These are some of the books I have read this summer, or am planning to read. I love to have a good book going at all times. Finding that book can be both challenging and alluring. To discover a story that speaks to you, that takes you into another world, with the opportunity to befriend new characters, is a delight like no other.
My favorite places to find new books are book fairs and used bookstores. I especially love used book stores that are associated with libraries, as the prices are extremely affordable ($1 - $4).
I love to get recommendations from librarians or bookstore clerks, plus one dear friend in particular who passes along the most wonderful stories. I have found, much like as with food, we all have a certain appetite for the kind of story that we seek out.
For some reason, I am drawn to female authors. I also love female protagonists. I don't exclusively read novels and memoirs that have them, but it is certainly a pattern.
I was in a library bookstore recently and asked the volunteer if she had any good recommendations to pass along. Surprisingly, she said, "My husband is the reader, he can immerse himself in a book. I'm the doer, I like to get things done around the house!"
As visions of our renovation came to mind (in leaping bounds) I found myself responding with, "I know, I have so much to do...It's true, there are so many things that don't get done due to reading."
But I suppose, ultimately, that's the point. Reading is the only thing that truly quiets me (I mostly read after our littles are asleep) and lets me sit in absolute stillness.
It is a luxury to sit down and delve into a novel or memoir of your choosing. It is a treat I indulge in, with some apology, but for the most part, I enjoy it too much to ever question it's degree of 'doing."
Here's are some of the other authors and stories I've read this summer:
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Euphoria by Lily King
Spilling the Beans (memoir) by Clarissa Dickson Right
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlan
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Good Harbor by Anita Diamant
The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
Are You Somebody (memoir) by Nuala O' Faolain
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
To School Through the Fields (memoir) by Alice Taylor
Tinkers by Paul Harding
Mary Cassatt (biography) by Georgette Gouveia
Please, if you have any good books to recommend, please share!
thanks for this list C as i'm in need of a good book, i'll check the library here and see what i come up with. i was halfway through crime and punishment earlier this summer and then just stopped so i can't really recommend it. xo
ReplyDeleteHi Janet, I absolutely loved "Life After Life" by Kate Atkinson. Completely captivating, beautifully written. xoxo Catherine
ReplyDeleteI read through Jane Austen's complete works each summer, and for me, it's like visiting a beloved spot, somewhere familiar. With each time I read them, it's as if I grow to know each character more intimately, and find myself lost in them - as if I could almost be an observer in the parlour of Barton Cottage, or a dining at Pemberley.
ReplyDeleteOne novel I've recently read, which is actualy a sort of murder-mystery-continuation of Austen's Pride and Prejudice, is Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. I really enjoyed it. It still had familiarity, but with added mystery and intrigue.
And it's so true - reading is never time wasted.
I will have to look into some of these titles.
Maria
"Death Comes to Pemberley" is in my stack! I cannot wait to start that one...
DeleteIt's in my stack also! I love to read, but am a doer also, if I picked up a book in the middle of the day, it would be all over, so at the end of the day, after the dishes are done, and I'm winding down, I'm either in my chaise or in bed reading. No computer or tv for me at the end of the day, a good book! Enjoy!
DeleteI've read these books this summer and loved each one.
ReplyDeleteAll the Light You Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
All books by author Lisa Genova
The Light Between Oceans - M.L.Stedman
Tell the Wolves I'm Home - Carol Rifka Brunt
Yes, All the Light You Cannot See and the Light Between Oceans is on my must find list. Thank you for the others as well. Best, Catherine
DeleteJust read Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth and loved it.
ReplyDeleteI, too, love female authors and have some of those Geraldine Brooks titles in my pile. Also, never tire of Ann Patchett, Anna Quindlen, Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg.
And another book coming to mind is E.L. Doctorow's Homer and Langley.
Wonderful, thank you!
DeleteJust finishing up Ursula K. Le Guin's "Lavinia", a lovely extrapolation on a female character in Vergil's Aeneid. Le Guin gives the silent woman in the epic poem a voice one can hear and makes legend and ancient history feel three-dimensional.
ReplyDeleteI don't read many mysteries but fell in love with "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie", a Flavia de Luce mystery by Alan Bradley. Holly at Remedial Eating recommended it and I found it for $2 at a library book sale. Flavia, the eleven-year-old protagonist, is so precocious and entertaining that I will, assuredly, be reading the rest in the series.
Thank you for your list. I have discovered some wonderful books through recommendations from other bloggers.
Thank you so much for these recommendations. Yes, it's so true that word of mouth can bring us to some wonderful authors.
DeleteI love Flavia de Luce and have read almost all of the books in the series. So entertaining and you learn about chemistry. :)
DeleteAll the Light We Cannot See and H is for Hawk
ReplyDeleteI'm like you, I enjoy books by female authors and with strong female characters. A few I can recommend: While I Was Gone by Sue Miller, The Good House by Ann Leary, and anything by Elin Hilderbrand.
ReplyDeleteWas going to recommend the Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Society, but see it's already in your stack:). Love this post, would also love one about book recommendations for children:).
ReplyDeletexox,
Blair
My other passion is children's books so perhaps I will put a post together on my favorites so far. That's what I love about the book fairs - you come across wonderful books that have been out of print but are so very lovely.
DeleteThank you for this list and I will read them. Did you read the Betsy-Tacy series? I am reading them for the first time at an old age and enjoying them.
ReplyDeleteI have not but I am thinking of reading some of the classics - which I haven't read since college. Just more to add to the list...
DeleteI have been blessed to have my 8 year old granddaughter staying with us for the past week, and we have been delighted to travel thru our first Betsy~Tacy book together. We have two chapters left to finish tomorrow! Sweet memories!
DeleteI just finished Jane Kirkpatrick's "Homestead" about her and her husbands journey to build in the wilds of eastern Oregon, I highly recommend it and her other books-all about brave and courageous women.
ReplyDeleteI am currently reading a memoir/non-fiction, "Brain on Fire" by Susannah Cahalan and it is sooo good.
ReplyDeleteOther good reads for me this summer include Gone Girl by (Gillian Flynn) The Fault in our Stars by (John Green) and Eleanor and Park by (Rainbow Rowell)
Loved Brain on Fire!
DeleteOf the books on your list I've only read The Husband's Secret. It is really, really good. I highly recommend it. You might also like The Girl on the Train.
ReplyDeleteThe Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman.
ReplyDeleteI loved Life After Life by Kate Atkinson too, and now have A God In Ruins- the story of Ursula's brother Teddy. I also discovered Liane Moriarty this summer( winter for me now) and Joanna Trollope. I think JT is a distant relation to Anthony Trollope. She writes with sensitivity and insight about complex family relationships today.
ReplyDeleteMemoirs I've recently enjoyed are: Recipe For Life by Mary Berry (another English celebrity cook), Toast and Marmalade by Emma Bridgewater (of the pottery), Open Secret by Stella Rimington (first woman boss in MI5 British Intelligence) and Kaffe Fassett (the textile artist) Dreaming In Colour: An Autobiography, and A Family In Paris by Jane Paech- an account of moving to Paris with two little daughters.
Have you read Plant Dreaming Deep by the poet May Sarton? It's a wonderful account of buying a remote 18th century New Hampshire farmhouse, bringing it and the garden back to life. It is also a musing on the creative process, European/American sensibility, sense of place... I loved it. Another lovely New England read was The Story Of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims. It's a sketch of E B White's childhood in Maine and uses lot of White's writing. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell; -very funny- Durrell's eccentric English family move to Corfu, Greece in the 1930s. A House With Four Rooms- writer Rumer Godden's autobiography of growing up in India. Elizabeth Goudge's autobiography The Joy of the Snow -growing up in the Cathedral close, Wells, UK. I love her novels too, e.g. Green Dolphin country and perhaps more, her stories for children.
A big wonderful novel is Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. This is the life story of Kristen, who grows up in medieval Norway.
Have you been perusing my book shelves, Rosamutabilis? Our literary tastes are identical! "Kristin Lavransdatter" is one of the greatest novels ever written - the author won the Nobel Prize for Literature - yet NO one has ever heard of it. It is an astonishing work of art - quite long, about 1100 pages - but an utterly absorbing account of a woman's life, from childhood to death, in medieval Norway. Kristin is a thrilling heroine - passionate, intense, imperfect - and her life merges history and romance with a deep and spiritual connection to the natural world. "Plant Dreaming Deep" is the first of many May Sarton biographies, she eventually moves from New Hampshire to a house by the sea in Maine, and to read them one after another is to live the author's quietly creative and introspective life from middle age to old age. "My Family and Other Animals!" Quite simply, one of the funniest books I've ever read. You won't soon forget its glorious depiction of a sleepy Greek isle in the 1930s, as seen through the eyes of a child (and budding naturalist). Do you have any interest in Antarctica, Catherine? I didn't either until I read "Terra Incognita" by Sara Wheeler. She spent almost a year traveling across the continent and writing about it; when you put it down you will be booking passage on the next available ship. "Beloved" by Toni Morrison is heartbreakingly gorgeous. The writing is exquisite & unforgettable - Morrison is a master. I haven't read the Mary Berry book, but I HIGHLY recommend that if you don't feel like reading some evening, you look for "The Great British Bake-Off" on YouTube. Mary is one of the judges and the series (there are now 6 seasons, I believe) is catnip for anyone who loves England. Contestants vie to win "Best Amateur Baker" status over 12 or so episodes - it's warm, witty, calming, lovely. None of that frantic American competitiveness.
DeleteLOVE your recommendations - I've written them all down! Have you read "Year of Wonders" by Geraldine Brooks? I couldn't put it down. I also couldn't put down "Life after Life" by Kate Atkinson. One of my very favorite novels. Best, Catherine
DeleteI have May Sarton at the top of my list. Also, Kristen Lavransdatter...I did buy "A God in Ruins" but I haven't been able to absorb myself in the story as I did with "Life After Life." I have found that stories have timing - so I will leave it in my stack for awhile until it feels right to pick it up again. Thank you for the wonderful recommendations! Best, Catherine
DeleteI haven't read A Year of Wonders but it looks like I'd love it. The description reminded me of A Parcel of Patterns by English writer of literary fiction for children Jill Paton Walsh. It is a small novel- perfect and heart-breaking.
DeleteAnd because I've just had the most glorious trip down from Nova Scotia to Boston - Lucy Maud Montgomery's books (yes I visited Green Gables on Prince Edward Island!) and particularly The Alpine Path: The Story Of My Career which I bought there. I also visited Orchard House in Concord, the beloved house where the Alcott girls grew up. The tour was wonderfully informative.
ps The white house on Corfu where the Durrell family (My Family and Other Animals) were so exuberantly happy is a BnB! The Durrells owned it for decades and now the family who own it have kept many of their belongings displayed. Imagine how dreamy it would be to stay there!
Oh, and if you enjoy The Great British Bake Off, there are others too- The Big Painting Challenge (very informative about how to paint), The Great British Sewing Bee and The Big Allotment Challenge. Surprisingly addictive! Another superb series is Grand Designs by architect/historian Kevin McCloud. He tracks the progress of an historic renovation or quirky new build over a year or so.
DeleteI discovered Laine Moriarty early this summer and read all her books one after the other (except not Big Little Lies yet). My favorite was What Alice Forgot. Now I'm reading "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed. Not sure about it yet...
ReplyDeleteJust finished Prayers for the Stolen. Captivating story and beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteI notice that "The Big House" by George Howe Colt is in your stack of books, have you read it yet? If not I highly recommend it. I thought it was superb. I read it when it first came out and just re-read it again this summer. I enjoyed it as much, if not more, the second time!
ReplyDeleteI have read "The Big House" and yes, I loved it! I always wished I had a home from childhood like that. I found his story completely captivating and I loved the descriptions of the interior of the house and property. It was wonderful.
DeleteCatherine, I am so glad you read it, it just seemed like something you would enjoy and appreciate. I, like you, wish I could have had an ancestral home like that. Can you imagine having access to that amount of documented history and personal belongings from your own family? I grew up on the south shore of Massachusetts, about 55 miles from where the story took place. Reading that book brought back so many wonderful memories.
DeleteI know you like women authors, but I have to recommend The Sycamore Tree by John Grisham.
ReplyDeleteFabulous read! I read that about 2 years ago.
DeleteThe Glass House by Jeannette Wells or Life in a Jar the Irene Sendler Project by Jack Mayer. I love to read also. I write the name of the book, author , fiction or nonfiction in a journal of all the books I read. It is fun to look back and see what I've read over the years. My reading tastes have changed over the years. I do love nonfiction the best!!
ReplyDeleteThe Glass Castle is one of my favorite memoirs. I absolutely loved it. Thank you for the others...
DeleteAn oldie but absolutely wonderful. I could not put it down. Colony by Anne Rivers Sidon. Female author and female protagonist. Takes you away to another place, in another time. The coast of Maine, to an old fashioned, much loved summer community, summer cottage. For anyone who loves her home and her house as much as you do, I think you will love this book. I did!
ReplyDeleteSounds really wonderful, I can't wait to read that one! I love when a story involves a house, especially one that is loved.
DeleteI'm not a fan of fiction but I absolutely loved Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet by Jamie Ford (learned a lot about the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII in the USA in this lovely story of a young Chinese-American boy & his best friend, a Japanese-American girl). Just finished, for my book club, Sideways on a Scooter by Miranda Kennedy in which she writes about her 5 years living in Delhi. It's quite an introduction to life for women in current day India no matter what level they are in the caste system. I second Stella Rimington's books! I've always loved espionage stories. ann z
ReplyDeleteI am currently reading "All The Light We Cannot See," by Anthony Doerr. The story follows a young blind girl and a young boy in the Nazi regime during the Nazi occupation of France during WWII. I haven't finished it yet, but is is so good! I just love it. I am so happy to see other Anita Diamant recommendations. I have only read "The Red Tent" which is one of my favorite books of all time.
ReplyDeleteThe Anthony Doerr is on my list. And I just read "The Boston Girl" and "Good Harbor" by Anita Diamant. I especially enjoyed The Boston Girl.
DeleteHas anyone mentioned A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra? It's wonderful, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Check out the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. -- Anne Atwood Mead
ReplyDeleteWrote it down! I keep a small notebook in my purse with all the authors I intend to read - it has grown significantly since this post!
DeleteAn amazing book that made me grateful for every single thing I have.
DeleteI really enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, as a library media specialist I would also recommend the "Maisie Dobbs" series by Jacqueline Winspear, they should be available at your local library.
ReplyDeleteYes, The Guernsey Library and Potato Peel Society is next in line...Although isn't so hard to choose? Thank you for Maisie Dobbs, I will look for those.
DeleteCurrently reading All the Light We Cannot See. Have you read The Kitchen House Kathleen Grissom, The Forgotten Garden Kate Morton or Astrid & Veronica Linda Olsson. Also, for a
ReplyDeletevery light read Saving CeeCee Honeycutt Beth Hoffmann. And are you familiar with Persephone Books? These are wonderful to read and look at on your shelves! Persephone Books reprints neglected fiction and non-fiction by mid-twentieth century (mostly) women writers. All of our 112 books are intelligent, thought-provoking and beautifully written and are chosen to appeal to busy people wanting titles that are neither too literary nor too commercial. We publish novels, short stories, diaries, memoirs and cookery books; each has an elegant grey jacket, a ‘fabric’ endpaper with matching bookmark. http://www.persephonebooks.co.uk/
All the Light We Cannot See and Kitchen House is on my list...So is Kate Morton. I will look into the others and will certainly look into Persephone Books, those sound wonderful! Thank you so much for leaving such wonderful recommendations. Best, Catherine
DeleteCatherine,
ReplyDeleteI'm late to the party in reading it, but I just started Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown and I am loving it. It's a story around the 1936 Olympics and a rowing team from Washington.
I relate to the worker at the used book store, sometimes it's hard for me to stop and read. OCD? Maybe. :-)
xo,
Karen
Oh,lovely! A beautiful home post and books! My favorite passions.In peeking at your pile of books I see we have very similar taste. I do prefer women authors most of the time,but here are some suggestions from the other side: The Storied Life of A.J.Firkey, All the Light we Cannot See, The Whistling Season. All the best to you and your family
ReplyDeletepost script to my comment: I am fortunate to be a volunteer at the most beautiful used bookstore run by Friends of the Public Library in my city!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, how lucky! We are going to go to our library bookstore today - I go every week to the three in our area. We have been able to build our home library significantly through these resources - I absolutely LOVE them. The best books and the best volunteers who work there!
DeleteSince you have read or are going to read books by Ann Patchett and Anna Quindlen, I would recommend "This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage" by Ann Patchett and "Lots of Candles Plenty of Cake" by Anna Quindlen. They are memoir type; I really enjoyed both of them and it lets you get to know them in their day to day life as ordinary people.
ReplyDeleteI finished Lots of Candles and Plenty of Cake a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I could totally relate to losing my vision at 40 something, and having "old knees!" Those made me laugh as so many other things she mentioned. But also, I just loved reading her insights on life, love, children, marriage. I will look for Ann Patchett's book...
DeleteI too recommend Persephone Books which are mainly by forgotten women authors of the mid twentieth century, "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" being a favorite. Other books I often recommend are "84 Charing Cross Road" by Helene Hanff. "Enchanted April" by Catherine von Arnim. "Housekeeping" by Marilynne Robinson. And EM Forster's "Howard's End," my favorite book of all time.
ReplyDeleteI loved Enchanted April and Howard's End. I wrote down the others, they sound delightful!
DeleteI love reading in summer, where I tend to chose a completely different kind of novel then during the wintertime just to hold that feeling of long warm summers a litlle bit longer!
ReplyDeleteMy list:
Room with a view by E.M. Foster
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tommasi di Lampedusa
Hail the Brazilian people by Joao Ubaldo Ribeiro
The sea, the sea by Iris Murdoch
Rebecca bt Daphne DuMaurier
Widow for one year by John Irving
The Beautiful summer by Cesare Pavese
Novels for one year by Luigi Pirandello
Love in times of cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
French dirt by Richard Goodman
Emmaus by Alessandro Baricco
As you notice, many foreign novels, but I do hope maybe some of them may appeal to you!
Happy summer,
Evelien
I only saw the movie "Room With a View." It would be so wonderful to read the book. Thank you for the wonderful list of recommendations - they all sound so good!
DeleteHome Keeping by J.R. Miller is my most favorite oldie. A bit old English, but absolutely wonderful just the same. I was just curious... with how intelligent and cultured you are, will you be homeschooling your two little gifts?
ReplyDeleteThose are very kind words, thank you. Our littles have not started any form of schooling yet. We do have an amazing school here, but I suppose, we're still not sure how things will go. Decisions, decisions.....
DeleteYou have read some great books! getting lost in a good book is divine.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Velva
I took another look at your books pictured above, and you and I have similar taste, I've read several of those. But curious, I never made it through "Woman in White," perhaps I should try that one again.
ReplyDeleteI haven't started that one yet, but it looks good. I feel as if books come to you in time. I know have a stack of wonderful ones to choose from but it will be, in the end, my mood that chooses which story to venture towards now, or later. Which is why reading is so wonderful.
Deleteamericanah by chimamanda ngozi adichie, all the light we cannot see by anthony doerr,circling the sun by paula mclain, the nightingale by kristin hannah
ReplyDeleteI love reading these comments and suggestions! I've read many noted here, but have taken away some others to check out. Have you ever tried Goodreads? You can read readers' reviews of books and share books with friends. I've made new friends on Goodreads through similar reading tastes. It also is a good way for me to keep up with what I've read. I write reviews just so I can remember my thoughts about a book, and it's always nice when others agree. As for books, I was delighted to see someone mention Elizabeth Goudge. She wrote mostly from the 40's to the 60's and is one of my favorites. She had a great way of depicting children (though she was unmarried and childless), and also wrote some for children, too. My favorite of hers is "The Scent of Water" and the Eliot family novels. My favorite writers tend to be women, too, and English. For contemporary authors, I like Jojo Moyes (English) and Liane Moriarty (Australian), and Louise Penny (Canadian), a mystery writer. I recently enjoyed "Small Blessings" by Martha Woodruff. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the recommendations! I have looked at Goodreads. I happened across it after reading "Life After Life." I liked Goodreads a lot and hadn't realized that you could save the books you've read. That's wonderful. I can forget what I read...And I always say I'm going to start a list, but don't. Best, Catherine
DeleteSince you ask ... please consider my novel, Sweetland of Liberty Bed & Breakfast by Donna Cronk. At midlife, Samantha Jarrett has lost her husband, her job and her kids are grown and gone. She returns to her Midwestern hometown and opens a bed and breakfast. But can she keep it? A small-town story with recipes, decorating, a story line and more! Five stars on Amazon; a terrific Kirkus Review. On Amazon in print and for your Kindle. Thanks again for asking!
ReplyDeleteWonderful, good for you and thank you for adding your book to the list!
DeleteMay I recommend my own book? Sweetland of Liberty Bed & Breakfast (by Donna Cronk). About reinvention at midlife and trusting God in the storm. It's women's Christian fiction and has five stars overall on Amazon and a lovely Kirkus Review.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I didn't scan the rest of the comments to see if this has already been suggested--We Took to the Woods (Louise Dickinson Rich) is a favorite of mine. I'm sure you've read that already though. I also really enjoyed a memoir I read a few years ago called the Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball. I'm eager to read back in the comments and add to my list. I've been in a bad pattern lately where I'm not particularly enjoying anything I've been reading! it will be good to select from others' favorites.
ReplyDeleteTook to the Woods sound so familiar. I am going to start using Goodreads so that I can keep a list of the books I've read. I tend to forget! Thank you for the recommendations.
DeleteThe Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland -- a fascinating, quick read about the 38 planes forced to land in Gander when the USA closed its air space on 9/11. The people of Gander were absolutely amazing in the care they gave to thousands of stranded travelers.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't read Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, you'll find it delightful. It's one of my favorites of all time!
Happy reading.
I never knew about Gander, it sounds wonderful. And I have read A Year in Provence, and loved it! I almost picked up another one of his - regretting I didn't. I love books about food and beautiful country backdrops.
DeleteCatherine
ReplyDeleteHighly recommend the Persephone Books website in the UK. Can find some great suggestions
to search for at used or library book shops.
The Bible ... it is full of good characters!
ReplyDeleteDo you enjoy mysteries? Lately it's my favorite genre. In recent years I've enjoyed Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series. Check out her website for the series order, reviews, pronunciations, and other fun information. www.louisepenny.com
ReplyDeleteI also recomend Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series. I started reading the series in order about a year ago. Ronda S.
ReplyDeleteI am reading a very god book right now called The Orphan Train. In fact, I'm about to head outside to do some reading on the porch as I enjoy this lovely summer evening. When I'm finished with this book, I plan to start All the Light We Cannot See.
ReplyDeleteClaudia
I didn't read all the comments, but wanted to suggest The Bakers Daughter by Sarah McCoy
ReplyDelete