summer reading guide, except the forgetting time. I lt sounds too creepy for me.
I wish the FB book club were free or offered at a much lower cost.
Thanks for this. I’m very eager to take a look at your entire list. That said, each time I’ve gone to the link it pulls up your video about the journal and the text says that I’ll receive a link in my inbox soon. I haven’t yet received this. Wondering if you have to buy the journal in order to get the list?
I’d love to know. So appreciate your work.
Thanks.
Cari
Nope, the guide is free. It sounds like you’re in the tiny minority that’s not getting the guide on schedule. Technology is great except when it isn’t. I’ll have you your book fix very soon!
I’m like Cari – I’ve signed up for the reading list, but haven’t received it.
Thank you for all your interesting posts.
Yay! Thumbs up for the summer book club! Count me in.
Great guide! Thanks for sharing!
Best, MODENOVA I http://www.modenova.com
I ordered the MMD reading journal…can’t wait to get it. I never did get a video with the behind the scenes video that the email said I was going to get….didn’t want to miss out on anything…how can I access the video?
It’s right here! http://thesummerreadingclub.com/journal
For some reason, I cannot get the reading list. Every time I click on the button to get the list, I have to submit my email. I have done this several times. I have not yet gotten the list. Not sure why this is happening. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Hi Brenda,
I’ve noted your email and I hope we’ve taken care of it this time! Sorry for the trouble.
I love your page and podcast. I have so enjoyed many of your recommendations. I am a little upset with your recommendation for “The Nest.” I actually gifted it to a friend before I read it and months later when my audiobook from the library came through I started listening to it…and then felt pretty embarrassed that I had recommended it. Some of the content I find to be too racy and just downright distasteful. Maybe you can include a content warning for some of this type of book…just for those of us who would like to be a little more informed. Once again, I really appreciate you and hope you keep on producing content for many years to come!
Sarah, I agree, and that’s why there’s a content warning right there in the book description! I really did try to give you a heads up.
I’ve learned my lesson! I will be more observant next time!
I just wanted to make sure you knew that I tried, and that I totally get what you’re talking about. 🙂
Yes to The Forgetting Time! Read it upon your recommendation and I finished in a day!