It’s not summer without a reading list — although we never seem to get through all the books we include on it!
We have stacks and stacks of books spread out among our three houses as we figure out which ones to write about or ask readers to review, which ones to share with you through giveaways, and which ones are so meaningful to us, we want to talk to the authors.
Tell us what’s on your reading list, and you just may win one of those books. Or tell us one of your recent favorites and you may win a book we think you’ll enjoy, based on your recommendation. (Yes, we’re just like the Genius Bar!)
So leave a comment below, then click here to fill out the entry form.
Let the summer reading begin!
i haven’t had time to read anything new for awhile, but will find something over the summer
Just finished Katie Couric’s new book, The Best Advice I Ever Got. It would make a great graduation gift!
Started reading the Hunger Games series. The first book was really, really good. On to the second.
The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obrecht, and Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
Currently reading THE WILDLING by Benjamin Percy, great book. Next up is THE MEMORY WALL by Anthony Doerr.
I am reading Susan Mallery’s Chasing Perfect right now, it is an enjoyable romance. I am always loolking for my next book to read, though:)
After having read Jennifer Egan’s “Goon Squad” and seeing her perform at the UPenn Alumni Weekend, I am looking forward to reading more of her work – I have already checked out “The Keep” from the library!
The girl who fell from the sky by Heidi W. Durrow, only a few chapters into it and it is so good!
I’m reading fluff compared to the other posts!!! Just finished Something Borrowed, The Lincoln Lawyer, and almost done with My Fair Lazy (Jen Lancaster memoir). If you haven’t read her Bitter is the new Black….run and get it. I laughed the whole way through it (so did all the girls in my book club). As a redeemer, I did read The Help before this string of fluff, and I really enjoyed it.
I just finished the book “Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.” Non fiction about a 40 something woman whose husband of 15 years of marriage leaves her for “a guy named Bob from Gay.com.” She goes back to her Mennonite roots to seek comfort and repair. Author is refreshingly honest, full of wit, and chalk full of humor. Rhoda Janzen, Phd and published poet, teaches English and creative writing at hope college in Michigan.
I’m not much of a reader and need inspiration. I have lists of recommended books, but can’t seem to motivate myself! Maybe the ladies of StyleSubstanceSoul can! :0)
I just finished “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt” by Beth Hoffman, a delightful story of a twelve year old girl who has the good fortune to be raised by some eccentric and wacky women of Savannah, Georgia. Complete with a feel good ending, this novel has charm and laughter!
I recently read “The Help” and also the James Patterson series The Witch and The Wizard. With a new kindle .. I read quite often.
Reading a couple things at the same time, “The Four Hour Work Week” to get some business information. Starting to read Starbucks Howard Schultz. And who knows what else I might find. Maybe I’ll win a new book to read!?
I’m currently reading “Low Country Summer” by Dorothea Benton Frank and rather enjoying it! I need some more books for my summer TBR, so it’s great to read through the other recommendations on this post- thanks!
Hugs,
Barb
I have a Stephen King short story that I am really looking forward to, and Portia de Rossi’s autobiography is on deck after that. I also recently picked up Lisa Scottoline’s newest non-fiction, and a friend lent me the 2008 edition of “Roadfood” (got a road trip coming up in July), which I am reading state by state. I plan on using their website to plan our summer trip home around some good local on the road food – NO FAST FOOD on this trip!!!
I am reading UNBROKEN right now, harrowing and intense story of a WWII POW who was an Olympic athlete. True and lots of historical detail! Before that, read THE LOTUS EATERS which I loved – about a photojournalist in Viet Nam – highly recommend it! Looking forward to reading some lighter fiction over the summer!
I just finished reading “A Ghost in Love” by Jonathan Carroll, our Book Group’s May selection. I first learned about Jonathan Carroll when he visited the bookstore I worked for while he was touring to promote”White Apples,” and fell in love with his writing. On the surface, the premise of “A Ghost in Love” is quite absurd–incredible things happen to ordinary folks (dogs talk, ghosts walk, things appear out of nowhere, people meet and speak with versions of themselves at all different ages). But underneath all the absurdity and (wonderful) dry humor is a wealth of meaning about life, death, spirituality, and the “hereafter” that kept me thinking for a good long while.
Correction: It’s “The Ghost in Love.”
I’m working my way through “Exit The Actress”. I have to say, I won the book but the print was so small and such a faded type of font that I had to buy it for my kindle to read it. I don’t usually have to get large print books, so anyone who wishes to buy this one should take note! It is a great book and has gotten a huge amount of good reviews, so I bucked up for it! I have quite a few I want to read but am busy doing something else write now and can’t wrap my head around what books there were that I wanted to read. There are a lot of books written during the time of The Tudors, etc., and I love reading those types. I also love love love reading any books with cowboys or people traveling west I don’t know I have just always been drawn to those! I just finished “A Dream Unfolding” by Karen Baney and Tyler by C.H. Admirand. Loved both books!
I just bought Bossypants by Tina Fey, and A Game of Thrones: I love the tv show, and am just waiting for the season to end so I can read the book without getting hopelessly lost!
I usually have 3 to 5 books going at one time—I am currently reading: The Last Child by John Hartman, Pricing and Ethical Guidelines by Graphic Artists Guild, Sins of Thy Mother by Keisha Shabazz Kuma and Four Days in July (Tom Watson) by Jim Huber.
A Place of Yes by Bethenny Frankel – I love her wit and humor and how honestly she shares her journey and Bonjour Happiness by Jamie Cat Callan – a cute, fun read by an adorable author with some good info to boot!
I’m currently reading Fire in The Blood by Irene Nemirovsky. She masterfully brings every sentence in her books to life. I am addicted to her books and the story of her life…
“The Year We Left Home” by Jean Thompson. Just released in May and is probably one of the best books I’ve read in the last year.
I’m reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and can’t put it down! Also reading The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan – it’s absolutely changed the way I eat and shop. And I started reading Dirt Music by Tim Winton in Australia, but got distracted by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – so as soon as I finish that – I’ll go back to Dirt Music. I really want to read Bossy Pants this summer and am pretty sure I’ll need to read The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl that Kicked the Hornet’s Nest since Stieg Larsson is such a captivating writer! We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates has been on my list forever and I love Stephen King and am hoping to get one of his books in too!
Just finished Gail Caldwell’s memoir LET’S TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME (read with a box of tissue!!) and in the middle of a fantastic book of fiction by Summer Wood, WRECKER. Then it’s back to THE EMPEROR OF ALL MALADIES (which is good, but I needed a break). Also on the list for the summer is THE ART OF LOSING: POEMS OF GRIEF AND HEALING ed. Kevin Young, Meghan O’Rourke’s THE LONG GOODBYE, and, if that is not enough… AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A FACE by Lucy Greeley (which I’ve been meaning to read for some time.
whew. exhausted just thinking about it!
Reading The Paris Wife now, about Hemingway and his first wife when they lived in Paris, next going to read Unbroken, The Goon Squad book, but always looking for recommendations!!
I just finished “Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand” which was wickedly funny and “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” which was an incredibly well researched and well told work of nonfiction about cell biology and it’s impact on the world of medical research in general and the life of one family in particular. I highly recommend both books.
My book club will be reading “Girl in Translation” and “The Postmistress” in the next two months and I’m looking forward to those. I hope to read the new Geraldine Brooks (love her!).
My summer reading-for-pure-pleasure is catching up on my favorite book series: Maisie Dobbs, #1 Ladies Detective Agency, Sunday Philosophy Club and Mary Russell mysteries.
Right now I’m reading Dead Reckoning, Charlaine Harris’ new Sookie Stachouse novel. Next up is The Land of Painted Caves, Jean Auel’s latest in her Earth’s Children’s series.
Cynthia.Richardson@azbar.org
I’m reading one of my favorite authors, John Hart, I received an Advanced Reading Copy and it is fantastic. I have always been an avid reader, and do reviews on he books I read.
I just heard that the author of Mudbound is coming out with a new book in October, and I am so thrilled. Mudbound is one of my all time favorites too.
I don’t really have a list for summer. I have so many books I want to read…plus I also love to garden.
Thank you for a chance to win.
Just finished reading “A Vintage Affair,” by Isabel Wolff. Planning to read Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” (!) this summer. LOVE this blog — I’m looking forward to raiding the library for some of the titles others have discussed. Happy reading!
I am reading A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway, The Katyn Order by Douglas W. Jacobson, and The Iliad of Homer at the moment. More Books!!!
I love reading everyone’s recommendations above! I recently finished “The Lonely Polygamist” by Brady Udall – – it was excellent, a great big, really fun & fascinating novel of a contemporary polygamist family. I’m currently reading “In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larson, which is a non-fiction take on Germany in 1933, at the beginning of Hitler’s reign. The best book I’ve read this year, which I’m recommending to everyone, is Julie Orringer’s “The Invisible Bridge”, a beatifully written, can’t-put-down story of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust. And, of course the list of books on my nightstand is too long to begin to address …
I’m going to start reading “A Year In Provence” and also :The Power Of Now”.
I have my wicker rocker waiting for me in the backyard !
I am currently reading “The Paris Wife” by Paula McLain and have “A Moveable Feast” by Hemingway, “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah E. Harkness, and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman on my to-read shelf…along with about 20 on my Nook! 😉
I just started reading “Here, Home Hope” by Kaira Rouda. The story sounds like my life now – a 39 year old wife, mother etc. So far it is pretty good.
I have heard good things about “Bossy Pants” by Tina Fey and I would love to have the chance to read it.
I just finished reading the latest Sweet Magnolias trilogy by Sherryl Woods. The first one is , Amazing Grace, second one, Sweet Tea at Sunrise and the third one is Honey Suckle Summer. They are all easy summer reading about families, friendship and home. They certainly give one the flavor of the South and strong Southern women.
Loved Paris Wife and just finished The Secret Daughter and heard Lisa See’s new book Dreams of Joy is good and one called Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
I am looking forward to reading my first book by John Shors “under a marble sky” about the Taj Mahal – such a wonderful love story!
I am currently reading Steven Tyler’s “Does the Noise Inside my Head Bother You?” Possibly next…The Paris Wife
I am a book-aholic and will recommend these few to read:
South of Broad by Pat Conroy, a poetic love affair with Charleston mixed up with memorable characters and suspense.
BossyPants by Tina Fey, a riot of her dry wit and a fun read.
Caleb’s Crossing by Geradine Brooks, Puritan setting about the first American Indian to graduate from missionary Harvard.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls, a rugged woman in our Southwest during the Depression.
Looking forward to reading 29 Gifts by Cami Walker.
I am currently reading an older book of music journalism :The Sound & the Fury” Edited by Barney Hoskyns, a science related book (no, really, it is) “The Physics of the Buffyverse” by Jennifer Ouellette & “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire. I plan on reading something by Cormac McCarthy, “Water for Elephants” &/or “The Kite Runner” sometime soon…
I’m looking forward to Michael Koryta’s The Ridge
I’m reading “The Weird Sisters” by Eleanor Brown. It is my book club’s pick this month and it’s pretty interesting. I’m also currently reading “Newes From the Dead” by Mary Hooper, which I cannot put down.
Just finished reading “Kafka on the Beach” by Haruki Murakami. I love his work– “Windup Bird Chronicles” too! Not for everyone, but I love his seamless path between reality and fantasy that doesn’t seem like fantasy! Simple yet descriptive writing– kind of like a Japanese version of Hemingway. I love books that take me to places I’ve never been to, into lives much different than mine. Historical fiction is a favorite, too!
I am reading “Defending Jacob” so far really good. Up next is ” Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake” I also have lot of books to read, wish I had more time!!