Here are three books I’ve read so far this summer. I’d love to hear what you’re reading!
The Passenger, by Lisa Lutz
I read this at the beach and enjoyed it. A fast-paced murder mystery with a surprise ending, The Passenger moves quickly and follows a young woman on the run who morphs into different identities along the way, growing more and more weary as the book progresses. I liked that it was a quick thriller, a good read for a beach vacation or for lying around the pool.
The Girls, by Emma Cline
This one is getting a lot of hype, and I can’t stop thinking about it. About a fourteen-year-old girl in the late 1960’s who gets caught up in a dreadful cult, the book goes so much further than the awful thing you are aware will happen. It’s a book about girlhood and feminism as much as it is about the 1960’s and coming-of-age in general. Be warned: the end is pretty disturbing, but this is one worth reading. It’s so well-written, I had trouble putting it down!
Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War, by Mary Roach
I am a longtime fan of Roach’s pop science writing, and this one does not disappoint. And while Roach uses plenty of humor throughout (like what happens when a soldier experiences diarrhea during a battle, or how one tests aircraft safety using chicken guns), she does a respectful job of acknowledging the sacrifices and seriousness of life and death in war. My favorite chapters were those on sweat and submarines (though the chapter on maggots comes close too). If you’re curious and science-minded, I highly recommend this one!
I always enjoy your reading posts, as they give great suggestions. The Girls has been tempting me at the library and now after your review I will pick it up. I have enjoyed all things by Mary Roach. Her writing style is so interesting and informative. Her book Stiff will remain with me and seriously made me question whether or not to donate my body after death.
Books I have been reading this summer:
The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander
Keep the Aspidistra Flying by Orwell
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (Highly recommend this book!)
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Watkins (I really recommend her book Battleborn)
My two favorites this summer have been The After Party by Anton Disclifani and Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld. The Girls is next on my list!
I’m reading The Girls right now. Just finished Eligible. (Which makes it sound like Brooke and I are in a reading club together.)
Next up: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson.
I enjoyed Heat and Light by Jennifer Haigh. I finished that one on vacation. Centers around a small farming community in Pennsylvania and the fracking controversy. Great characters.
In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri is my favorite summer read so far. Italian on the left page, English on the right. Read in one language or both, as I did. (I speak some Italian, but can read it better than I can carry a conversation anymore.)
And we’re on Book Three of the Harry Potter series with Frances! Can’t wait for the new book and the launch party in a couple of weeks!
Purchased Echo from Adah’s bookstore to give to Ella for her birthday in August, which will make her the last person to read it, I think. So maybe put Echo on your reading list, by Pam Munoz Ryan.
My mother loved The Light of the World (that Ashley listed above). I plan to read that.