As always, I have crazy ambitious (or delusional) plans for summer reading. I already shared my summer reading list and my nerdy summer syllabus with you; today I’m sharing what I’ve read so far.
(You may notice that half of the books I’ve read so far weren’t on my already-lengthy lists. That’s why getting to all these books might be a problem!)
My (incomplete) summer reading so far:
THE STORIED LIFE OF A. J. FIKRY
by Gabrielle Zevin
I suspect you’ll enjoy this more if you come to it with no expectations, so let’s just say this novel is plain good fun for book lovers. I don’t want to say to much, but let’s just say tears were shed. Despite the Kleenex scenes, I highly recommend this for the beach or pool. The European title The Collected Works of A. J. Fikry probably describes the story a little better. Read it—you’ll see what I mean.
LANDLINE
by Rainbow Rowell
I was ecstatic to get my hands on Rowell’s newest—which isn’t officially out till July 8—and read it in a day, but (I hate to say it!) it fell flat for me. (Unlike Eleanor & Park, which I loved, and Attachments, which I put in the summer reading guide.) It did make me wish I’d signed up for improvisational theater in college.
I CAPTURE THE CASTLE
by Dodie Smith
I can see why this 1940s classic makes so many people’s desert island book lists. 17-year-old Cassandra is a remarkable narrator, who captures her eccentric family’s daily life—in their ramshackle old English castle—in her diary. Replete with love, magic, writer’s block, and bear costumes.
THE MARTIAN
by Andy Weir
Think Cast Away, morphed into an outer space adventure story. This isn’t going to make my best-ever list, but I enjoyed it, and I put it into my husband’s hands as soon as I finished.
DELICIOUS!
by Ruth Reichl
If you adore Reichl’s food writing (raises hand), I understand how you won’t be able to pass this one up. If you’re not already a fan of her work, don’t let your curiosity get the best of you. Second novels are usually better. Wait for Reichl’s.
THE BRIDGE TENDER
by Mary Beth Whalen
This brand-new, easy-reading novel from the director of She Reads makes me want to visit Sunset Beach. A good one for the beach bag, for fans of Karen Kingsbury and Francine Rivers.
What have you been reading lately?
(Head here for more details on this crazy thing we call twitterature.)
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57 comments
I too have added to my summer reading list, and I haven’t read any of these so now it will get even longer! I do have The Storied Life on my regular TBR list though — think I heard of it on Book On The Nightstand. Thanks for mentioning that podcast.
I’m excited to come back and link up when it opens!
It’s fixed now! Sorry about that. 🙂
So far this summer I’ve read yet another Ian Rutledge mystery and rushed to get the next one from the library. I quickly finished The Lost Husband and liked it and read in one day (for book club) The Fault in Our Stars. I liked it more than I thought I would. Not really a fan of sad stories.
Hi Anne – I can’t see the linkup button; could it be accidentally set for p.m. instead of a.m.?
It’s open now! Not sure what happened (I thought it was going live at 6:00 am!) but at least it’s fixed now.
Good to know re: Delicious… It’s on my list, but so are a few hundred other books so maybe I’ll just take it off. 🙂
I Capture the Castle is one of my all-time favorites. Love Cassandra and her crazy family!
The food writing in Delicious! is just that, though I got frustrated with the main character frequently. And Landline fell flat for me too – bummer.
I just finished Girl in Translation – an excellent immigrant novel – and am reading a charming memoir, The House on an Irish Hillside.
I wanted to shake the main character in Delicious! so many times. The WWII storyline was far more compelling than the main plot.
I agree – I loved Lulu.
Agreed. That storyline was the best.
Re: Delicious. I kept feeling like I was revisiting some of the restaurants she described in detail in Garlic and Sapphires.
have i said thank you for your blog???
well if not, i say it now. thank you!!!!!!!!!!
you do such a loving service. “loving” because you certainly love reading… “service” because you point your readers to wonderful suggestions.
again, thank you!!!
tessa~
Aww, thanks so much!
Thank you for the book recommendations. Delicious looks amazing and I will have to check it out. I’ve also been looking for an audio book for my husband and I to listen to in the car (he likes fantasy, I like non-fiction!), and perhaps we can compromise with The Martian.
Read a couple of duds this month, prompting me to create my own “when to abandon a book” rule. Enjoyed a few titles though.
What’s the rule??
My reading list is always delusional ha! Working my way through a book about student loan policy, Hillary Clinton’s new book, and re-reading Gatsby (again) for fun.
I would expect nothing less than a wildly diverse list from you. (That’s a good thing. 🙂 )
Shared, and looking forward to reading the other reviews! (I’ve got The Storied Life on my TBR list. My giant TBR list.)
I’ve been meaning to read Eleanor and Park since you first mentioned it and it’s still on my to-do (to-read?) list. I capture the castle does sound like a fun read !
I just finished The Rosie Project tonight. It was hard to put down… I loved it! Thanks for the recommendation! My next read is Where’d You Go, Bernadette. (What would I do without your Summer Reading Guide?)
I checked out Delicious! from the library last week, but may pass for now. Thanks for the heads up. I think I’d rather read Tender at the Bone or Garlic and Sapphires.
I’m so glad you liked Rosie! And yes, if you’ve never read Ruth Reichl before, I’d start with those two nonfiction books.
My brain is exploding from more book recs. (In a good way! Ha!) 😀
I’m curious about Ruth Reichl’s novel, I love her non-fiction so maybe I’ll love her fiction? I’ll wait till my library gets it or a super sale on kindle. =)
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is on my summer list too- seems like it might be a keeper. And sad about Delicious but I think I will follow your advice on that one! Seems like you are having a good reading summer so far!
Agh. I am a huge fan of Ruth Reichl’s memoirs, so I know I will end up reading Delicious even knowing it’s probably not good. Sigh.
I am reading Rowell’s Fangirl right now. It’s certainly something else. Did you read that one?
I did read Fangirl. It was fine but I didn’t love it. I’m not sure what you mean by “something else”—are you enjoying it?
I don’t know!! True confession: back in the day, my sister and I wrote Hanson fanfic all the time. It was only for our own audience, though. So the book is kinda nostalgic for me, and I don’t know if I’m separating that from the actual writing. I actually haven’t read Eleanor and Park or Attachments, so I don’t have anything to compare it to from Rowell.
That.is.awesome. 🙂
Thanks for the recommendations!
I’m so enjoying I Capture the Castle right now! Have you seen the movie? If so, is it worth it? I love Romola Garai so I’m intrigued to see what she would do with the Cassandra character.
I’ve heard mixed reviews of the movie, which I haven’t seen. I loved Romola Garai in Emma but wanted my time back after Daniel Deronda. If you watch it, let me know what you think!
Love love LOVE your blog. I’ve only been following you fro a little while but I LOVE all of your recommendations. I just read Eleanor and Parks a couple weekends ago. Have you read Fangirl? It fizzled out a little towards the end but was still a light, quick read. I have such a love-hate relationship with Rainbow Rowell’s work!! even though I don’t love it I can’t help but read it. I’ll definitely put in a request for some of those other books you’ve been reading.
I’ve read all her stuff. I loved E&P, really liked Attachments, and felt “meh” about the other two. (But like you said, I can’t help but read it. 🙂 )
These all sound so good! I’ve only read one book in the last month, but it was a really good book so I guess that’s nothing to scoff at.
Great reviews! Thanks for continuing to do Twitterature. I love it… I think the last book is by Mary Beth Whalen, not Stevens?
Ack! Good catch, fixing it now!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t love “Landline.” I was disappointed and felt the fantasy element wasn’t well done – and a departure since everything else has been so grounded in modern day (or the recent past). I loved everything else even Fangirl, which to me captured that first year of college so wonderfully.