1. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. Forthcoming this October. Review here.
2. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Very good young adult novel dealing as much with the aftermath of suicide as suicide itself. Review here.
3. Last Tango in Paris by Anna. Yes, another Harry Potter fanfic. Yes, I've read it before. Several times, in fact. Believe me when I say that it's good--I wouldn't keep going back to it if it weren't deeply satisfying.
4. Letters from the Caribbean: Sailing in the West Indies by Andrea and Ian Treleaven. Pretty pictures, don't bother with the rest. Review here.
5. Concerto to the Memory of an Angel by Eric-Emmanel Schmitt. Tied (with Jhumpa Lahiri) for best short story writer writing today. If you've never read him before, you should.
6. The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy. Guernsey Island during World War II. Very readable. Review here.
7. Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery by Julia Campbell. What a kick it was to revisit this favorite series from my youth. You would have had to pay me a lot of money to read Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, but Trixie Belden was one of my favorites. Smart tomboy who solves mysteries and has adventures? Yes, please!
8. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. What an interesting read. Took a while for it to take hold of me, and by the time I really started warming to the story, the point of view changed to another character, but by the time I came to the end I had very much enjoyed the ride. Plus I learned a lot about a subject that I really knew nothing about, which is always good--ancient Israel.
9. The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. When I was casting about for a book to read on my trip out to Santa Fe, my coworker Nieves pressed her ARC of this book into my hands. I highly enjoyed it! It's a middle-grade/YA fantasy adventure story with plot points that put me in mind of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the Narnia books. Read this one straight through on two flights and finished before touching down at ABQ.
I have come to realize that in months where I read fewer real/adult books in relation to the fanfiction and old childhood favorites, it means that I was feeling relatively stressed in life, and I guess that July qualifies as such. They're the book equivalents of eating a pint of ice cream straight out of the container--all of the comfort, none of the calories.
2. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Very good young adult novel dealing as much with the aftermath of suicide as suicide itself. Review here.
3. Last Tango in Paris by Anna. Yes, another Harry Potter fanfic. Yes, I've read it before. Several times, in fact. Believe me when I say that it's good--I wouldn't keep going back to it if it weren't deeply satisfying.
4. Letters from the Caribbean: Sailing in the West Indies by Andrea and Ian Treleaven. Pretty pictures, don't bother with the rest. Review here.
5. Concerto to the Memory of an Angel by Eric-Emmanel Schmitt. Tied (with Jhumpa Lahiri) for best short story writer writing today. If you've never read him before, you should.
6. The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy. Guernsey Island during World War II. Very readable. Review here.
7. Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery by Julia Campbell. What a kick it was to revisit this favorite series from my youth. You would have had to pay me a lot of money to read Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, but Trixie Belden was one of my favorites. Smart tomboy who solves mysteries and has adventures? Yes, please!
8. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. What an interesting read. Took a while for it to take hold of me, and by the time I really started warming to the story, the point of view changed to another character, but by the time I came to the end I had very much enjoyed the ride. Plus I learned a lot about a subject that I really knew nothing about, which is always good--ancient Israel.
9. The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. When I was casting about for a book to read on my trip out to Santa Fe, my coworker Nieves pressed her ARC of this book into my hands. I highly enjoyed it! It's a middle-grade/YA fantasy adventure story with plot points that put me in mind of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the Narnia books. Read this one straight through on two flights and finished before touching down at ABQ.
I have come to realize that in months where I read fewer real/adult books in relation to the fanfiction and old childhood favorites, it means that I was feeling relatively stressed in life, and I guess that July qualifies as such. They're the book equivalents of eating a pint of ice cream straight out of the container--all of the comfort, none of the calories.
Yes, and you don't have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe which means more money for books!
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