Summer Reading Recommendations

We are halfway through the year and I am 75% done with my reading goal of finishing 40 books in 2015. When I first set this goal, I honestly thought I was being quite ambitious. I mean, 3ish books a month is a lot and I have a pretty needy and superbly energetic toddler on my hands. But somehow I am managing to read more than ever. A lot of my friends ask me where I find the time and to me it’s more about making the time vs finding the time. Just like any hobby, it’s something that restores me, so I find myself carving out time to make it happen. 

Any free moment I have, I’m pulling my latest novel out and reading a few pages. When Forest was an itty baby, I would read on my kindle while he had monster breast-feeding sessions. I’d bring my book along for strolls and as soon as he fell asleep in the stroller, I’d pull off in a sunny spot and read until he woke up from his nap. When he outgrew those pauses in everyday life, I started reading during his more formal naptimes. When he was on his two nap schedule, I would do all of my household chores during nap one, while nap two was reserved for teatime and book reading. Sigh, I miss those two nap days!

 Now he only takes a single nap and it’s about the length of only one of his naps in the good old days, so with barely over an hour to work with, my naptime reading fests have become a thing of the past. Now I mostly read before bed and also at the gym while I use the elliptical machine, that way I can kill two birds with one stone. 

Anyhoos, that was a crazy pointless tangent, but all of this is just to say that its been a while since I did book recommendations on the blog so I figured it was past due. Let’s do this! (I have linked each title with the info page on Amazon for your convenience  in case you want to read the descriptions or buy a copy.)

1) Heft by Liz Moore. 

 

This is my favorite kind of novel. It’s beautifully written, kind of sleepy and slow, not driven by plot but rather by character development. This book in particular follows two seemingly unconnected characters: one an agoraphobic morbidly obese ex-professor and the other a high-school baseball star with a tumultuous home life. Nothing much happens but the insight into both characters as their lives merge is really beautiful to follow. 

2) The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. 

 

This was another one right up my alley. It’s the quietly sad tale of a childless couple who move to the frontiers of Alaska to escape the grief of their infertility. One day they build a child out of snow and the next day spot a young girl running through the forest. This lovely novel plays with magical realism in a simple and wonderful way, and I just absolutely loved it to pieces.   

3) The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. 

 

I was reluctant to read this follow up from the Middlesex author simply because of the mixed reviews on goodreads. It was repeatedly referred to as ‘pretentious’ which is always a major turn off for me. And while I agree, I think the pretentiousness was an intentional and ironic literary tool, so I still managed to enjoy it. This book follows a love triangle through college and the few years following but also deals with topics of religion and mental health in a relatable and thought-provoking way. It’s wordy and I could see it not floating everyone’s boat, but I think it’s worth the read. 

4) The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. 

 

Not my usual cup of tea, but an interesting thriller about a commuter who notices some clues about a missing person whose home she passes daily on the train. 

5) Bloodroot by Amy Greene.  

 

This in an epic tale spanning several generations within a family said to have a curse upon them. It’s beautifully dark, sort of in the southern gothic genre, with a little folk tale thrown in. It took a while for me to warm up to it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it in the end. 

6) Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett. 

 

This is by the same author of one my recent favorites, State of Wonder, but this is a nonfiction retelling of her relationship with fellow author Lucy Grealy. Grealy lost part of her face to childhood cancer and had many reconstructive surgeries trying to rebuild her jawline and went on to suffer from bouts of depression and low self esteem as a result. I found the book interesting, but have heard that Grealy’s perspective is much different, as told in her book, Autobiography of a Face. It’s on my ‘to-read’ list. 

Something I found striking (and a bit off point) in this book was the description of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was solely described as an ugly, depressing city and as someone who lived there for 2 years, I just found it amazing how two people could view a city so differently. But since it’s grey and dreary most of the year, I can definitely understand how someone with a depressed state of mind could become even more so in The Granite City. I just found myself getting a little bit in a huff whenever it was being bashed in the book, since it's a city that holds a big part of my heart and one I never saw as anything but charming and beautiful. 

7) Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. 

 

This is the only book I’ve given 5 stars to in quite a while. It’s just that good. The writing is perfection and I love me a good historical novel. This one takes place in Jim Crow Era Mississippi and follows a white farming family and their black share croppers. It’s a horrific subject matter but poignantly told. 

8) Still Alice by Lisa Genova. 

 

This one had been on my ‘to-read’ list for a while. It’s the story of a Harvard psychology professor who is diagnosed with Early Onset Alzhiemer’s and it follows her quick deterioration from the disease. It’s really terrifying and certainly gave me even more empathy for anyone facing a dementia diagnosis. I thought it was a brilliant angle and subject matter but couldn’t help but feel like it could have been more powerfully written.

9) The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand. 

 

This one is pure chick lit and my first ever Elin Hilderbrand novel. I was a little resistant but since it was my book club’s pick this month I had no choice. And surprisingly, I really enjoyed it! It was very nicely written and the characters, though a bit one-dimensional, were relatable. It was a tad sappy and romantic for my tastes, and I have a feeling that her novels probably all follow a similar formula, but I could see taking a break from my usual heavy reading and tossing another Hilderbrand into the lineup from time to time. 

10)Every Last One by Anna Quindlen. 

 

Shockingly this was my first Quindlen too. I really liked her writing style. The plot follows the mom of 3 as tragedy strikes her seemingly perfect life. The author really captured the complexity of grief and I felt like the wind was knocked out of me several times while reading this. I'll share one particularly lovely quote: 

"Ruby loved to tell me things I didn't know, and that afternoon as we sipped lemonade and scuffed our bare feet through the shaggy grass, she had told me about the butterfly effect, how that the beating of their wings in Mexico could cause a breeze in our backyard.

'That's kind of terrifying,' I replied. But even as I spoke I realized that that was what we all had to believe from the moment we had children. The breast-fed baby became the confident adult. The toddler who listened to a bedtime story went on to a doctorate. We flapped our wings in our kitchen and a wind blew through their futures."

Just shatteringly beautiful and spot on.

Alright, that’s about all I have for you today. Currently I’m reading The Pact by Jodi Piccoult and have The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah and The Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll on my list to read next. What are you reading (or wanting to read) these days?