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Good summer reading

J

ja9

New Member
Any suggestions for good summer reading? I'm between books right now; just finished Carolyn See's "Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America", which I liked very much. I notice that when I've really enjoyed a book I have trouble getting started on another one, because I have this feeling that it won't live up to the one I just finished. It's almost like the end of a relationship.

I like Victorian literature, and natural history, and sometimes biographies. I mostly look for good writers - someone who can use language in a way that's startling and interesting always catches my attention. I am thinking about picking up "The Poisonwood Bible", which seems like it would be good from what I've read. I haven't read any Barbara Kingsolver before, so this might be a good time to start.

What about Richard Dawkins' "The Ancestor's Tale" - has anyone read this yet? Supposed to be a review of evolution, with the form based on "The Canterbury Tales". I like Dawkins, though he is at times somewhat over my head, being that I am a complete autodidact with barely a high school education, but I read "The Blind Watchmaker" and liked that very much.

Appreciate any ideas anyone might have...it's either find a new book or start weeding in the yard, so I'm getting desperate here!
 
You might like William Least-Heat Moon's PrairyErth. He describes the book as a "deep" map of a county in Kansas. It takes a little while to get going, but there is something about it . . . When I finished it, I felt like I had sort of awakened from a spell or something.
 
I strongly recommend :

Pawleys Island (Lowcountry Tales ))
by Dorothea Benton Frank

You can check out the reviews on Amazon. The book is an easy and very enjoyable summer read. If you are looking for something with a lot of depth though this is not the book for you. As described on Amazon, it is along the lines of Terms of Endearment.
 
Thanks! I read Anna Karenina years ago and did like it, I think I still have it around here somewhere. Have not read any of the others mentioned, though I've heard of all of them.

I picked up "Galileo's Daughter" by Dava Sobel yesterday, just because it was here, but after about 50 pages I'm just not that interested. It seemed like a great premise and an interesting idea, plus she wrote "Longitude", which I loved, but this book is not holding my attention. Now that I have these suggestions, which sound much more intriguing, poor Dava may have to go on the back burner for a while.

:)
 
ja9 said:
Thanks! I read Anna Karenina years ago and did like it, I think I still have it around here somewhere.
:)
Click to expand...

Yay! My suggestion was good apart from being years late. :)
 
My suggestions are probably as late as ions but what about Gaskell, if you like Victorian literature. North and South, for example. As for natural history, have you tried Stephen Jay Gould. He was as far from Dawkins as you can possible get, so you could compare different theories.
 
Few more :)

The Crimson Petal and the White ~ Michel Faber

Little, Big ~ John Crowley

London ~ Edward Rutherford
 
I HIGHLY recommend The Poisonwood Bible. IMHO it's the best thing Barbara Kingsolver has written so far. You won't find much Victorian stuff in there but there's plenty of naturalism. There are strong postcolonial and feminist elements in there too, which is pretty standard for her :)
 
People on this site are so generous with their ideas, that is SO nice.

I love Stephen Jay Gould, and I've read pretty much everything he's written. He's wonderful for someone like myself who is not a professional in the field. I'm really interested in genetics and evolution, and he's very good at making things understandable for someone like myself who is not formally educated.

I also liked "North and South", so that was a good suggestion too.

I started "The Poisonwood Bible" last night, and I'm really getting sucked into it. I read about a third of it yesterday, and a bit more today. I love how the family takes things like cake mix to Africa! And how the garden doesn't grow because the insects in Africa can't pollinate American plants. What a command of language Barbara Kingsolver has - her prose sounds completely natural, with no artifice. I hate it when I'm reading a good book and all of a sudden there's a clunky phrase that doesn't work, and I suddenly notice that I'm reading (if that makes any sense). None of that with her, and the story is totally compelling. Can't wait to see what happens, so I'm going to have to log off if I want to finish it tonight!

Thanks for the great recommendations.
 
my faves

Some quick recommends

Life of Pi
I Know this Much is True

Plainsong
Memoirs of a Geisha
The Other Boleyn Girl
Middlesex
The Kite Runner
Random Family
Map of the World
Book of Ruth
To Kill a Mockingbird
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
Rebecca
Under the Banner of Heaven
The Color of Water

sorry for the long list....
Shari :rolleyes:
 
Shari, you've been looking at my reading list! Of all the books you mentioned, the only ones I haven't read are Plainsong, The Other Boleyn Girl and Map of the World. Of the ones you mentioned, I loved Middlesex and Life of Pi (To Kill a Mockingbird is in a class by itself, I think).

Middlesex is really underrated. I tried to get a couple of people to read it, but nobody was much interested. I'm glad I'm not the only one who liked it!

Since our taste seems so similar I'm going to have to run out and get the three that I haven't read. Thanks!!
 
Ja9
You've picked up my trick. When I wander around amazon.com looking for a book, I look at member book lists and if they contain a few books that I loved then I look at the rest of their list for new choices. I can tell you that my list is a bit eclectic. Plainsong is a simple read, very predictable but for some reason I found it delightful. The others are all masterpieces in their own right. As far as I'm concerned Jane Hamilton (book of Ruth and Map of the World) is a writer like no other. Have you read Barbara Wood's Virgins of Paradise (I'll never forget that book...) I started with The Prophetess and then moved through her entire collection. As an AP English teacher, I have to spend a lot of my time reading for school choices, but I delight in finding selections that I can recommend to friends.
My students will be reading some international choices this year, so my summer will be filled up with Borges, Mann and Moliere. thanks for the note :rolleyes:
Shari
 
Shari - I loved Virgins of Paradise; I learned so much about Egypt and about how women live in such a repressive society. I haven't read anything else by Barbara Wood - I kind of forgot about her and she dropped off my list, so I'm glad you remineded me of how much I enjoyed this book. I need to read some more by her.

What about Michael Chabon? Do you like him? Judging by your list I'm guessing you do, or you would if you haven't already discovered him.

My sister is an AP English teacher as well, she teaches high school students. It sounds like very challenging work, to say the least. She's in the middle of grades right now, so she's kind of hollow-eyed and punchy, if you know what I mean (and I know you do!). She's coming to spend this coming weekend at my house, and I've promised to make her dinner and let her sleep late; she's quite excited! I think we should have a national "Pamper a Teacher Day" - I can't believe how tough your job is, and how underappreciated teachers really are.

:)
 
Shari- Nice list I've read & loved almost all of those :)

I'm picking up Little Big by John Crowley today to take on my trip.
 
BTW what did you think of Under The Banner of Heaven? I haven't came across many who have read it. I liked it and was shocked by a lot of it. I grew up in a very Mormon community and there is a lot I never knew about them.
 
Ronny-
Have you read any of Krakauer's other books? I have several in my TBR pile but haven't gotten to them yet. My wife read "Into Thin Air" and said it was quite good while several friends have read "Into The Wild" and rave about it.
I'm also quite intrigued by "Kingdom Of Heaven". Sounds like some pretty crazy stuff! :)
 
No I haven't read any others yet but I want to. I really just picked this up on a whim and really glad I did.
 
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