I’m curious: What’s the best book you’ve read this summer? Let me know!
And if you’re struggling with a particular Bingo square or what book to put in your beach bag, leave a sentence or two about what you’re looking for and I’ll offer a suggestion. If you know the perfect book for another commentator, please jump in.
Yellowface is best book I've read this summer! Sizzling, funny, sharp, smart.
I'm currently reading 3 books: This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch (HILARIOUS, you recommended to me); I Wrote This Book Because I Love You (essays by Tim Kreider; like David Sedaris but with more heart); Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman (the self-help I need in my life right now)
Probably the book I am reading now, The Postcard. I cannot put it down. For the last three evenings, my husband has asked me if I want to watch a movie. Not until I finish this book, I tell him. It is not an easy read, in terms of the subject matter, the Holocaust, but the story is enthralling and her characters so well drawn, they become real.
Currently listening to Yellowface (it's as good as everyone says!) and reading The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe (also great--about a group of girls who work at publishing house in NYC in the 1950s). So I guess it's a book/publishing-themed summer reading for me, which is appropriate.
Oh, I have two favorite novels, and one memoir to recommend. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue was wonderful - reminded me a bit of Sally Rooney’s writing crossed with Nick Hornsby. It’s a great story, and I loved the ending.
There’s No Coming Back from This by Ann Garvin is also one of my new favorites. Her writing reminds me of Nora Ephron’s best work. She’s so good at capturing what it’s like trying to keep everything together in this overwhelming world. There’s a lot going on in this novel -- it’s fast-paced and funny, endearing and relatable.
And then I just finished reading Stephanie Foo’s heartrending memoir, What My Bones Know. This is NOT a light-hearted read, but her story does end on a high note. It’s an excellent exploration into CPTSD and the many ways she tried to find effective treatment.
Ooh I love this question. In terms of*best*, I'd say Monsters by Claire Dederer -- very smart, really develops an argument and gets more complex and asks better questions across the book, which I think is actually pretty rare in nonfiction. I also just read The Rachel Incident, which I really liked -- someone had described it to me as Sally Rooney but set in Cork, but I liked it a bit more than Sally Rooney!
I've struck out a lot lately, so the idea of rereading Towles's Lincoln Highway or Winman's Still Life appeals, and I suspect those would be the best reads of my summer.
But for new stuff, Curtis Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy was fun. SNL fans out there, take note!
I'm on the wait list for Saturday Night at the Supper Club, though, and have high hopes...
I need a book that makes me laugh. I started Ten Steps to Nanette but couldn’t get into it. Will try the suggested Yellowface and Benedict Cumberbatch books.
"To whom do I owe the power of my voice?" is the question that begins Audre Lorde's ZAMI: A New Spelling of My Name. Categorized by Lorde as a Biomythography, it begins in Harlem, 1928, tracking her mother's life, and her own, with time through many relationships, super steamy scenes when she's working in factories in NJ and living with her friend/gf, and the metaphor of renaming herself and becoming herself. Lorde writes that "Zami" is "a Carriacou name for women who work together as friends and lovers." It is a reread for me and I LOVE it even more the second time around. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Zami_A_New_Spelling_of_My_Name/TlqFFVbY9BEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover
For sheer delight: 'Ms. Demeanor' by Elinor Lipman. It's a rom-com in which the meet-cute is two non-criminals realizing they're both under house arrest and wearing ankle monitors in their posh NYC apartment building. It's very funny with some teeth.
For spooky fun: 'The Only One' Left by Riley Sager. It's a riff on the legend of Lizzy Border, set in a spooky manor house on a cliff. It's twisty and suspenseful and if you love gothic stories set in creepy houses, you will love it.
For pure action: I'm a Daniel Silva completist, and his new Gabriel Allon thriller 'The Collector' is a return to what I consider his classic form. Lots of intrigue and fantastic locations around the globe built around a story involving art theft and possible nuclear war. It's over-the-top in exactly the right way.
My favorite book of the summer - Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz. A young LA native makes her barefoot way from Malibu to Hollywood writing stories, surfing, painting, and hanging with the wrong crowd. It’s summery and subtly dark in a feminist way as it deals with sex, drugs, and rock n roll. I just loved it.
I've read a lot of great books this summer. One that I would highlight: The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune by Alexander Stille. Fascinating! And some honorable mentions in the category of my ideal summer reading (propulsive, short-ish, perfect for an afternoon at the pool): Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television by Thea Glassman and The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel.
I loved I Could Live Here Forever by Hanna Halperin. I'd recommend going in blind. It falls in the category of messed up love story, has a backdrop involving a MFA program which I loved, and I had the biggest book hangover after finishing it.
I just finished a super compelling novella that was recommended to me by an indie bookstore in DSM. Open Throat by Henry Hoke. It’s about a queer mountain lion who lives in the canyons outside LA during fire season. That probably sounds odd but...I finished it in one sitting.
I'm not a history buff, so I'm surprised at how engrossed I am in listening to Ian Toll's book Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942. I've been making up reasons to wear headphones around the house, and a few evenings I gave up all pretense and just sat in my chair listening. I can't stop talking about it, so my wife bought the paperback (she's not into audio books). Now I get to go through it and look at all the photos and maps!
My favorites so far have been This is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch and Between Two Moons. I'm a bit stumped on the play/tv script square... any suggestions?
I loved For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu. It’s a coming of age story but unlike any I’ve read before. It lives at the intersection of gender identity, age/generation, and race in very intriguing ways. It’s sad but there is also humour. The writing is so rich and razor sharp. I will be reading more from Fu for sure!
I think my favorite thing I've read this summer is The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - it was SO much fun. It's about a strikingly tall retired pirate captain who was once one of the most famed pirates of the Indian Ocean - and now she's a middle-aged mom who gets pulled out of retirement for one last job when the daughter of her deceased crew member is kidnapped. There's adventure and travel and magic and a wonderful supporting cast, and I really loved the historical backdrop being a period of history I'm not that familiar with! I'm so glad it's going to be a series - and I just started reading the author's Daevabad trilogy too.
I've read many great books this summer, Still Life by Sarah Winman, Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor and Thirst for Salt by Madeline Lucas are 3 of my favorites
Currently reading How to Love Your Daughter by A Novel by Hila Blum. It’s an intriguing, well written journey. Hard to put down. On my TBR pile is Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer. His first novel about Less won the Pulitzer in 2018. Looking forward to this sequel.
I have been reading all these random mass market paperbacks I've collected from secondhand stores through the years, which is why I read Rosemary's Baby for the first time which is excellent.
Yours Truly -- Abby Jimenez. I read all four of her other books within two weeks of finishing this one. A great vacation or plane ride book. Ideally, you'd read them in publication order, but very little is damaged by going at it backward.
I picked up Girls They Write Songs About by Carlene Bauer and it was incredible! Such good writing about friendship and feminism and growing up and ambition. I loved her previous book so impulse bought this one when I saw it on a bookshop shelf.
Also, Yellowface -- that book had a vicious grip on me!
I think it’s been The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See! I did it on audio and couldn’t wait to dive back into it each time I was doing dishes or driving.
I'm a little over halfway finished with Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long and I'll go ahead and say it's the best one I've read this summer, by a long shot. It has pirates and magic and it's really well-written. It's filling a hole in my heart that I've had for a while now (aka I need more good pirate books ASAP).
Really enjoyed Go as a River by Shelley Read and The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader. Finished up the Charismatics series by Jacquelyn Benson, hope there are more books to come. I need a book for the play or script block.
I can't pick one because I can't. So, here are two: Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo, just stunning, a novel about trauma, queerness, nature, a million other things. And C Pam Zhang's upcoming Land of Milk and Honey, which is just extraordinary!
I just finished listening to A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, it's also read by her. I loved this version of the Trojan war and all the story around it told from the perspective of the women. When it finished I was sad it was over. I'm also half way thru Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It's a long read for summer but I'm grateful I'm doing it, as a writer I'm learning a ton!
My favorite summer read so far is The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal. I'd call it a sci-fi cozy mystery set on an interplanetary spaceship. It's kind of The Thin Man in space, which I believe is how Kowal pitched it to her editors/agent! I absolutely adored it and I hope it becomes a series.
I'm still reading it. It is a 4 book set called The Commune: The Complete Series. by Joshua Gayou, which I bought and am reading on my Kindle. When I read the foreword by E.C. Ray, I thought he was totally overhyping the book. I was wrong. It is a huge 1,652 pages and I am about 65% in. I will be disappointed when I finish it. Life is too short to read poor books and I was almost put off by the $6.99 price. It is a great adventure with excellent characterisation and Gayou has clearly done a lot of research and planning to put this together.
It's either Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, or The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang! Both books are pretty heavy for summer, so I need to try to find something speculative that is a bit lighter!
MAAME by Jessica George is my pick. It made me laugh and cry and feel so seen, and Maddie is an incredible character who feels like wholly her own person and also every lost twenty/thirty something. I absolutely loved it.
Yellowface is best book I've read this summer! Sizzling, funny, sharp, smart.
I'm currently reading 3 books: This Is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch (HILARIOUS, you recommended to me); I Wrote This Book Because I Love You (essays by Tim Kreider; like David Sedaris but with more heart); Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman (the self-help I need in my life right now)
Sea of Tranquility Emily St John Mandel - extraordinary!
Probably the book I am reading now, The Postcard. I cannot put it down. For the last three evenings, my husband has asked me if I want to watch a movie. Not until I finish this book, I tell him. It is not an easy read, in terms of the subject matter, the Holocaust, but the story is enthralling and her characters so well drawn, they become real.
Currently listening to Yellowface (it's as good as everyone says!) and reading The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe (also great--about a group of girls who work at publishing house in NYC in the 1950s). So I guess it's a book/publishing-themed summer reading for me, which is appropriate.
Oh, I have two favorite novels, and one memoir to recommend. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue was wonderful - reminded me a bit of Sally Rooney’s writing crossed with Nick Hornsby. It’s a great story, and I loved the ending.
There’s No Coming Back from This by Ann Garvin is also one of my new favorites. Her writing reminds me of Nora Ephron’s best work. She’s so good at capturing what it’s like trying to keep everything together in this overwhelming world. There’s a lot going on in this novel -- it’s fast-paced and funny, endearing and relatable.
And then I just finished reading Stephanie Foo’s heartrending memoir, What My Bones Know. This is NOT a light-hearted read, but her story does end on a high note. It’s an excellent exploration into CPTSD and the many ways she tried to find effective treatment.
Ooh I love this question. In terms of*best*, I'd say Monsters by Claire Dederer -- very smart, really develops an argument and gets more complex and asks better questions across the book, which I think is actually pretty rare in nonfiction. I also just read The Rachel Incident, which I really liked -- someone had described it to me as Sally Rooney but set in Cork, but I liked it a bit more than Sally Rooney!
So many exciting books here! For me, though, it’s Possession, by a mile. An amazing and fun novel!
I've struck out a lot lately, so the idea of rereading Towles's Lincoln Highway or Winman's Still Life appeals, and I suspect those would be the best reads of my summer.
But for new stuff, Curtis Sittenfeld's Romantic Comedy was fun. SNL fans out there, take note!
I'm on the wait list for Saturday Night at the Supper Club, though, and have high hopes...
Birnam Wood. Surprisingly an enjoyable summer read that I noticed on a few lists.
I was glued to Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson. The 1920s - fun, yet with dark Atkinsian overtones.
My Sister the Serial Killer.
I need a book that makes me laugh. I started Ten Steps to Nanette but couldn’t get into it. Will try the suggested Yellowface and Benedict Cumberbatch books.
"To whom do I owe the power of my voice?" is the question that begins Audre Lorde's ZAMI: A New Spelling of My Name. Categorized by Lorde as a Biomythography, it begins in Harlem, 1928, tracking her mother's life, and her own, with time through many relationships, super steamy scenes when she's working in factories in NJ and living with her friend/gf, and the metaphor of renaming herself and becoming herself. Lorde writes that "Zami" is "a Carriacou name for women who work together as friends and lovers." It is a reread for me and I LOVE it even more the second time around. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Zami_A_New_Spelling_of_My_Name/TlqFFVbY9BEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover
For sheer delight: 'Ms. Demeanor' by Elinor Lipman. It's a rom-com in which the meet-cute is two non-criminals realizing they're both under house arrest and wearing ankle monitors in their posh NYC apartment building. It's very funny with some teeth.
For spooky fun: 'The Only One' Left by Riley Sager. It's a riff on the legend of Lizzy Border, set in a spooky manor house on a cliff. It's twisty and suspenseful and if you love gothic stories set in creepy houses, you will love it.
For pure action: I'm a Daniel Silva completist, and his new Gabriel Allon thriller 'The Collector' is a return to what I consider his classic form. Lots of intrigue and fantastic locations around the globe built around a story involving art theft and possible nuclear war. It's over-the-top in exactly the right way.
My favorite book of the summer - Sex and Rage by Eve Babitz. A young LA native makes her barefoot way from Malibu to Hollywood writing stories, surfing, painting, and hanging with the wrong crowd. It’s summery and subtly dark in a feminist way as it deals with sex, drugs, and rock n roll. I just loved it.
I've read a lot of great books this summer. One that I would highlight: The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune by Alexander Stille. Fascinating! And some honorable mentions in the category of my ideal summer reading (propulsive, short-ish, perfect for an afternoon at the pool): Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television by Thea Glassman and The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession by Michael Finkel.
I loved I Could Live Here Forever by Hanna Halperin. I'd recommend going in blind. It falls in the category of messed up love story, has a backdrop involving a MFA program which I loved, and I had the biggest book hangover after finishing it.
With the caveat that I haven't finished it yet: The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon has me on tenterhooks. (And it's already been optioned for tv: https://deadline.com/2023/06/clemence-michallons-the-quiet-tenant-adaptation-blumhouse-tv-1235421390/)
I'm reading Martha Wells' Witch King right now and it's blowing my socks off!
I just finished a super compelling novella that was recommended to me by an indie bookstore in DSM. Open Throat by Henry Hoke. It’s about a queer mountain lion who lives in the canyons outside LA during fire season. That probably sounds odd but...I finished it in one sitting.
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. It's so so good. Probably the closest thing to perfect I've ever read.
I'm not a history buff, so I'm surprised at how engrossed I am in listening to Ian Toll's book Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942. I've been making up reasons to wear headphones around the house, and a few evenings I gave up all pretense and just sat in my chair listening. I can't stop talking about it, so my wife bought the paperback (she's not into audio books). Now I get to go through it and look at all the photos and maps!
My favorites so far have been This is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch and Between Two Moons. I'm a bit stumped on the play/tv script square... any suggestions?
I loved For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu. It’s a coming of age story but unlike any I’ve read before. It lives at the intersection of gender identity, age/generation, and race in very intriguing ways. It’s sad but there is also humour. The writing is so rich and razor sharp. I will be reading more from Fu for sure!
Didn't read much this summer. I'm actually looking for a YA books with a puzzle/mystery like the Inheritance Games. Any ideas?
I think my favorite thing I've read this summer is The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - it was SO much fun. It's about a strikingly tall retired pirate captain who was once one of the most famed pirates of the Indian Ocean - and now she's a middle-aged mom who gets pulled out of retirement for one last job when the daughter of her deceased crew member is kidnapped. There's adventure and travel and magic and a wonderful supporting cast, and I really loved the historical backdrop being a period of history I'm not that familiar with! I'm so glad it's going to be a series - and I just started reading the author's Daevabad trilogy too.
I've read many great books this summer, Still Life by Sarah Winman, Sycamore by Bryn Chancellor and Thirst for Salt by Madeline Lucas are 3 of my favorites
Venco by Cherie Dimaline
Wonderfully written with an amazing cast of characters. Couldn’t put it down once I started it!!
I loved On Fire Island by Jane L. Rosen and enjoyed Happy Place by Emily Henry. I also read Beach Read by Emily Henry, and thought it was good.
I’ve read a lot of good books this summer, but I think I’ve enjoyed Tender by Belinda McKeon and The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy the most
One you recommended, Elizabeth! The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov!
Currently reading How to Love Your Daughter by A Novel by Hila Blum. It’s an intriguing, well written journey. Hard to put down. On my TBR pile is Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer. His first novel about Less won the Pulitzer in 2018. Looking forward to this sequel.
I have been reading all these random mass market paperbacks I've collected from secondhand stores through the years, which is why I read Rosemary's Baby for the first time which is excellent.
Yours Truly -- Abby Jimenez. I read all four of her other books within two weeks of finishing this one. A great vacation or plane ride book. Ideally, you'd read them in publication order, but very little is damaged by going at it backward.
I picked up Girls They Write Songs About by Carlene Bauer and it was incredible! Such good writing about friendship and feminism and growing up and ambition. I loved her previous book so impulse bought this one when I saw it on a bookshop shelf.
Also, Yellowface -- that book had a vicious grip on me!
I think it’s been The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See! I did it on audio and couldn’t wait to dive back into it each time I was doing dishes or driving.
I'm a little over halfway finished with Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long and I'll go ahead and say it's the best one I've read this summer, by a long shot. It has pirates and magic and it's really well-written. It's filling a hole in my heart that I've had for a while now (aka I need more good pirate books ASAP).
The Majority by Elizabeth Silver! A fictionalized version of RBG’s life story. Incredible.
You can check out my review here-
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuj--orrsvp/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Really enjoyed Go as a River by Shelley Read and The Sunshine Girls by Molly Fader. Finished up the Charismatics series by Jacquelyn Benson, hope there are more books to come. I need a book for the play or script block.
I can't pick one because I can't. So, here are two: Cereus Blooms at Night by Shani Mootoo, just stunning, a novel about trauma, queerness, nature, a million other things. And C Pam Zhang's upcoming Land of Milk and Honey, which is just extraordinary!
Fourth Wing Fourth Wing Fourth Wing!
I just finished listening to A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, it's also read by her. I loved this version of the Trojan war and all the story around it told from the perspective of the women. When it finished I was sad it was over. I'm also half way thru Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It's a long read for summer but I'm grateful I'm doing it, as a writer I'm learning a ton!
My favorite summer read so far is The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal. I'd call it a sci-fi cozy mystery set on an interplanetary spaceship. It's kind of The Thin Man in space, which I believe is how Kowal pitched it to her editors/agent! I absolutely adored it and I hope it becomes a series.
I'm still reading it. It is a 4 book set called The Commune: The Complete Series. by Joshua Gayou, which I bought and am reading on my Kindle. When I read the foreword by E.C. Ray, I thought he was totally overhyping the book. I was wrong. It is a huge 1,652 pages and I am about 65% in. I will be disappointed when I finish it. Life is too short to read poor books and I was almost put off by the $6.99 price. It is a great adventure with excellent characterisation and Gayou has clearly done a lot of research and planning to put this together.
It's either Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, or The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang! Both books are pretty heavy for summer, so I need to try to find something speculative that is a bit lighter!
What comes next and how to like it by Abigail Thomas
MAAME by Jessica George is my pick. It made me laugh and cry and feel so seen, and Maddie is an incredible character who feels like wholly her own person and also every lost twenty/thirty something. I absolutely loved it.
I spent all of July reading The Savage Detectives.