A Full Summer Reading List

A couple of weeks ago, I shared some of my recent favorite books that I thought you might enjoy adding to your summer reading list.  Now I’m ready to list the titles I’ve lined up to read while in the sun or on vacation.  Each of these books is currently stacked up on my nightstand waiting to be prioritized and devoured.

1. Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon–and the Journey of a Generation by Shelia Wecker. I was actually given this book by a colleague earlier this year, but got distracted by Keith Richards and Steven Tyler’s memoirs.  Now, I’m  looking forward to exploring how these three distinct yet dovetailing artists bucked the expectations that had been laid out for them by previous generations and blazed a new path for women to follow.

2. We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen is said to be a spellbinding fictional book which spans 100 years (starting in 1848) and 4 generations of families from the small Danish coastal town Marstal. Jensen’s debut novel is already hailed as an instant classic.

3. Old Town by Lin Zhe. This is the story of an ordinary family caught up in the maelstrom that was China’s most recent century. Zhe’s  narrative ranges across the entire length of China, to California and back again, to the battlefields of the Anti-Japanese War of Resistance and the brutal “struggle” of the Cultural Revolution.

4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. This has been promoted as one of the freshest debuts in years: a comedy, a heartbreaker, a mystery story, a novel of exceptional literary merit that is great fun to read.  The lead character is autistic and I am looking forward to what’s sure to be a new voice and perspective.

5. The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards.  This is the story of a woman’s homecoming, a family secret, and the old house that holds the key to the true legacy of a family.  My sister recently mentioned that she is adopting a life goal inspired by this story, but won’t tell me what it is until I read the book.  So, I better get started.

As I look forward to reading all of these books this summer, some of which are rather long, it occurs to me that I’m going to need a longer season.  That’s a lot to ask for from a Chicago summer, but I’m remaining hopeful.

Now that I’ve given you many books to think about.  Please let me know what you’ll be reading this summer.

Tags: book list, Carly Simon--and the Journey of a Generation, Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Kim Edwards, Lin Zhe, Mark Haddon, Old Town, Shelia Wecker, summer reading list, The Curious Indident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Lake of Dreams